Star Wars in the Public Square: The Clone Wars as Political Dialogue

Critical Explorations in Science Fiction and Fantasy #50

by Derek R. Sweet, Donald E. Palumbo (Editor), C.W. Sullivan III (Editor)

Speculative science fiction, with its underlying socio-political dialogue, represents an important intersection of popular culture and public discourse. As a pop culture text, the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars offers critical commentary on contemporary issues, marking a moment of interplay whereby author and audience come together in what Russian philosopher Mikhail Bakhtin called collaborative meaning making. This book critically examines the series as a voice in the political dialogs concerning human cloning, torture, just war theory, peace and drone warfare.

Genres: Star Wars

224 pages, Paperback

First published February 28, 2016

Reviews

[Tim Lopez · Rating 5 out of 5]

After giving a good introduction to Bakhtinian philosophy, the book dives the intersection of current-day political issues and the intersection with major themes in Star Wars, covering clones and the role of individuality in modern society, the use of torture and how it ties into the dark side, the concept of just wars and the Jedi philosophy, women as guardians of peace (both in history and in the Star Wars), and the use of drones in warfare.

There is perhaps a practical argument to be made here that, while viewing Star Wars as a Bakhtinian dialogic establishes a theory of communication for claiming that the Star Wars movies are an important contribution to ongoing political discussion, the reality of it seems more stark: does the average movie goer actually contemplate the issues raised therein and contribute their own Bakhtinian “utterances?” My belief is that, yes, they do; perhaps not immediately, perhaps not always substantively, but popular media can provide reference points / templates for understanding complex ethical and moral issues at a intuitive level, and, as such, serve an important function in our political discourse.

Best of all, next time you’re at a party and someone sneers at Star Wars and/or science fiction as trite and unimportant, you can lay out some quotes from this book and make them realize the deep moral and ethical themes that are touched upon by the movies – but remove your Wookie mask first, as it muffles the heteroglossia.

The book features liberal references to both the movies and the Clone Wars animated series, so having familiarity with both of those would be helpful (although I commiserate with your pain for anyone watching ep. I - III). It does not reference Rebels

[Dominic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful look at The Clone Wars animated show and how it spoke to political issues of its time. In each chapter, Sweet compares political rhetoric about an issue (cloning, war, pacifism, drones, and torture) and compares it to relevant Clone Wars episodes. While TCW didn't always draw direct parallels to current events, it would explore the moral dilemmas implicated by each issue. The analysis can provide readers both with a greater appreciation for TCW and deeper insight into the real-world political debates.