Tel-Aviv University

The Yolanda and David Katz Faculty of the Arts

The Interdisciplinary Program in the Arts (Graduate Program): Film & Television Track

Human History According To George Lucas Models of Fascism in Star Wars’ Prequels

This thesis is submitted for an M.A. Degree

© Amir BogenBy

The thesis was supervised by Dr Boaz Hagin

July 2011

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An abstract: Human History According to Lucas

My objective in writing this thesis was to examine the socio-political and historical

aspects of the work of George Lucas, which represents a stream of science fiction

somewhat different from that of the past seventy years – primarily as expressed in the

cinema. The futuristic environment he created notwithstanding, Lucas endeavored to re-

examine the past and to warn us of the likelihood that horrific historical events, such as

the rise of fascism in 1930s Europe and the world war that followed, could be repeated in

our present or future. It is precisely his and our awareness (opposed to ignorance) of the

sociological, economical and political models formulated in an effort to analyze and

understand the events that transpired, that lead to anxiety of their possible recurrence at

another time and in another place.

Lucas created a detailed, varied, rich and ingenious world in his films that became

a popular storyline, usually described as an adventurous and mythological, rather than a

critical text. Narrative elements overshadow the embedded social criticism – even in the

politically saturated prequels, but reading it only in this way can cause one to completely

miss the real content, which is crammed with insights into history.

Looking at Lucas through the Star Wars series, I believe that we see in the

“prequels” a Lucas who acquired means and self-assurance as a movie maker, and veered

off in a different direction in this later trilogy, incorporating large chunks of social

criticism – not only in the Star Wars diegesis that he created, but also through the

ongoing and significant correspondence with the annals of humanity. By constantly

referring to “realistic” history, Lucas develops a model for the rise of a dictator from the

midst of a democratic society through the prequels. Notwithstanding the futuristic

environment in which the films takes place, we see that the possibility of what happened

in the past with its horrific historical situations like World War II could well recur in the

present or in the future, based on the model that emerged within several seemingly liberal

societies.

I argue that Lucas, like many other creators of science fiction, took the

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opportunity to reenact events or trends in the fantasy playground in order to disengage

from the details, as seen in other films from various genres that deal with the rise of

fascism, remaining faithful to the historical space-time and striving to validate the

historical veracity of the story. They focused on the particular: the very facts, persons,

leaders and symbols that “really were” – which on the face of it seem less pertinent to the

films of Lucas.

In the course of developing this thesis, I wanted to explain how the initial

development of historical situations in the fantasy space-time led to distancing from

specific national links, thus distilling the debate of typical human behavioral models. In

this way typical occurrences tending to recur throughout history and create dictatorships

and democracies, wars, revolts, political subterfuges, and other major events were

exposed. I illustrated this by spotlighting various aspects of Lucas’ cinematic work which

took place in the futuristic universe that he himself created, aspects that relate

concurrently to socio-political manifestations of human history. Even though the films

deal with familiar historical situations, they intimate underlying abstract ideas along with

the typicality of the events that motivated them, while films aiming at the same well-

known situation would focus on concrete aspects, images, arenas and familiar events.

Sixteen years after completing his Star Wars trilogy, George Lucas returned to the

complex perfect world that he created with the Phantom Menace – the first film of the

prequel trilogy. As such, the prequels constitute a reliable historical document within the

Star Wars diegesis, accompanying, step by step, a socio-political dialogue that ultimately

led to a dramatic upheaval of the ruling structure of the galaxy – transmuting it from a

stable liberal democracy into a harsh and cruel dictatorship, which we had accepted as a

given in the original trilogy. Nonetheless, even though the Star Wars series as a whole is

a science fiction fantasy presenting us with a complete yet unrealistic world created

entirely by the fertile imagination of George Lucas the creator (along with the unusual

creatures populating its planets and the heroes among them), they are heavy with strata

critical of our own world. The link between the Star Wars series and this world is

reinforced in the prequels that describe the political change taking place in the galaxy

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through correspondence with human history and events of the past that recur over the

years – events that can produce a tyrant from a democratic system who turned it into a

dictatorship. We may then view the Star World series and particularly the prequels, not

only as an historical survey relevant to the imaginary universe of Lucas, but also as

relevant to the socio-political history of mankind.

But may we view the Star Wars series as a text containing valuable content for the

study of history? This surprising query emerges from the discussion on the importance of

cinema as a historiophoty tool. Hayden White out-and-out rejects the argument that

traditional historiography is more reliable and more faithful to the truth than

historiophoty, although both deal with narrative processing of past events. What White

believes is that while historiographers lean toward concretization, cinema leans toward

typicality, and thus “factual” details are less important to cinema makers, who are able to

describe events of the past from an inclusive and abstract angle. Thus it is also in the Star

Wars series, which relates to the historical process not for the purpose of revealing

particular details, but rather for the purpose of describing their function through an

abstract model.

