How Liberty Dies

Although George Lucas made the first Star Wars film as a stand-alone epic, his original script actually described the whole story of episodes IV. V and VI, from Darth Vader entering through the door in Princess Leia's Corellian Corvette, all the way to Darth Vader tossing the Emperor into the tube.

With episodes I, II and III, Darth Vader's entire story-arc was completed; they show how Anakin Skywalker was rescued from slavery on Tatooine, how he was trained as a Jedi by Obi-Wan Kenobi, and how he was seduced by Senator Palpatine, who later becomes the Emperor, to join the dark side of the Force. These prequels garnered a lot of criticism though; George Lucas created an epic story, but he never was that good of a director. And don't even get me started on Jar Jar Binks; I'll never understand why Lucas included this complete failure of a comic-relief.. However, one of the most heard critiques on the prequels was that they were too political; they contained many scenes with characters just talking to each other about trade wars, the Senate of the Republic, corruption, and the general banter on back-stabbing and scheming we're used to in our own galaxy. This ruined the experience for many viewers and fans.

If you've followed my blog, you'll know that I disagree. You see, if you take the entire story, from episode I all the way to episode VI, you get two beautiful parallel stories; the rise and fall of Darth Vader, and the rise and fall of the first Galactic Empire. The rise of Darth Vader coincides with the gradual fall of the Republic, with the Senate and the Jedi succumbing to complacency, bureaucracy and corruption. The Senate and the Jedi had ruled for 1,000 years and seemed unassailable. But both institutions were blind to the shenanigans of the Sith Lord who schemed his way to unlimited power right under their noses. And therefore the prequel trilogy isn't just the story of the birth of Darth Vader, but also the story of how liberty dies. One of the best scenes in the prequel trilogy is the one from "Revenge of the Sith," where Padme Amidala speaks these words: "So this is how liberty dies... with thunderous applause."

Senator Palpatine says, in conversation with Queen Amidala, that "There is no civility, only politics. The Republic is not what it once was; the Senate is full of greedy, squabbling delegates. There is no interest in the common good." The film shows this to be true, and to underline the rampant corruption, it's shown that the Trade Federation, a corporation, somehow has political representation in the Senate. Here I'd like to pause and ask you if this doesn't sound exactly like our reality. To me it does, and this is why I can appreciate the prequels for what they are. When Episode I tells us of the first cracks in a crumbling Republic, culminating in the appointment of a populist demagogue as the Supreme Chancellor, Episode II shows us a Republic in deep crisis as a result of the secret machinations by said Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. The politics in Episode III conclude with the words spoken by Palpatine in the above linked video: "In order to insure the security and continuing stability, the Republic will be reorganized into the first Galactic Empire!" In that moment liberty dies and thunderous applause ensues...

I don't think I have to remind you of how close America, and by extension the world, has come to crowning their own authoritarian "emperor" in Donald Trump. How close America came to see its own liberty die by the hand of a populist demagogue. And let's not forget to give credit where credit's due; writing the scripts of the prequel trilogy, George Lucas has shown us that the ingredients of this attempted power-grab have been present for a long time now. The story of Darth Vader, Palpatine, the Republic and the first Galactic Empire, is the story of how liberty dies, and how authoritarianism and fascism feed of failing democracies. Let this beautiful film-series be a warning to us all. And please watch the below linked video; it was the prime inspiration for this post and dives deep into the political analysis of the Star Wars universe.

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