Sith Happens!

George Lucas' Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is being released at a peculiar time in American political and cultural history. Our legislature is ripe with corruption and political squabble. The republic is crumbling amidst imperial wars and draconian power-grabs by the executive branch. We are on the verge of a showdown in the Senate over the filibuster which may alter the course of our political history.

Revenge of the Sith describes a fictional world not too far from our present reality minus the light-sabers, star-ships and space aliens. Written in the 1970s, the backdrop for Lucas' story is the collapse of a republic and the rise of an empire. He touches on some timeless political themes in Revenge of the Sith:

In ancient Rome, "why did the senate, after killing Caesar, turn around and give the government to his nephew?" Lucas said. "Why did France, after they got rid of the king and that whole system, turn around and give it to Napoleon? It's the same thing with Germany and Hitler.

"You sort of see these recurring themes where a democracy turns itself into a dictatorship, and it always seems to happen kind of in the same way, with the same kinds of issues, and threats from the outside, needing more control. A democratic body, a senate, not being able to function properly because everybody's squabbling, there's corruption."

The most coincidental dialog occurs when Anakin Skywalker (soon to be Darth Vader) utters the following line to former friend and mentor Obi Wan Kenobi:

"If you're not with me, then you're my enemy"

Hmm, that reminds me of something our president said right after 9/11:

"Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists."

Yowza! I'm excited to see the film although I found Episode I and II highly lacking in substance. I am intrigued by the intense political and historical themes layered within the film. The Heretik, who has enjoyed milking Star Wars imagery for political purposes as have I, poses the following conundrum: The Dark Side, Not to Go There Too Much, But Are You Going to Go There Again?

I've been there and back again a few times myself.