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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TimF who wrote (113932)	5/15/2005 8:18:04 PM
From: gamesmistress	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 794042

The acting's bad, the writing's not so good, the technological wizardry is cutting edge: but the NYT reviewer thinks "Revenge of the Sith" is the best of the series, because Lucas grounds Anakin Skywalker's transformation in a "cogent and (for the first time) comprehensible political context": "This is how liberty dies - to thunderous applause," Padmé observes as senators, their fears and dreams of glory deftly manipulated by Palpatine, vote to give him sweeping new powers. "Revenge of the Sith" is about how a republic dismantles its own democratic principles, about how politics becomes militarized, about how a Manichaean ideology undermines the rational exercise of power. Mr. Lucas is clearly jabbing his light saber in the direction of some real-world political leaders. At one point, Darth Vader, already deep in the thrall of the dark side and echoing the words of George W. Bush, hisses at Obi-Wan, "If you're not with me, you're my enemy." Obi-Wan's response is likely to surface as a bumper sticker during the next election campaign: "Only a Sith thinks in absolutes." You may applaud this editorializing, or you may find it overwrought, but give Mr. Lucas his due. For decades he has been blamed (unjustly) for helping to lead American movies away from their early-70's engagement with political matters, and he deserves credit for trying to bring them back. Yes, of course, acting and writing don't matter to me either, only giving the main characters' motivations suitable political contexts. Sheesh. nytimes.com