Lit The Empire's Sexism and Racism

Where did it come from? The PT probably explained the Racism due to most of the Separatists were non human races, but sexism? I don't think Palpatine is a sexist or racist, he does use women as Emperor's hand, as well as some alien officials, including Thrawn.

 

Daala would have been the first look at Imperial sexism that I am aware of. Short of no female Imperials appearing on screen in the films of course.

Which is a completely different thing than Palpatine being sexist himself of course. Palpatine was about using people's biases as weapons to further his own power and control.

 

It was largely a creation of West End Games and the post-ROTJ EU.

Ironically, the real origin is Chewbacca's backstory. Lucas' notes stated that Chewbacca was a slave and Han rescued him to incur a life-debt.

Given Chewbacca is a slave and he's an alien, it stands to reason the Empire treats aliens like garbage.

 

Somehow people seem to have missed watching the movies... with you know Zero Imperials females or Non-Humans Also pretty much the first EU works already hint at it, with the Splinter of the Mind's Eye showing chauvinism against woman and Aliens by Imperials, whilst the Poster Monthlies already had "The only good Alien is a dead Alien" as a Stormtrooper motto.

 

The Speceism seems to be a product of Chewie's backstory and Zahn. Daala seems to be the source of the sexism.

 

It also helps to remember that Star Wars isn't Space "Our Future" it's Space 1970s idealism vs. 1940s Nazis meets Flash Gordon's Ming the Merciless.

 

I'm talking about instorywise, what cause these since I don't think Palpatine was sexist/racist.

 

There is Chewie since ANH and still better then 0 by any means.

His main backers are Core World humans, many of which are notorious for these two things.

 

Payed external help doesn't count.

 

The in-story reason for the Galactic Empire's racism boils down to the fact the Core Worlds have always had a strongly racist and sexist bent. The Imperial Sourcebook said that the Empire needed something to rally the various Star Systems in the Core around the New Order so they wouldn't be Alderaanian, Corellian, or Corlag but Imperials. COMPNOR and a number of influential figures in the New Order (later identified as a Grand Admiral and Imperial Advisor respectively) decided the best way to do this was to create "High Human Culture" which is the idea that humans were a superior species.

It worked, much to the disgust of most beings, and the New Order suddenly had a vast number of new recruits--all human--who rallied behind the Empire. The marginalizing of aliens allowed the Empire to also legalize slavery and create a huge work-force to create the Empire's various projects. The Emperor, himself, had almost nothing to do with it but the entirety of the "New Order" was a sham anyway and merely a way for him to consolidate his power over the galaxy.

 

charles can you explain why this is ironic please. thanks

 

A lot of fans have stated it was a product of the EU. Few people realize that WEG had access to Lucas' rather large notebook (which also gave a bunch of action figure backstories).

 

still not seeing the irony

 

ok.

 

^I love that kind of response!

 

Quite a bad typo, that.

 

basically what i am saying is in the future can you not use "ironically" as a transitional sentence-opener thing (i am sure there is a term for this probably but i am not educated enough to know it) when it does not apply? for example "however" would have been more appropriate here and made it more clear what you were getting at. thanks and you're welcome!

 

Right.

 

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/irony

If we're going to get on high horses about violations of standard English usage that bug us, I will name mine "Capital Letters" and ride him around like I'm Viggo Mortenson in Hidalgo.

 

He changes his mind at the end of ANH. It is meant to a big emotional moment that even a space pirate can see that fighting the Empire is the right thing.