More Evidence That George Lucas Has Lost His Mind

Here is the first bit of evidence.



Here is the second.



And now here is the third. Lucas thinks "Star Wars is a wakeup call to Americans about the erosion of democratic freedoms under George W. Bush."

After first being utterly disappointed by The Phantom Menace, and now being alerted to the fact that I apparently voted for the Empire in the last election, the only thing that redeems Lucas at this point is his creation of the magnificent original trilogy. And even that work is sullied by this incredibly selective view of recent history

Lucas, at a Cannes film festival press conference yesterday, said he first wrote the framework of Star Wars in 1971 when reacting to then-U.S. president Richard Nixon and the events of the Vietnam War. But the story still has relevance today, he said, and is part of a pattern he has noticed in history.

Astute reader Bruce at The Southern Beat has the best response

Did Lucas forget that Vietnam was started by President Kennedy and perpetuated by President Johnson - BOTH DEMOCRATS. President Nixon (a Republican) was my hero because he got us out of Vietnam and ended the draft.

I was similarly disappointed when Alfonso Cuarón, who directed the last Harry Potter film, compared the evil Voldemort to both Bush and Saddam, and I lost interest in the Harry Potter books because of it. To be fair, I wouldn't even want to know that some director's idea of a truly horrible character was inspired by Hillary Clinton, because it comes down to this: the last thing I want is to have the banality of real life impinge on a really good fantasy. Which leads me to my Open Request to Entertainment People: PLEASE stick to what you know and trust your audience to find its own meaning in your work.

[Hat tip: Michelle Malkin and The Southern Beat.]