Cultural implications of the Star Wars

I watched Star Wars recently. A series of six nice movies! I loved watching them and enjoyed very well. The settings, technical perfection, direction, editing, background score and cinematography were all excellent. It was two weeks back that I heard of the discovery by NASA of a planet with two suns (Kepler-16b) 200 light years away from earth, in a remote galaxy in the news. The news paper also mentioned with enthusiasm the similarity of this planet to Tatooine, a planet with two suns in the Star Wars series. How beautiful would be the sun set in that planet! It was this thought that sparked my desire to watch Star Wars!

The sunset in Tatooine!

However, despite my fascinations about the movie, I have some immeidate, arguably cynic thoughts on these movies. Since the movies are very popular, I note them down below. Perhaps, these are some of the reasons behind the popularity of the movie?

1. Anakin Skywalker, his son Luke Skywalker and daughter Lea Skywalker are somehow the chosen ones. Their blood has some special qualities compared to "normal" humans, and they have strong presence of the [cosmic] forces in their body. Even without training, the Luke skywalker is able to excel in the so called Jedi fighting arts, which otherwise a normal human takes long time and effort to learn. The life of the father skywalker proves that if the chosen one becomes evil, he is the most evil! So there is a division: chosen ones with special abilities and normal ones. Isn't this pure racism? Even more, isn't the concept of chosen ones and the qualities of their blood quite similar to Hitler's Aryan supremacy? (Two years back I had gone for watching a classical dance of a girl in Chennai. In the introduction her teacher, who herself is a prominent dancer, in the presence of a well-known classical singer from south India claimed that, "classical arts are not for everyone, but one should have it in the genes!". She added that her student had it in her genes through her father and family. Hearing the teacher's praise for her student, everyone in the audience except I applauded with cheer. I felt NAUSEA, extreme nausea. But this is India. Unlike Hollywood, we are third world. I'm afraid my friends in Infosys will approach bounty killers to kill me if I call India third world.)

2. The settings in the Tatooine planet is very similar to Arabian towns, while in Coruscant, where the Jedi lives, the settings are similar to a Western country (United States?). (Interestingly, Tatooine was set in Tunisia, the North-African country encompassing Sahara desert.) Tatooine has no plants and trees but only deserts. The natural inhabitants of this planet are ruthless, cunning, fat and hedonistic. Anarchy is the rule and the slavery prevails. Doesn't this indicate the unconscious reflection of the Western perspective of the Arabian countries and Islam?

Town in Tatooine

3. Only two or three blacks are in the film's caste. Samuel Jackson is the only black in the film's leading characters. When they are called humans, why no black and no Asians? On the other hand, many non-human characters, who are inhabitants of various planets, speak English with Russian or Spanish or other accents (I'm not good at recognizing them all). Why this irony? What is the implication? Again racism?

Samuel Jackson as Jedi  Mace Windu

4. Anakin Skywalker is "converted" from the side of the good to the side of the evil by the villain Sith, and becomes the famous Darth Vader. Finally, he is redeemed. Does this at least indirectly frown upon religious conversions?

5. Natalie Portman's character,  Amidala, the Queen of the planet Naboo, always say "democracy should be protected", "people are suffering" and "people must be saved". In spite of this, the movie never portrays the so called people or their sufferings. Instead, the order of the world is restored by a minority of "heroes". Doesn't this imply the role of the entire human society is less important compared to the "heroes"?

Natalie Portman as Queen Amidala

6. Queen Amidala was a strong woman and used to fight in the battles herself despite being a Queen (A Queen who tries to protect democracy? Don't ask me this ironic question. In Malayalam, we have an old saying: "no questions possible in a story" -- maybe, the remnant of the old feudal times or so when no questions were allowed in the society. But we are in modern times, and we should ask questions even in the stories! Don't we?). This continued till her marriage only. After her marriage, she is just a house wife and is not involved in politics or any other serious acts. She lives as a shadow of her husband -- Ankin Skywalker. Doesn't this say that the role of a good woman in the society is to be a good house wife?

7. The Luke Skywalker is portrayed as "the last hope" of the society by Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda, two Jedis themselves. But all the Luke Skywalker cares about till the end is not the society or social order but his friends. How can such a selfish person be "the only hope" of a society? Doesn't this imply some kind of racism or something? I smell "something"; only I can't understand it. What is it?

8. When any battle is about to begin, the "heros" say things like "now the fun begins" etc. Sometimes, some characters almost indicate that the only solution is war and diplomacy can't solve the problem. Isn't this plain glorification of war?

9. How much does the succes of Star Wars reflect the ancient, barbarous human instincts and beliefs?

10. I personally felt the planet where the Jedis and the parliament are as the United States, Queen Amidala's planet as Britain, Tatooine as Arabia, etc. In truth, can we relate Star Wars to the story of our planet alone?

Jedi Yoda

Darth Vader

For unknown reasons, though, my favourite characters are Darth Vader and Jedi Yoda. Possibly this reflects my unconscious worship of a wise-hero and an anti-hero!

All images: courtesy to wikimedia.org.