Force Material Episode LII: Emperor Nixon
Star Wars has always been political. This week, we explore how President Richard Nixon and the Vietnam War inspired George Lucas to create Star Wars!
We discuss how close George Lucas came to serving in Vietnam (02:52), and how the Vietnam War and Lucas' aborted attempt to make Apocalypse Now influenced Star Wars (03:51).
We look at Richard Nixon's opinion of Return of the Jedi, and how the disgraced President influenced the creation of Emperor Palpatine (10:30), and the parallels (or lack thereof) between the Emperor and Donald Trump (13:00).
Finally, we consider how the Emperor is viewed by the denizens of the galaxy far, far away, and how that compares with history's view of Nixon (23:27).
Force Material is a podcast exploring the secrets and source material of Star Wars with hosts Rohan Williams and Baz McAlister. Listen and subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, Stitcher, PlayerFM and Castro; stay in touch with us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram; and support the show by browsing our range of shirts, hoodies, kids apparel, mugs and more at TeePublic.
