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Subj : Star Wars vs. Watergate
By all accounts, Director George Lucas was inspired to write Star Wars as a result of his not being able to acquire the rights to film Flash Gordon. But thats NOT the whole story; because after trying to acquire Flash Gordon, Lucas then tried to acquire the rights to film Woodward & Bernsteins All The Presidents Men, the chronicle of the famed Washington Post reporters investigation and discovery of Watergate.

So, not being able to acquire and film either one of them, Lucas was thus inspired to write his own space fantasy/political saga -- Star Wars: A New Hope.

However, dazzled by the special effects of the movies, many people have overlooked the political allegory that runs through all three films in the Star Wars Trilogy and which will undoubtedly be included in the prequel trilogy. For the Star Wars Trilogy is indeed a political allegory of the events leading all the way from Watergate to the election of Ronald Reagan, the years 1972-1980.

Consider the name that Lucas called the galactic government overthrown by the Emperor and his minions: The Old Republic. Sound familiar? It should. Its Lucas allegorical name for The GOP, the Grand OLD Party
-- the REPUBICAN Party.

Consider the plot of Star Wars: A New Hope: The Rebels have stolen the secret data tape plans to the Death Star and are trying to get them to their hidden base to save the galaxy. Missing data tapes? Now THAT sounds familiar, doesnt it? Not unlike the search for 18 vital missing minutes of President Richard Nixons own tapes which the Watergate Commission was searching for, too.

Of course, the theft of the Death Star plans also is an indirect referrence to the 1972 break-in and theft of Democratic campaign materials, orchestrated by Nixons aides. But Princess Leia is NOT symbolic of Nixon secretary Rosemary Wood who may have accidentally erased those missing 18 minutes of Nixons personal tape. Rather, Princess Leias symbolism is abstract, standing for the then Republican-held presidency WITHOUT a record of impeachment.

Lord Darth Vader represents once Nixon aide-turned-informant John Dean. The Death Star represents the Watergate Commission; its death ray represents the threat of impeachment, and its director, Grand
Moff/Governor Tarkin represents Watergate Commission Chairman Sam Erwin.

Now that youve got the idea, see if you can interpret the rest. Heres some hints:

STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE	(From Watergate to President Fords pardoning of Nixon)
The Evil Empire	The Democratic Party and predominantly Democratic Congress
The Old Republic	The Grand OLD Party (REPUBLICAN Party)
Luke Skywalker	Candidate-President Gerald Ford
Princess Leia	The Republican-held Presidency
Han Solo	G. Gordon Liddy
Chewbacca	H.R. Haldeman
C-3PO	John Mitchell
R2D2	Martha Mitchell
Obi-Wan Ben Kenobi	Richard Nixon
The Millenium Falcon	The Republican Tradition
The Lightsabre	Political prowess
The Dark Side of the Force	Liberalism
The Stolen Death Star Data Tapes	The missing 18 minutes of Richard Nixons tapes
Lord Darth Vader	John Dean
The Emperor	Rampant Ultra-Left Liberalism in the Democratic Party
The Death Star	The Watergate Commission
The Death Stars Death Ray	The Threat of Impeachment
Grand Moff Tarkin	Watergate Commission Chairman Sam Erwin
Admiral Motti	Senator Ted Kennedy
General Tagge	Senator Tip ONeal
The Rebels	Republican senators and congressmen
The Jawas	The Tabloid Press
The Sandpeople	Washington Society
Stormtroopers	The Liberal Mass Media (Press)
Mos Eisley Cantina	Composite of Washington, D.C. bars
Mos Eisley Aliens	Political lobbyists and special interest groups
Mos Eisley Imperial Spy (with the snout)	Deep Throat
Jumping to Light Speed	Evading the Clutches of the Liberal Media
The Death of Obi Wan Ben Kenobi	The resignation of President Richard Nixon
The Force	Executive Privilege
Luke Skywalkers successful targeting and launching of the Photon Torpedo using the Force that destroys the Death Star)	Gerald Fords presidential pardoning of Richard Nixon executed by his right of executive privilege

Unfortunately, the allegorical symbolism changes slightly from film to film as is evidenced by The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi:

STAR WARS: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
(From late 1975 to the Innauguration of President Jimmy Carter in
January 1977)