David Davies and Darko Suvin proposed that science fiction is a store of abstract

models removed from their familiar historical context. Davies believed that thought

experiments in films – particularly of the science fiction genre – facilitated various

scenarios in science fiction which enabled evaluation of their implications. Suvin

presented “cognitive estrangement” as an essential process through which it is possible to

disconnect the idea from its concrete links, and use it to create an abstract model that can

be incorporated and expanded, as well as to reflect reality, thereby presenting it in a

different, novel and critical light. “Cognitive estrangement” is also a process that

concurrently disconnects and reconnects the particular and the abstract. To reinforce that

link, I thoroughly reviewed the narrative elements contained in the prequels which anchor

the films to their historical context and suggest how they relate to the rise of the Third

Reich in Germany of the 1930s. Adopting the esthetics of Leni Riefenstahl as a dominant

stylistic element reinforces the link between Star Wars films and Nazi Germany, both

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before and after Hitler’s rise to power.

While historical implications may be looked upon as a pastiche, an inane nostalgic

motif – as the thinkers Frederic Jameson and Dan Rubey argued in their response to the

first film of the Star Wars series: Star Wars: New Hope, the following two films and in

particular the prequels, nonetheless load the entire saga with meta-historical, even critical

context, striving to testify to socio-political manifestations as expressed in human history

over the years. Lucas was “accused” of being a reactionary pining for America of the

1950s in his film American Graffiti, but in the prequels he takes advantage of the

opportunity presented by the genre to follow the saga of the Galactic Empire from an all

inclusive and critical point of view. He carries out an historical inquiry into the past of the

world that he created, not for the sake of nostalgia and not out of his reactionary

tendencies (if he indeed had such), but rather in order to focus on the socio-political

events that brought about the fall of the Republic and the establishment of a totalitarian

Empire in its stead. The critical acts in the prequels, endowed with a sort of historical

documentation aura, are a departure from the mythological pathway of the first trilogy

according to Anne Lancashire and to the director himself. Using this vehicle, he

enumerates the ills of the Galactic Republic and its conduct as a seemingly harmonious

democratic system. The Republic, presented in the first trilogy as a utopia, is revealed in

the prequels as a system burdened with failures and faults, and not the object of the

nostalgic longing of the rebels of the first trilogy, nor the object of Lucas’ apparently

nostalgic yearning.

As historical films, prequels have to be classified within historical research as part

of the generic fascism school, since they do not seek out factual or other particulars

regarding leaders, places and dates, but rather attempt to formulate a typical model which

can be implemented within the fantasy of Star Wars. The Galactic Empire parallels

models formulated by researchers of generic fascism with its collection of characteristics,

both on ideological and practical levels as identified in fascist regimes of the first half of

the 20th century. All this with the aim of identifying the common elements of all fascist

regimes: those of the past and those yet to come. Such elements are applicable in the

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socio-political world of Star Wars according to the models formulated by Stanley Payne

and Michael Mann.

Payne, Mann, Roger Griffin and other members of the generic fascism school

focus their research on the regimes of Hitler, Mussolini, Franco, Salazar, and others

whom they identified as fascists during that period. They were also bound by reasonable

scientific practices to do so by virtue of being researchers. Such commitment, however,

was not required of Lucas in creating the prequels. Without dating and a clear location,

“A long time ago, in a galaxy far away,” is not a scientifically accepted factual detail.

They describe a phenomenon that could be ascribed to those dark European regimes of

the 20th century, but also to the democratic regimes of our time, including the seemingly

liberal United States. In this manner, the prequels present to us this phenomenon as

timeless.

Lucas proposes in his films the possibility that, similar to what occurred in the

past, American democracy could also implode, transforming itself into fascism – not

through a military coup or enemy attack, but rather as a result of an internal socio-

political process embedded in the foundation of the democratic regime, as expounded by

politico-legal philosophers such as Niccolo Machiavelli, Carl Schmitt and Giorgio

Agamben. This process has long been voiced in liberal-democratic-parliamentarian

regimes, bursting with a proclamation of a state of emergency which provides certain

leaders with the opportunity of taking advantage of the legal vacuum and to assuming

excessive powers. In other words, Fascist leaders arose as totalitarian rulers by virtue of a

state of emergency they themselves proclaimed, and not only the state of emergency but

also their rule were extended over and over again, radically overturning the balance

between the organs of government while expanding their own authority, and trampling

civil rights through the police and the army. So was the case with Hitler and with

Mussolini, as well as with Emperor Palpatine of the Galactic Empire. The prequels hint

that this has also happened at times in the United States (Richard Nixon and George W.

