Ethnicity and Xenophobia in Star Wars

An alien in the Empire?

I'd been planning on writing a post about ethnicity and Xenophobia in Star Wars for a while, but recent news made this a higher priority for me. In particular, ForceCast Episode #276 had an interesting discussion of xenophobia in the Empire. The discussion was sparked by the picture on the right, which shows an Imperial Inquisitor from the upcoming Star Wars: Rebels animated series.

What's wrong with this photo? Well, the Inquisitor is an alien, a Pau'an to be precise. However, the Empire as depicted in the Original Trilogy clearly had strains of xenophobia. Imperial ships were only staffed with human crews. White, male humans. Hearkening back to my posts on Images of Power, the Empire was clearly not a friendly place for aliens.

Science Fiction and Politics Podcast

I recently came across a podcast that should really appeal to any Poli-Sci Jedi. Courtney Brown, Professor of Political Science at Emory University, has posted lectures from his Science Fiction and Politics class on iTunes. The podcast focuses on science fiction literature, not movies, so unfortunately Star Wars is not represented on the curriculum. Nevertheless, the lectures include classics such as Ender's Game and Foundation.

Definitely worth checking out if you want to see what political scientists get out of science fiction. This is the type of class I'd love to teach one day. Of course, I would include Star Wars, as well as Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica.

BOOK REVIEW: Star Wars Heresies

In addition to Star Wars, I am also a fan of The Lord of the Rings and have been impressed with the high-quality academic discussion of the themes and imagery in Tolkien's legendarium available through The Tolkien Professor podcast and the Mythgard Institute. Part of the reason I created Poli-Sci Jedi was because I felt that the Star Wars saga deserves that same level of critical attention. With a few exceptions (including Star Wars and History), there's a remarkable dearth of literary criticism of the movies.

Anakin as baby Jesus? (Star Wars Heresies)

Paul F. McDonald, librarian and consummate Star Wars fan, took matters into his own hands with his new book, The Star Wars Heresies. The book's mission is to expose the deeper mythological themes embedded within the Prequel Trilogy.

There are of course other books about Star Wars and philosophy (e.g., Star Wars and Philosophy: More Powerful than You Can Possibly Imagine) and myth (e.g., Star Wars: The Magic of Myth), but The Star Wars Heresies still brings enough new material to the table to make it feel fresh. First, The Star Wars Heresies focuses only on the Prequels. Mentions are made to the Original Trilogy, Clone Wars, and Expended Universe - particularly the recent Darth Plagueis novel - but only to the extent they illustrate a particular point. Given that the Prequels are regarded by some as the black sheep in the Star Wars family, it's easy for authors to zero in on the Original Trilogy, especially the ever-quotable Yoda. Fortunately, by excluding its more popular cousin, McDonald is able to engage in a much closer analysis of the Prequel story.

Second, many other works only point out parallels to Joseph Campbell's "hero's journey" or Buddhism, but McDonald goes beyond those sources. He draws upon impressive range of real-world mythological and religious traditions, including obscure Chinese legends and linguistic translations of the names of key characters (it turns out Qui-Gon Jinn's name foreshadows his role at the end of Revenge of the Sith). The Star Wars Heresies can't be categorized quite so cleanly as about philosophy, religion, mythology, or politics because it draws upon all of these fields.

BOOK REVIEW: Star Wars: Razor's Edge

I've had the privilege of receiving advance reading copies of several upcoming Star Wars novels and permission to share my thoughts with readers. I will be posting exclusive reviews on Poli-Sci Jedi. Feel free to share, but if you do so please cite Poli-Sci Jedi as the source.

This review is about Star Wars: Razor's Edge (Empire and Rebellion), due to be released on September 24. The book has been marketed as an adventure starring Leia, our favorite Star Wars politician. Enjoy!

