"The Politics of Star Wars" Topic

I found this discussion of the politics of Star Wars to be deliciously geeky. The pundit speaking with a slight lisp greatly adds to the nerdiness.

YouTube link

To be fair, the same podcasts discussion of Star Trek was very good. I think by 'second best' sci-fi media franchise they mean in terms of money made.

YouTube link

Back to Star Wars, I don't mean in any way to open the can of worms that a real political discussion of the newest movie would elicit. Just wanted to share some nerdiness.

George Lucas is still a hippy. That says all there needs to be said about politics.

Example. In the first movie, Luke comments "Well of course I hate the Empire."
But then he's disappointed that he can't go to the Academy.

To be fair, it's not ever made clear in the film what or where "The Academy" is, or what it teaches, or what its graduates become, or with what (if any) government or organizational entity "The Academy" is connected. "Imperial Naval Academy" is just a presumption that everyone tacked on later, but that identity is never stated or implied by any of the films. In fact, the casual ease with which Uncle Owen seems to accept the eventuality of Luke's attendance there implies that it is not military in nature, given Owen's obvious dislike for military careers and his desire to shield his nephew from the world and life that Daddy Skywalker pursued.
I realize the EU may have established the Academy as an Imperial institution, but now with Ep. VII the EU is out the window (a good thing, IMHO, as much of it was tripe).
So "The Academy" may have been a more generalized university setting covering a variety of areas of knowledge and skills, or a general academy for the lucrative field of starship piloting and interstellar navigation and engineering, which the Empire and the Rebellion both treat as a source of recruits (or in the case of the Empire, conscripts), though the primary direction of the graduates tend towards private commercial shipping and transportation services and related industries like starship manufacturing, droid manufacturing, space mining, and the like. The movies do imply that private, independent starship and space resource operations are common, though gradually being swallowed up by governmental fiat (the fate of Bespin in ESB).

"To be fair, it's not ever made clear in the film what or where "The Academy" is, or what it teaches, or what its graduates become…"

"The Academy" obviously refers to Star Fleet Academy. Those that are rejected or wash out are destined to serve in the Star Wars franchise. Those that successfully matriculate move up to the Star Trek franchise. It is sort of like Quittich. You either play for the Quittich World Cup or play on a AA farm team.

Ha ha zoc!
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Tim

I think ZOC has the concept, but not sure he has the order correct. My .02 is that the leads and in many cases, the mooks of SW would wipe the decks with ST characters. I mean, really. One would surmise that Vader was a graduate, and Luke would have been, if he ever went. Either one of them against who? Kirk? Picard? Sulu? Never mind the away team mooks in the wrong color jerseys whose only purpose is to become casualties. Phasors are of little use to someone who can bat the shots away.

The Empire also has proper landing parties with assault ships, massive armies, huge walking tanks etc. In ST they just beam down the bridge crew.

And as noted, phasers aren't much use against Force Deflection. Perhaps Kirk could try kissing Vader instead.

The Empire which had so much trouble with Ewoks would be utterly annihilated by Tribbles though. All those places to breed!

At the Academy, then, you learn not to build your primary military device around a single focal point that can destroy the entire thing with one shot.
Force block that.

Well, you should learn that.
Unfortunately the ship design architects don't go to the Academy.

In the KOTOR universe (that's now none canon thanks to Disney )

There is a sith academic, it's just like the police academy, but less jokes and more kill your way to the top.

But that was back when you had more then two sith at a time.

"But that was back when you had more then two sith at a time."

"…two sith…" – Would that make them sithies?

Just what is the plural of "sith"? Seeth? Gaggle of sith?

Inquiring minds want to know.

'Washouts of the Star Fleet Acadmey'? Given that the officers of Star Fleet are mostly incompetent…! Star Fleet only ever had one good Captain, and he was French.

Last Hussar what's your opinion on James T. Kirk?

I dont know about the politics of Star Wars, but when you stop and think about it, some of the names in the movies are really bad. "Bib Fortuna" conjures images of a glorified doily, and "Kit Fisto" sounds like a really kinky S&M technique.

Gideon – He wasn't French…