The Evil Empire	The Democratic Party and predominantly Democratic Congress
The Old Republic	The Grand OLD Party (REPUBLICAN Party)
Luke Skywalker	Gerald Ford
Princess Leia	The Presidency
Han Solo	Ronald Reagan
Chewbacca	William Casey
Lando Calrissian	Composite of the National Republican Party head honchos
C-3PO	White House Press Secretary Ron Nessen
R2D2	Betty Ford
Yoda	Barry Goldwater
Obi-Wan Ben Kenobi	Richard Nixon
Wedge Antillies	Lee Attwater
The Millenium Falcon	The Republican Tradition
The Dark Side of the Force	Liberalism
Lord Darth Vader	Presidential Candidate Governor Jimmy Carter
The Emperor	Rampant Ultra-Left Liberalism in the Democratic Party
Stormtroopers	The Liberal Mass Media (Press)
Captain/Admiral Piet	Ted Kennedy
The Lightsabre	Political prowess
Asteroid Field	The political fallout of Watergate on the Campaign Trail
Cloud City/Bespin	The 1976 Republican/GOP Convention
The Giant Space Slug (that tries to gulp down the Millenium Falcon)	Political Pollsters
Boba Fett the Bounty Hunter	Special interest political opportunists within the Republican Party
The Ugnaughts	Turncoat Republicans
The Force	Staying the Course (the Republican Way)
Lukes vision of killing Darth Vader in the cave	Gerald Fords realization that he could be defeated on Election Day 1976
The Battle of Hoth	The continuing aftershocks of Watergate
The AT-AT Walkers	Political machinery in motion creating intrigues and other shenanigans
Han Solos being frozen in carbonite at Cloud City	Governor Ronald Reagans being sold out at the Republican Convention and effectively shut out as the Republican candidate for president
Lukes defeat by Darth Vader	President Gerald Fords defeat by Governor Jimmy Carter

Of course, bear in mind that Lucas had to take certain poetic license with recent American political history; thus certain people, places and events have to be composited and certain fictional devices allowed to accommodate the demands of a space fantasy storyline.

RETURN OF THE JEDI
(Political Campaign Year 1980)

The Evil Empire	The Democratic Party and predominantly Democratic Congress
The Old Republic	The Grand OLD Party (REPUBLICAN Party)
Luke Skywalker	George Bush
Princess Leia	The Presidency
Han Solo	Ronald Reagan
Chewbacca	Nancy Reagan
C-3PO	Pat Robertson (of 700 Club fame)
R2D2	Columnist William Safire
Lando Calrissian	William Casey
Obi-Wan Ben Kenobi	Former President Richard Nixon
The Millenium Falcon	The Republican Tradition
The Lightsabre	Political prowess
The New Death Star	The Spectre of Watergate
The Death Star Death Ray	The revived threat of the Watergate Syndrone (defeatism)
The Endor Shield Generator	The Off-Putting Attitude of the Liberal Media toward Republican Candidates (because of Watergate)
Lord Darth Vader	President Jimmy Carter
The Emperor	Rampant Ultra-Left Liberalism in the Democratic Party
The Dark Side of the Force	Liberalism
Mon Mothma	Phyllis Schlafly
Admiral Ackbar	Alexander Haig
General Madine	Senator Robert Dole
Wedge Antillies	Lee Attwater
Nyim Nubb, Landos co-pilot	Political pundit William F. Buckley, Jr.
The Rebels	Republican senators, congressmen, party members, fundementalists and Reagan Democrats
Jabba the Hutt	Independent Presidential Candidate John Anderson
The Aliens in Jabbas Palace	Independent Candidates and their respective parties
The Ewoks	Unexpected Grassroots Support (The Little People and Reagan Democrats)
Stormtroopers	The Liberal Mass Media (Press)
Admiral Piet	Ted Kennedy
Han Solos Resuce	Ronald Reagan returns
The Sarlaac Pit	Super Tuesday Primaries of 1980
The AT-ST (Two-man) Walkers Attack on Endor	Political machinery in motion that are undermined by a landslide vote for Reagan
Darth Vaders threat to turn Leia to the Dark Side of the Force	President Jimmy Carters threat/chances of winning the presidency (if he could pull an October Surprise by getting the 50 American hostages home from Iran)
Lukes defeat of Darth Vader and the Emperor	George Bush overcomes his Wimp Factor
The Force	The Ability and Will to win the mandate of the people
The Battle of Endor	The Last Weeks (Late September through early November) of the 1980 Presidential Campaign (including the Debates)

Allegedly, the prequel trilogy, Chapters 1-3, will take place 40 years before the first Star Wars trilogy; therefore, it stands to reason that Lucas will likewise cover the 40 years from 1932-1972 in his political allegory. I know Im looking forward to it!

Too incredible to believe?

Think again. Ronald Reagan did and named his space strategic defense program Star Wars in the film trilogys honor as the political analogy in the films reflectedd events in his own life. And that became more apparent to him, especially after the release of Return of the Jedi in 1983.

Finally, to paraphrase the sagely philosophy of Ben Kenobi: Who is the more foolish, the Fool OR the April Fools who believe him?

Answer: Happy April Fools Day!

CINEVIEWS
Copyright 1994 By James William King.
All rights reserved.

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Changes were last made on 05-05-2002

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