Bush being the examples of improper exercise of authority by U.S. presidents in

emergencies, on which Lucas declaratively offers his views).

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These all-inclusive models were included in the prequels, and in this they differ

from other science fiction films that sought to describe the fascist threat to the United

States within the accepted historical narrative. Films such as the Manchurian Candidate,

The Boys from Brazil and Spy Smasher described the threat to American democracy in

the real world, stressing the historical contexts of familiar events familiar from the past

(World War II, Korean War and even the Iraq War). The familiar and realistic arena and

the story unfolding within it tends to be conspiratorial, telling the tale of a fantasy

stratagem which seemingly threatens to strike at the American nation. In these films, the

conspirators were foreigners who wanted to harm the United States and were in

possession of an advanced technology that facilitated their aims (The Boys from Brazil

and Spy Smasher), or interested parties that sought to utilize advanced technological

means in their possession to seize political power (The Manchurian Candidate). As

opposed to these films, the prequels seek to stress “realistic” socio-political stratagem in a

fantasy world so that it could reappear and be applied in any world or regime, even in our

own reality.

The prequels construct flexible models of fascism which can be superimposed in

today’s United States as well, so that through “cognitive estrangement”, they reject the

clear signs of the Third Reich and other totalitarian regimes, to which they relate. This is

in direct contrast with other historical films of different genres, including: Mephisto,

Cabaret, Inglorious Bastards, The Wave and its German remake TheWave (Die Welle),

Spy Smasher and X-Men: First Class which sought to describe the same processes while

remaining true to the time and space in which they took place, and presenting familiar

leaders from the past and the symbols identified with them. In this sense, these films are

truer to the historiographic tradition than that practiced by investigators of generic

fascism. They seek historical truth, and reconstruction of the past is a substantial part of

that truth. In this they meet up with the expectations held by Marcia Landy and Pierre

Sorlin regarding historical films, yet restrict themselves from the standpoint of their

abstraction and ability to conduct effective thought experiments. They present the

standpoint of the individual regarding the political situation, and integrate their internal

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world with the external, yet generally do not observe the process on a large scale as an

ideological and practical model (as investigators of generic fascism attempted to do).

Their all-encompassing interpretation, if there be such, stems from the psychology of the

individual operating in such an environment. The Wave is exceptional from this

standpoint, succeeding in demonstrating to some extent the manifestation of fascism on a

large scale, since from the outset it describes a case that was removed from the playing

field and the space it sought to recreate (the image of Hitler appears at the end of the film,

in order to resolve the conflict in the plot).

The imaginary arena of the prequels, cut off from any familiar space-time of human

annals, is what enables them to demonstrate the generic models of fascism disconnected

from their particular nationalistic and historical, at times traumatic, contexts. These

contexts may constrain their internalization as a natural human manifestation without

relating them to specific events. A fantasy arena may neutralize preliminary positions and

data bases of the viewers, thus facilitating internalization of the models and sensitivity to

such socio-political processes, possibly even out of self-criticism. This is a significant

development in the prequels, arising as the experience of “cognitive estrangement”,

inviting the viewers into the political event without identifying it unequivocally as an

expression of fascist regimes.

In order to anchor the fantasy films in the history of humanity, intertextual

quotations from period films (Casablanca, Ben Hur, Metropolis, Napoleonic films,

serials film of the 1930s and others) were introduced into the prequels, thus hinting at

specific historical contexts without directly pointing them out. In the prequel world, so

distant from ours, there is no need to confirm the realistic and factual reality of the arena,

for time and space are not anchored in the accepted history. These hints are cognitive

anchors, helping to distinguish between the abstract models and our world, while creating

a multi-periodic effect. The prequels offer us another possibility of decoding models such

as generic fascism in respect to reality, such as is mirrored in the fantasy universe.

Decoding this universe as a reflection of human history over different periods shows that

it is not all that different from our world.

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Yet, if the reality described in the prequels is a reflection of that present in the

human experience throughout history, what is the added value of their fantasy in films

striving toward realistic space-time? Indeed, according to Suvin, it is the distancing that

facilitates deeper examination and analysis of the manifestation being dealt with

disconnected from its specific daily contexts, a striving that historians Griffin and Payne

as well as Lucas and other creators of science fiction seem to be able to identify with to

some degree. Realistic films dealing with fascism generally look toward factual veracity

and tend to observe congruence between space, time, plot and various elements of style

and narrative within the accepted “factual” historical narrative.

