#I will explode if we don't talk about it

[former-ly-darth]

Vietnam and Star Wars

Okay, y’all, I’m not going to write an entire essay just yet, but I don’t think we talk enough about the Vietnam war and how strongly Star Wars was influenced by that conflict. I’m sorry for the following incoherent ramblings...

I would like to organize my thoughts about this, but I think there is so much to be discussed about this. I am currently taking an American Literature course focused entirely on the Vietnam war. Plenty of scholars out there have already written about the connection of Star Wars and real world conflicts. We all know the Empire and The First Order are based heavily upon Nazi Germany. The term “stormtrooper” is a literal translation of the original Nazi militia that helped bring Hitler to power. The uniforms, the helmets, and so much more in the movies and shows allude to real world militaries in order to help viewers identify the “good guys” from the “bad guys”. Of course, if you put photos of the Rebels and the Resistance fighters next to real US military pilots and soldiers, the similarities in uniform are pretty obvious. But I really think we need to look at Vietnam and The Clone Wars in particular.

I’m sure most American and some non-American will recognize this kind of monument. Coming from an American who is entirely unfamiliar with different War Monuments throughout the world, this particular scene seemed to specifically call upon the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C. That seems pretty obvious, but I would like to look much deeper into this.  George Lucas began writing the scripts for Star Wars during the Vietnam War, and although in the beginning of the war there was plenty of public support for American troops to be sent in to Vietnam, by the time George Lucas began writing Star Wars, the G.I movement and Kent State protests would have already been in full swing.

(I don’t know how many of you guys knew this but George Lucas is actually 79 years old and would have been the prime age to be drafted to fight in Vietnam. A few sources I am finding say that he was exempted because of diabetes.)

My point is, at the time that George Lucas wrote Star Wars, the United States was in turmoil (The Civil Rights Movement was also stirring up a lot of unrest amongst the general public). I want to go further into this later, but while the original trilogy echoes themes found in World War II, the Prequels have so much to do with the Vietnam war, especially when looking at Order 66 and how the lore has been expanded upon with shows like The Clone Wars and The Bad Batch.

Vietnam was the first war that the United States lost. Ever. (I’m talking international wars here) And that loss absolutely shattered the perception that the general public held of the country. We were undefeated. We were untouchable. We thought we were hot shit. By all calculations, the United States should have won the Vietnam war, so when a small nation such as Vietnam managed to overthrow one of the most powerful nations on the planet, the US and it’s citizens were shaken to the core. That was a lot more history than I wanted it to be. I was meaning to talk more about the fact that the prequels and the use of Palpatine, the Empire, the Republic, the Clones, and the ambiguity of it all so strongly mirrors a lot of the nuances of the Vietnam war. American soldiers fighting in Vietnam were becoming increasingly aware that they were not in Vietnam to defend freedom, but to dominate. American soldiers were unwelcome in Vietnam, and when they returned home, they found that the general population wanted nothing to do with anyone who had served in the war. I look at that and I see so many similarities between the movies, shows, and real life..... I said this wasn’t going to be an essay, but oh my god I just feel like there is so much we need to talk about!!!

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Hey now, Let her cook!

[happyk44]

Jason who immediately loses respect for people who don't own up to their mistakes vs Annabeth who would rather die than admit she made a mistake

[juniperleafdelivery]

[uncanny-tranny]

Begging people to stop seeing skills like compassion, care, kindness, empathy, patience, and whatever else less as inborn identities, but rather as skills. Essentializing "goodness" to the degree that you identify as kind rather than doing kind is going to destroy your self-image, but also what you think is kind.

[mamawasatesttube]

i do think that despite being the squad's designated nerds, kon and bart struggle to watch lotr together because kon physically CANNOT stop infodumping through any of the movies (and of course they have to watch the extended editions only), but bart's like. you want me to sit in one place and watch one screen for 12 fucking hours. and on top of that you WON'T SHUT UP the ENTIRE TIME? i already can't focus on movies and you TALK THROUGH THE WHOLE THING? im going to fucking bite you--

[charizardstolemynickname]

Jimmy Solidarity just gave me a heartattack by mentioning tumblr

Please sir, never again, pretend we aren't here

[pushing500]

Mechanitor²...?

Imagine calling for help from that hermit guy who lives in the desert and scratches "don't talk to me" into every surface he owns if he hasn't had his coffee that day. Chief Natoxsa is kinda stupid ngl

The man does nothing but study. What a nerd <3

Ms Clarabelle, meet your new roommate. It's called Kitschy Flamingo because that's what it looks like. Be nice to each other!

Nothing like enjoying solitude on your porch with a hot cup of coffee. Life is good...

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[kaidanalenkosprmanager]

THE BEST OF PRIORITY: THE CITADEL (PART 2)

Featuring: Cmdr. Sophie Shepard, Lt. James Vega, EDI, and Maj. Kaidan Alenko With: Councilor Donnel Udina, Councilor Tevos, Councilor Laiel Sparatus, Cmdr. Armando-Owen Bailey, and Kai Leng And a Special Guest Appearance by: The Illusive Man But sometimes the way a thing goes down does matter, Sophie. Later- when you have to live with yourself. Knowing that you acted with integrity- then it matters. Mass Effect 3: Legendary Edition (2021)

[theophagie]

> opens bnha tag

> "Even when Nana was wrong for having a family and a son when she knew AFO would target them..."

> closes bnha tag

[isfjmel-phleg]

🌋

[transkholins]

i did my time in the jedi order discourse mines back in 2020/2021 so that i could get critical of the old republic in a fic i'm probably going to be too embarrassed to post. and not in a "check out this one guy's atrociously bad day" skywalker pathos way. in an "explicitly making a continuity between neolib democracy and fascism (ostensibly something lucas was attempting to do)" way and an "academia helps to construct narratives that justify the status quo" way. but oh well. see above mention of being "too embarrassed to post" it.

[keeps-ache]

goin to the library, library time woohoo !!

[nexus-nebulae]

it's so dumb that we still feel awkward about creating willogenic headmates in our sys when we literally found out we were plural through the tulpa community

[everymlmhybrid]

this part genuinely makes me feel like eating dry wall like i can't explain how i feel about it without making some of you finally tire of me and block me about it i think

[sysig]

If your eye causes you to [fear], pluck it out (P1 | P2 | P3 | B) (Patreon)