There wasn’t much more (screencap with deleted tweet restored)–he ends it by saying he was “being ironic” (???). There’s some nice sources for what George Lucas was thinking as he wrote the script to refute the idea that he came up with that interpretation later, though (images of text–will provide transcripts).
First image (handwritten draft notes from George Lucas predating the filming of Star Wars)
Second thoughts about Plot
1. Utapau Wasteland - Starkiller (Mifune)—a cross between Yojimbo and Seven Samurai
[…]
The Empire is like America ten years from now; after Nixonian gangsters assassinated the Emperor and were elected to power in a rigged election; created civil disorder by instigating race riots, aiding rebel groups, and allowing the crime rate to rise to the point where a “total control” police state was welcomed by the people. Then the people were exploited with high taxes, utility and transport costs.
Gangsters[:] a cartel made up of power companies, transport companies, & crime organizations. Other companies had to pay bribes to stay in business.
They increased the crime rate by slowing down the system of justice and punishment.
Second image (excerpt from The Making of Star Wars, which is also the source of the first image)
In enlarging the treatment to what became a nearly two-hundred-page rough draft, Lucas was continually aided by the transference of his Apocalypse Now ideas to the fantasy realm. Some of his notes scribbled on yellow legal pads are: “Theme: Aquilae is a small independent country like North Vietnam threatened by a neighbor or provincial rebellion, instigated by gangsters aided by empire. Fight to get rightful planet back. Half of system has been lost to gangsters … The empire is like America ten years from now, after gangsters assassinated the Emperor and were elevated to power in a rigged election … We are at a turning point: fascism or revolution.”
edit: in hindsight I should have picked a Twitter handle that doesn’t exist for the deleted tweet, but it seems to be a long abandoned account anyway so oh well
The original premise for the empire was literally “what if fascism, but it started in the US with Richard Nixon?”
Ewokes
Trying to take my throne eh?
I have so many epic Kellyisms I am just waiting for an opportunity to post lol.
Ukraine and Israel flag guy doesn’t understand a Vietnam allegory?
Edit: just realized that he’d be like ”The rebels are Ukraine, Zelensky is Luke and Putler is Darth Vader!”
Mark Hamill even recorded air raid alerts for a Ukrainian app so it must be true!
Imagine being trapped in a building being used as a human shield by Azov, and the last thing you hear is Mark Hamill telling you the “force will be with you” as the building is bombed.
He could’ve at least done his joker voice for it or something.
He also did a Zoom call or something with Ukrainian soldiers, and some of them had a Banderite flag in the background.
Plus this shirt, which Zelensky was once pictured wearing. Are we the baddies?
Media literacy is dead. Dead dead dead.