Films such as Mephisto, Cabaret and others sought to recreate historical

conditions as they “really were”. While successful recreation reinforces their veracity, it

also restricts their relevance to other arenas, periods and societies. These films generally

rely on the viewers’ prior knowledge of the overall environment of the plot, whereas the

prequels illustrate political changes as a whole, creating an external reality in the Lucas

universe unimpeded by historical facts, weaving its generic characteristics into a tight, yet

complete multi-period narrative, traversing time, places and nations.

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Williams, Raymond. The Long Revolution. London: Chatto and Windus, 1961. 307 Wood, Robin. Hollywood from Vietnam to Reagan - and Beyond. New York, NY:

Columbia U P Worschech, Rudolf. “Frühling für Hitler: Wie der deutsche Film das ‘Dritte

Reich’ und eine Täter darstellt”. EPD Film 9, 2004. 22-25 Zito, Stephen. “George Lucas Goes Far Out”. George Lucas: Interviews. ed: Sally Kline.

Jackson, MS: Mississippi U P. 1999. 45-55 Zuromski, Jacquelyn. Getting to The Pulp of Haruki Murakami’s Norwegian Wood:

Translatability and The Role of Popular Culture. Master's thesis. Department of English, Central Florida U, 2004

Filmography

1. Austerlitz. Abel Gance. France/Italy/Yugoslavia/Lichtenstein: CIPRA, Lyre Films, Galatea Film, Michael Arthur Films and Dubrava Film, 1960

2. Battle of Britain. Guy Hamilton. UK: Spitfire Productions, 1969 3. The Battle of Britain: Why We Fight. Frank Capra. USA: Warner Bros, 1943 4. Ben Hur. William Wyler. USA: Warner Bros, 1959 5. Blade Runner. Ridley Scott. USA: Warner Bros, 1982 6. Boys from Brazil. Franklin Schaffner. USA: ITC entertainment, 1978. 7. Cabaret. Bob Fosse. USA: ABC, 1972. 8. Flash Gordon. Frederick Stephani and Ray Taylor. USA: King Features Productions

and Universal Pictures, 1936 9. Gladiator. Ridley Scott. USA: DreamWorks, 2000 10. Inglorious Bastards. Quentin Tarantino. USA: Weinstein Co. and Universal Pictures,

2009. 11. The Manchurian Candidate. John Frankenheimer. USA: United Artists, 1962. 12. The Manchurian Candidate. Jonathan Demme. USA: Paramount Pictures, 2004 13. Mephisto. Istvan Szabo. Hungary: Mafilm, 1981. 14. Metropolis. Fritz Lang. Germany: UFA, 1927 15. Napleon. Abel Gance. France: Films Abel Gance and Société générale des films,

1927 16. The Sound of Music. Robert Wise. USA: Robert Wise Productions, 1965 17. Spartacus. Stanly Kubrick. USA. Bryna Productions, 1959 18. Spy Smasher. William Witney. USA: Republic Pictures, 1942

16

19. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope. George Lucas. USA: LucasFilm and 20th Century Fox, 1977.

20. Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back. Irvin Kershner. USA: LucasFilm and 20th Century Fox, 1980.

21. Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi. Richard Maquand. USA: LucasFilm and 20th Century Fox, 1983.

22. Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. George Lucas. USA: LucasFilm and 20th Century Fox, 1999.

23. Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones. George Lucas. USA: LucasFilm and 20th Century Fox, 2002.

24. Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. George Lucas. USA, LucasFilm and 20th Century Fox, 2005.

25. Triumph of the Will (Triumph des Willens). Leni Riefenstahl. Germany: Leni Riefenstahl-Produktion and Reichspropagandaleitung der NSDAP, 1935

26. Tora! Tora! Tora!. Richard Fleisher, Kinji Fukasaku and Toshio Masuda. USA/Japan: 20th Century Fox and Toei company

27. Waterloo. Sergei Bondarchuk. Italy/Soviet Union: Dino de Laurentiis Cinematografica and Mosfilm, 1970

28. The Wave. Alexander Geasshoff. USA: TAT Communications Company, Tandem Productions, 1981

29. The Wave (Die Welle). Dennis Gansel. Germany: Rat Pack Filmproduktion GmbH, Constantin Film Produktion, B.A. Produktion and Medienfonds GFP, 2008

28. X-Men: First Class. Matthew Vaughn. USA: 20th Century Fox, 2011