But what George Lucas claims to have thought (now many years later), is essentially irrelevant. What matters is how audiences interpret the movies when watching them, both at the time and now. If, as I strongly suspect, essentially nobody saw clear Viet Cong sympathies in the original trilogy, then the modern Star Wars differs significantly.
And this is my point. The politics of the original trilogy was cookie-cutter, incidental, and unimportant, whereas much of the modern Star Wars has political creeds, obvious symbolism and grandstanding all over the place, front and center. You may (or may not) agree with the politics of the new Star Wars, but you can’t deny that they are different.
2. I actually don’t believe whatever George Lucas claims, many years later, to have had in mind at the time. Creators in general are known for not always being truthful in these matters, and mostly just going “yes, exactly, that is what I really meant” when fans come up with and present their complex theories many years later.
3. However, it does not matter what George Lucas thought or intended. What matters is how audiences interpreted it. Most people, both then and now, do not see any clear Viet Cong sympathies in the original trilogies. Ergo, the politics of the original trilogies was different, since most people do see the heavy-handed symbolism in today’s Star Wars.
But I guess some people simply can’t read what I write.