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BOOK REVIEW: Star Wars: Kenobi (repost)

Apologies for the dearth of posts, political science here on Earth is taking more of my time recently. I did want to post a reminder that Star Wars: Kenobi officially comes out this Tuesday, August 27. While I read it a few weeks ago, I definitely plan on picking up the audiobook. In the meantime, I thought I'd repost my original review. Enjoy!

P.S. - Razor's Edge review is coming soon...

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Ever wonder what would happen if George Lucas and Joss Whedon combined forces to make a Star Wars—Firefly crossover?

Apparently, John Jackson Miller (JJM) did because Star Wars: Kenobi is a bona fide Star Wars Western novel. Del Rey Publishing has been taking the Star Wars franchise into new genres in recent years, from horror (Red Harvest) to detective stories (Shadow Games). Kenobi is probably one of the better results of this effort. It certainly reads unlike any other Star Wars book in recent memory. So, does it live up to the hype? Will this transform our image of Obi-Wan Kenobi the way Plagueis transformed our image of Sidious? Find out below:

Tell or Show?

io9 has an article claiming that A New Hope engages in better world-building than The Phantom Menace. While it does get into some of the usual Prequel-bashing, it does raise a serious question. In the Original Trilogy, we never saw the halls of political power on-camera. They were always off-camera and related by third parties, such as when Tarkin infamously tells the Death Star Committee* that the Emperor had disbanded the Senate. By contrast, with the Prequels, we see the Galactic Senate and we see major events transpire in the Senate, such as when Palpatine introduces the New Order.

Typically, English professors will generally advise that artists and authors should "show, not tell" important events. However, many Star Wars fans feel that the Senate scenes are amongst the weakest in the Prequels. So what's wrong with showing in this case?

BOOK REVIEW: Star Wars: Crucible

I've had the privilege of receiving advance reading copies of several upcoming Star Wars novels and permission to share my thoughts with readers. Over the next few weeks, I will be posting exclusive reviews on Poli-Sci Jedi. Feel free to share, but if you do so please cite Poli-Sci Jedi as the source.

This first review is about Star Wars Crucible, due to be released on July 9. Enjoy!

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Crucible is a hard book for me to rate. I’m not the biggest fan of Troy Denning’s Star Wars books. There’s a lot to this book that I didn’t like. However, there is an excellent payoff at the end so I definitely recommend reading it. I will try to keep this review spoiler-free, but with the recognition that I can’t properly explain exactly what I liked about the book without at least mentioning the ending.

BOOK REVIEW: Star Wars: Kenobi

I've had the privilege of receiving advance reading copies of several upcoming Star Wars novels and permission to share my thoughts with readers. Over the next few weeks, I will be posting exclusive reviews on Poli-Sci Jedi. Feel free to share, but if you do so please cite Poli-Sci Jedi as the source.

This first review is about Star Wars: Kenobi, due to be released on August 27. I promise that at least one upcoming review will focus on a very important Star Wars politician. Enjoy!

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Ever wonder what would happen if George Lucas and Joss Whedon combined forces to make a Star Wars—Firefly crossover?

Apparently, John Jackson Miller (JJM) did because Star Wars: Kenobi is a bona fide Star Wars Western novel. Del Rey Publishing has been taking the Star Wars franchise into new genres in recent years, from horror (Red Harvest) to detective stories (Shadow Games). Kenobi is probably one of the better results of this effort. It certainly reads unlike any other Star Wars book in recent memory. So, does it live up to the hype? Will this transform our image of Obi-Wan Kenobi the way Plagueis transformed our image of Sidious? Find out below:

Attachment is not so much forbidden

Don't do it, Ani, marriage is evil!

George Lucas has removed himself from the ranks of the Jedi bachelorhood. As we all know, Jedi are forbidden from attachments. Attachments lead to things like fear, anger, hate, and suffering. And Darth Vader.

Fortunately, when George Lucas got married to Mellody Hobson this past weekend, he looked like anyone but Vader. Frankly, he looked happier than he has in a long time. And that calls for congratulations!

