Reevaulating Star Wars
It's now 40 years this year since the release of the first Star Wars movie in 1977. As a child for me it was a completely immersive experience as my grandmother held my hand as evil Darth Vader built up his Death Star Empire. Hello to @lordvader if your reading this.
In the latest movie trailer for Episode 8 we now see Luke Skywalker discussing how the Jedi Order must end - old age has now made him gnarled and very wise.
But in the original 1977 original we could all sense the distinctive good and evil divides. I believe that this was an analogy of the Cold War: The US vs. The Soviets. Luke can be seen as the leader of the West taking on the evils of Communism behind the Iron Curtain. Luke believes the Jedi Order is the lighter side of life and that if he does his job, the system will look after him.
A different force
Fast forward to 2017, and America is a changed place. Globalisation has gutted the middle class of America, and there have been some questionable choices made by the America government (The Jedi Order). Luke now sees the system has failed him and the Jedi Order is out of control. There is no one to stop them. This is plainly an analogy to America's rapacious exercises in Iraq, Iran and Syria.
At the end of the day, Luke believes its best we have no heroes, rather than have heroes who create universal mayhem for others elsewhere in the universe. May the force be with you ... exclusions apply!
P.S. The trailer for the new Episode 8 can be seen below:
