More than one news story reports an intriguing conservative political response to the new Star Wars movie: Republicans think Lucas has deliberately peppered Revenge of the Sith with anti-Bush propaganda.
I can’t speak for what Lucas intended. I can, however, speak from my own experience. Not long ago, I wrote about watching Starship Troopers, which depicts a future Earth under the leadership of an enthusiastic fascist regime. The parallels between the way that fictional government does business (and its iron-fisted control of the media) and the Bush administration (and its iron-fisted control of the media) are stunning. Had the movie been released today instead of ten years ago, it would be blasted as anti-American, anti-Bush propaganda.
In Revenge of the Sith, we are treated to the story of a political leader who sees a period of fear and political unrest as an opportunity to acquire more power for himself and his followers. A war is launched, primarily because a war is a great way to misdirect attention away from the politician’s own evil deeds. Opposition and criticism become crimes; as young Darth Vader says, “You’re either with us … or against us.”
It’s revealing that so many conservatives see their own agenda reflected in the fascist actions of the Sith Lords. It’s tempting to lay these resemblances at the feet of Lucas. But the simple fact is: if a government walks like a fascist government, and talks like a fascist government, then then it probably is a fascist government.
Fascist governments — fictional, historical, and present-day — are going to look and sound alike.
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