(for those of you interested in the wedding gossip and photos, check out this Huffington Post article)

So, George Lucas' recent marriage made me wonder if or to what extent The Maker's personal life influenced his art. Some speculate that George Lucas' divorce from Marcia Lucas made him pessimistic about love and marriage, even to the point that love and marriage were the driving force behind Anakin's downfall. We do know that the divorce was a traumatic experience for him and it's not hard to imagine that George Lucas the artist drew upon the pain he felt in real life to breath more life into his characters. 

Star Wars Rebels - a new hope for politics in Star Wars?

Will we be seeing more of this guy?

OK, I'm late to the party on this one, but as you've probably heard Disney and Lucasfilm have announced a new animated Star Wars series called Rebels, based in the years before Episode IV. For fans craving their Star Wars fix, this could be a godsend. However, the series also has the potential to do some interesting things with the Rebellion as well.

The Prequels were notably for introducing moral ambiguity into Star Wars politics. We saw the Old Republic as a rotted political system riddled with corruption and unable to keep the peace. To paraphrase Padmé, many applauded the death of democracy.

Where will Poli-Sci Jedi go from here?

Poli-Sci Jedi is going to go on vacation for a few weeks as final papers start rolling in. However, I have some big ideas for content over the summer. In the meantime, if you have any thoughts on potential projects, let me know in the comments section.

Executive Order 9066

As I was grading papers, I came across a reference to Executive Order 9066 regarding the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. Then I remembered that Michael Kaminski's Secret History of Star Wars speculated that this might be the origin of Lucas' "Order 66." It certainly seems plausible - or at least more plausible than my theory about Order 66 originating in the massacre of Indonesian communists.

Images of Power Part III: Radical or Conservative Imagery?

Is Anakin Skywalker evil?

Our "Images of Power" mini-series uses Professor Jeffrey A. Hart's "Images of Power in Hollywood Films: The Example of Star Wars" conference paper as a springboard for discussion about the imagery of power in the Star Wars movies. Hart identifies several strains of power-based imagery throughout the Star Wars saga, most of which focus on the conflict between good versus evil. Today, we conclude with: Part III: Radical or Conservative Imagery?

Images of Power Part II: Cold War/GWOT

That's no Death Star, it's a Cold War allegory

Our "Images of Power" mini-series uses Professor Jeffrey A. Hart's "Images of Power in Hollywood Films: The Example of Star Wars" conference paper as a springboard for discussion about the imagery of power in the Star Wars movies. Hart identifies several strains of power-based imagery throughout the Star Wars saga, most of which focus on the conflict between good versus evil. Today, we continue with: Part II: The Cold War/Global War on Terrorism.

Sci-Fi and Kickstarter

Veronica Mars can do it, can't Clone Wars?

Given the surprising success a few days ago of using Kickstarter to fund a new Veronica Mars movie to the tune of $10 million, some sci-fi fans have thought about starting Kickstarter campaigns for canceled shows like Firefly and now The Clone Wars. In an interview, Joss Whedon explains why Kickstarter might not be sufficient for big-budget sci-fi films and shows.

However, Kickstarter does raise another interesting question - one relevant for this blog. Could Kickstarter be used to make filmmakers financially and politically independent of Hollywood? As I discuss in my "Images of Power" series, Hollywood is often remarkably conservative when dealing with political stories (conservative in the traditional sense rather than meaning Republican).

The Prequel Trilogy was notable in that it seemed critical of democracy and presented a morally ambiguous political atmosphere. But most major movies refuse to venture far outside the boundaries of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and West Wing - the idealistic to the cynical. In fact, one of the most prevalent criticisms of modern Hollywood is that it too often attempts to appeal to the least common denominator.

As Whedon said, Kickstarter probably won't be sufficient to fund big-budget sci-fi films anytime soon (although Veronica Mars' $2.5 million in 24 hours is not insignificant). However, for smaller, independent films, Kickstarter might help give filmmakers more creative freedom. There would might fewer concerns about offending the political sensibilities of portions of the audience.

What would that mean in practice? Who knows, but I'd enjoy finding out.