The liberal evil of George Lucas

(Or, how I saw Revenge of the Sith over the weekend).

Tongue-in-cheek alert! Sound the sarcasm alarm!

There has been a minor disturbance in the Force, as many have asserted that George Lucas has allowed his political bias to seep into his storytelling. The most repeated example being the confrontation between Obi-wan and Anakin in the movie's finale:

"If you are not with me, then you're my enemy," says a dour Anakin Skywalker.

"Only a Sith deals in absolutes!," replies the noble General Kenobi.

"Oh, what a bad man you are Georgie!" Well, not so fast! I would offer some examples in rebuttal that would perhaps point to liberal ideology as the great Galactic evil! (Not intentional, but some of this reveals plot points that some may not want to know; though why I'm not sure since, by virtue of Episodes IV-VI, we already know how this one ends! Anyway, be warned!)

When Chancellor Palpatine reveals his nature as Sith Lord to his Jedi council representative Anakin, he makes the point that, "Good is a point of view." In the same conversation, Darth Sidious tells his confused and conflicted protege' that if he is to understand the true nature of the Force he must embrace a wider understanding than that which the Jedi offer him.

Fast forward again to the final duel between former Master and Apprentice and you hear Kenobi deal in an absolute of his own: "Palpatine is evil!" The Apprentice's reply? An echo of his new Master's words--"From my point-of-view, the Jedi are evil!"

Sound like inflexible, dogmatic neo-conservatism to you? Actually, sounds a lot like what I hear self-described members of the left spouting all the time. At the end of the day, Anakin succumbs to the Dark Side because he is too willing to follow his own heart and will rather than do what he knows is right! Behavior that is neo-liberalist relativism at it's finest!

On a serious note, the Palpatine-Anakin dynamic is, by far, the best thing about the picture. Ian McDiarmid gives the best performance of the film as he woos the young Skywalker to the Dark Side. Which gets to a larger point.

The acting here is better than it's two predecessor's, by far (you want to care about Obi-wan's pain at seeing his young friend's transformation and betrayal). There is passion and emotion for the first time in the prequels; the characters actually have something to do and reasons to care about it, as opposed to the uninspired meanderings we get in Episode I & II.

By far the best of the prequels, it is well described as more in-line with the Star Wars ethos we know and love from the original trilogy. As a self-admitted Star Wars junkie, I was going to see this regardless. Just as I was compelled to see Episodes I and II: it's Star Wars dammit!

As such, it is by definition good. Though good, as we all know, is a point of view.