How else can one explain the idiocy that is this Yahoo! Movies article by Timothy Sexton in which it is argued that the "Star Wars" prequels are -- wait for it -- superior to the original trilogy. And 'ya know why? Because they (supposedly) perfectly analogize the George W. Bush administration.
But right off the bat, Sexton fails (as so-called "progressives" so often do) to recognize that so much of his blather can describe what we've seen over the last three years of the current administration:
It verges on cinematic treason to suggest that the "Star Wars" prequel trilogy is in any way superior to the original trilogy. However, history has proved that treasonous behavior is just as often necessary to stimulate progressive revolution as it is to endow malevolent forces with unrestricted authority necessary to obstruct basic human rights.
I guess it never occurred to Sexton that the rise of the Tea Party and the massive electoral losses of Democrats in November 2010 were "stimulated" by Obama's actions like trying to force people to buy things that they do not want (gov.-mandated health insurance), or, more recently, forcing religious institutions to act against their beliefs? Nah, I guess not ...
The difference is that the original trilogy appealed directly to the simplistic moral perspective of an America above reproach and always on the side of right in global geopolitics, whereas the much more subversive prequel trilogy stands in defiant counterpoint to the much more dangerously simplistic moral absolutism of the Age of Bush.
Ah, yes -- ever the "progressive" penchant for moral relativism when it comes to the Cold War. No right or wrong -- just two equal-in-every-way superpowers conspiring and battling to see who would get better control of the planet.
Please.
But, of course, the "Age of Bush" was ... much more dangerous, you see.
The problem is that the post-9/11 world meant Americans also were forced to identify themselves with the Jedi in the prequel trilogy as well, and we don't like the face we see in the mirror. Let's face it, the Jedi don't exactly come off too swell in the prequel. This time around they are the guys in charge, and it is painful to watch them screw it up, especially when the way they hand over the keys to the Empire is so eerily familiar to a historical era defined by words like "signing statements" and "Patriot Act."Just in case you didn't notice in your rush to castigate Jar-Jar Binks and complain about the wooden dialogue of the prequel, the peaceful Galactic Republic in place at the beginning of "The Phantom Menace" doesn't turn into the dark empire in place at the beginning of "A New Hope" due to an invasion by a foreign element. The Republic falls as a result of due democratic process, albeit due democratic process that is manipulated through lies and deception. Again, sound familiar?
It does sound familiar: Our own Justice Dept. suing states trying to uphold federal laws; our own Justice Dept. suing states who democratically pass laws requiring that a basic photo ID be shown when voting; our own government mandating that the people purchase and be enrolled in something whic they may not desire; our own government promising to close down Guantánamo Bay prison in one year yet finding every excuse in the book to maintain it; our own government initiating military action in a foreign country and never informing Congress; our own government, which had excoriated the previous administration for its tactics in the War on Terror, using the very same tactics and more, like the increased use of unmanned drones to assassinate those deemed enemies; our own government, upping the legal ante from the previous administration, now claiming it the right to detain indefinitely American citizens if they're deemed terrorist threats.
Yes indeed. Very familiar.
Chances are you don't even remember these words of Darth Maul: "Fear is my ally." One can well imagine that slogan scrawled across the office walls of men like Scooter Libby and tattooed across the back of Dick Cheney.
Or, perhaps, tattooed across the backs of Eric Holder and Barack Obama himself, especially when it comes to black America vs. white, or the American poor vs. the "rich."
Anakin's justification that if authoritarian control works in keeping us safe was being repeated on a daily basis by those in charge at the very time the scene was being projected onto multiplex screens around the world. Too many Anakin Skywalkers existed then and, amazingly, exist right now in this country who are far too eager to give up hard-earned civil rights for the illusion of security.
Wait -- did Sexton just take a jab at the current crop of dolts running the country? Nah, couldn't be. First, he says "amazingly" as if he just can't believe it. Second, he doesn't name names because, either that would be a disservice to the "progressive" cause ("Hey, maybe -- just maybe -- Obama and co. will come around and see the light, OK?"), or perhaps he expects to just stay in line with his argument, such that it is, that he's referring to old Bushian-style neocon Republicans still in government.
There is absolutely no element or character in the original trilogy that isn't delineated in stark black and white terms. Episodes IV through VI tell a much happier story, one that is consistent with the birth of the American democracy through acts of rebellion by a ragtag group of people who held the moral high ground.
What a laugh. Cretins like Sexton today would label those "acts of rebellion by a ragtag group" "domestic terrorism," and would call them either "racists," "angry, extreme mobs," and even "un-American." Those who rebelled in the Revolutionary Era did so mainly because of taxes and a belief that they weren't being [adequately] represented in government. Just look at how our government (and media) treated such people today -- the Tea Party, for example -- and these modern-day "rebels" did not even engage in acts of sabotage, less armed rebellion!
And from the article's comment section, an astute reader further tears asunder Sexton's idiocy:
The writer's entire premise is destroyed by the fact that Episode 1 was released in 1999, before Bush was even elected. Episode 2 was released 8 months after 9/11. I'm pretty sure it was in post production before 9/11. The most prescient line was in Episode 3. "So this is how liberty dies, with thunderous applause." That is what we are witnessing right now.
Better yet, perhaps, is this brief commenter sentiment: "The Force was Weak with this writer."
At least that made me giggle after the stream of interminable guffaws in the actual article. At any rate, ultimately what we're left with is just another pathetic attempt at keeping the "progressive" George W. Bush demon alive, this time via popular entertainment. And I this may be the most laughably hilarious attempt yet.
GEORGE W. BUSH:
There's NOTHING for which
he can't be blamed!