tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5917430.post113227156997514780..comments2023-10-31T13:15:07.875+00:00Comments on Subversive Puppet Show: Reading Too Much Into It Part ThreeJasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891504714516423410noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5917430.post-1132453034779613182005-11-20T02:17:00.000+00:002005-11-20T02:17:00.000+00:00okay, so maybe the WTO is more apt here? The diff...okay, so maybe the WTO is more apt here? The difference is that the Republic eventually did intercede (if inadequately) whereas our government does everything it can to support the meetings of the WTO. <BR/><BR/>And I don't think that one can "read too much into it." Whether or not one wants to argue that Lucas put political statements in the first trilogy, they are still obviously a product of the anxeities of the late 90s early 2000s, just as the second trilogy is more in line with the end of the Vietnam War. Surely, both moments of history were going through Lucas's mind.Roger Whitsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09728434263500252895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5917430.post-1132370621770990672005-11-19T03:23:00.000+00:002005-11-19T03:23:00.000+00:00What always bothered me about Episodes I-III is th...What always bothered me about Episodes I-III is that they didn't show the Jedi as an substantial power. If there were truly once "thousands" of Jedi, there was no sign of it here. By Episode I, they appeared to be in decline or so badly spread out that the Republic's police force was incapable of maintaining any sort of order other than that of the most macro levels. (Hence, the deathstick offer to Obi-Wan.)<BR/><BR/>However, before you read too much into it, the story is horribly contrived and although we'd like to believe the political savy of Palpatine was a well-thought out process, it was really just Lucas throwing out situations that fit his eventual theme.<BR/><BR/>I would point out that you should check out the extra scenes on the DVD, as there is a pretty decent scene between Amidala, Bail Organa, Mon Mothma (yes, she WAS a young hottie) and a couple of others as they began to sow the seeds of Rebellion.Mkaehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07316439507778349243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5917430.post-1132359674549817532005-11-19T00:21:00.000+00:002005-11-19T00:21:00.000+00:00See, I see the Republic more as being related to a...See, I see the Republic more as being related to a very Libertarian society. In fact, its completely unregulated market is the product of a Libertarian dream - and the exploitation and monopolization that implies. And I really wouldn't call the neo-Liberal agenda the same thing - because the Trade Federation, unlike NAFTA, isn't a product <I>of</I> the government, it exists as a seperate entity (that exerts control over the government!) NAFTA was created as a way to influence a capitalist system, and the Republic, if anything, would approach it in a much more hands-off method (a Libertarian method).<BR/><BR/>It would be interesting to compare the Rebellion in Ep 4-6 to the "rebellion" in Heinlein's "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress," as the later is often portrayed as a pro-Libertarian revolution.Jasonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01891504714516423410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5917430.post-1132348948174489902005-11-18T21:22:00.000+00:002005-11-18T21:22:00.000+00:00I think we might be able to make an analogy here.....I think we might be able to make an analogy here...<BR/><BR/>The Republic is to neo-liberalism as the Galactic Empire is to neo-conservativism. So, the very existence of the Trade Federation is somewhat akin to NAFTA. Free trade looks good, but it leads to excesses that the UN can do little to correct. The Empire, on the other hand, gains power out of the fear of the Clone Wars--Palpatine can justify anything (even the eventual dissolution of the Senate) over the right to defend the Empire. The Republic may not be any better than the Empire, but this is only in the sense that neo-liberalism is no better than neo-conservativism. The problems of neo-liberalism come out of a belief in free market capitalism that cannot sustain itself, just as the problems of the Republic came out of its own prosperity--Jedi's became arrogant, the Republic cannot defend Naboo without going to committee. But the problems of neo-conservativism come out of a constant need to assert sovereignty and power--the destruction of the Jedi, the annihilation of Alderaan. So, yeah, I'd agree that in praxis the Empire is no better than the Republic. But, then again, I would always vote for neoliberalism before neoconservativism.Roger Whitsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09728434263500252895noreply@blogger.com