March 24th, 2022
I freaking love Star Wars. Always have. There is, to me, no such thing as bad Star Wars.
I’m not of the original generation of fans (because they are old and I so clearly am not), so it always existed in a peripheral way to me until the Special Editions were released in theaters in 1997, when I was 11 years old, which may be the best age to experience it for the first time.
I’m of the prequel generation then; the films have some transcendent moments, but also have Jar Jar Binks. This paradox informs who I am as a person to this day.
It sounds corny to say, but Star Wars helps me make sense of the world; it’s been really helpful for my mental health as of late, as I find myself halfway through my first-ever viewing of The Clone Wars series, after too many years of ignoring the animated shows for no reason that makes any sense.
As the world always finds itself embroiled in both politics and war, Clone Wars appears to have been designed to be permanently relevant. It has all the great characters and themes that Star Wars excels at, but it takes a particularly sharp look at those two aspects of life.
As I find myself lacking in what to say about what’s happening in Ukraine or in American politics, I find solace in this show that has plenty to preach.
Here are some notes I’ve taken about what Clone Wars says about both politics and war.
Politics:
– Politics are stupid.
– Anyone who completely believes in any one side of politics is stupid.
– Anyone whose complete personal identity is politics is stupid.
– Politics are a necessary evil and attracts types accordingly.
– Good people do exist in politics and can even try to do better through them; they are often smothered and trampled by all the bad people, who are the majority of people in politics.
– Bad politicians gain power through fear; the good ones use hope and puts that power and their trust in the community.
War:
– War is stupid.
– People who want war are stupid.
– People whose complete personal identity is war are stupid.
– However, being selfless and protecting the innocent is honorable.
– You can support the troops and still say fuck war.
– War is good for the rich.
– War is very bad for the poor.
– War is very bad for the people who are not even participating in the war.
– Peace is awesome and literally the only way we’re going to make it out alive.
– Love of any kind and in any shape is the most important thing in the galaxy, and war tries to kill it.
May the Force be with you all on this eve of Spring Break.
The Den 