ST Historical influences for the opposing forces

Ohman, i love the idea of the jedi rebelling against the republic when it becomes to imperialistic. Since i don't see the big 3 being the main characters, it's possible that Luke's teachings lead a new protagonist along this path.
And within that framework, you could have villains on both sides. People within the republic trying to seize power in the chaos palpatine style, but also Jedi resorting to the dark side trying to co-opt the rebellion for their own nefarious purposes.
Two sides with noble intentions, crumbling from the inside. Might seem too grey for Star Wars, but i think if the sith influence rises slowly it could work. The conflict would shift at some point. And there still could be a happy ending, it'd just take some serious earning.

 

http://io9.com/why-does-every-story-have-to-be-an-earth-shattering-epi-1488997567

 

Again I am pushing that the media angle be explored more.... The Media is one major aspect of modern warfare that Star Wars has yet to acknowledge. It has talked about religious, corporate, political, and military roots to the causes of war, but it has yet to mention the role the media plays in hyping and pushing war, nor the effect reporting has on the conflict itself, for good or for ill...

Since Star Wars is Mythological in nature, it is not really about any one war, it is about ALL wars... And if we are to talk about Mythological War, we need to discuss the powerful forces, beings, and resources that go into shaping public opinion, which leads a civilization to support a war, or turn against a government.

 

I'm interested in what the media is like in SW, but I'm not sure how it could work in the films without seeming out of place. That doesn't mean I'm against it. Just wondering how it could work...

 

How would it seem out of place?

 

It would be done abstractly.... same as The Corporate Alliance's business dealings, or the Banking Clan's money lendings.... Or perhaps like Leia Organna being a Senator or a Princess.

Another possibility instead of a villainous media mogul, is an intrepid reporter as a chaerctor, followed by a school of holo-recording droids.

 

Nice ideas. I can imagine those.

 

If you are looking at a historical reference:

After the Nazi's were defeated in 1945, there were major realignments in the middle east. This led to struggles over borders that also stemmed to deeply divided religious/philosophical differences to say the least.

Thirty years later, in the 1970's, these struggles hit a climax that still exists today and have deeply spilled over into just about every corner of the world.

And all the while, some would argue that greed and arrogance of the powers in the world have made them vulnerable to new enemies who are hard to fight due to their being spread out but who wish to destroy the western way of thinking.

All the while, the enemy remains hidden behind of veil of their own people who wish for nothing more than to have peace and harmony of Earth but who are poorly represented by those who are hostile, making some people hard to find trust in those who can and should be trusted.

 

I wouldn't mind a relevant plot like this, but I think many might be tired of it. Could be very interesting though.

 

Great thread Darth Chiznuk!

From what Lucas said in the 80s about the ST, the post nazi scenario is a great historical reference and makes sense.

"If the first trilogy is social and political and talks about how society evolves, Star Wars is more about personal growth and self realization, and the third deals with moral and philosophical problems. The sequel is about Jedi Knighthood, justice, confrontation, and passing on what you have learned"

 

Well it doesn't necessarily have to be tiresome or even direct, as most historical references in fantasy movies are not direct. It could just be seen as an enemy that's more difficult to fight and who would require bringing different allies together (like eventually the new Republic and what's left of Imperial loyalists from the past actually forming an alliance).

 

Or it could be, as I wrote somewhere a whole ago (I think on a Vader in Ep 7 thread) new segments of the populace worshipping the worst of the Empire, akin to Neo-Nazis or the mid/latter-day Klan...fighting for something they somehow think was worth fighting for. Perhaps that's how Vader shows up - as inspiration for a small but going threat.

That could keep the stakes interesting and potentially high, but also very personal...which is what made the OT great in the first place, and truly defines an epic.

 

Hmmm...people or beings who are fed up with the lack of control and crime that is going on in and around the galaxy and want to take matters into their own hand-stumble upon the dark side to "clean up" things (kind of like the League of Shadows in the DK movies). They want to do the right thing but go about it the wrong way, leading to more and more darkness. Could be interesting!

 

Definitely like the idea of a Cold War type setting. The Cold War lasted for over forty years so if a sustained galactic cold war takes place after the fall of the Empire it would still be in progress at the time of the sequel trilogy.

During World War II the alliance between the United States and the Soviet Union help defeat the Nazi Empire and they both emerged as the world's superpowers. A planet/race/group/faction that helped the Rebels defeat the Empire could break away from the Alliance after they can't decide how best to unify the galaxy. The Alliance wants to restore the Republic, this other group wants to create an entirely new form of government.

Ignoring the EU and going by what we know from the films the Bothans could be this group. They're directly mentioned by Mon Mothma in Return of the Jedi, which gives them more prominence then the other alien species who remain background players. Mention Bothans in the opening crawl and moviegoers will know immediately who they are, even though they have not been seen onscreen before.

"Many Bothan's died to bring us this information." - Mon Mothma

This line could be used as a direct link from episode VI to VII. The Bothans made significant sacrifices to help bring down the Empire and they wanted more say in the new government. When they feel like they have been disenfranchised they leave, taking many planets with them to form an alternative to the Republic. As the remnants of the Empire are defeated from planet to planet these newly freed worlds would have to choose sides.

The galaxy becomes split once more and after many decades a single sparks turns this galactic cold war into a hot war. The sequel trilogy would chronicle this new conflict.

A better idea might be Corellians instead of Bothans. The galaxy wide split could encompass the Solo and Skywalker families putting Han, Leia, Luke and there children in a very perilous situation.

 

A great thread indeed. I feel once we get an idea on the historical aspect of Star Wars, then we will get an idea on the feel where Ep. VII will go.

I agree with Gobi-1 post above, it gives us great insight on what to expect. I think that would be great if there was many different factions that broke away from "rebuilding" the Republic to "starting over" from it.
Then, we are left to guess which one is right or wrong, but the truth is how you perceive it yourself, which is what SW is all about. You wouldn't know which side is bad or good and the sons/daughters of Solo/Skywalker will be caught in the middle of this epic war.

 

We've long discusses this, but exactly "who" is the rebel alliance? It's an alliance of different groups opposed to the Empire. It would make sense factions within the alliance would exist.

If you follow the WW2 analogy, there would be an alliance of powerful forces aligned because the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Maybe there is a faction of the alliance that wants to break away post-Endor and it leads to some conflict? Perhaps there is a faction who seeks revenge on some imperial sympathizers post-war and the films cover the fallout from that?

The sequels have the potential to be the most complex of all the SW films to date.

 

Or the most hilarious bombs ever.

 

Been reading through this and was about to give a thumbs up to Darth Chiznuk for a fresh thread idea... only to see that it is almost exactly a year old.
Still, good thread.

I'm all for some sort of Cold War situation between the Empire and the Alliance. If they somehow manage to convincingly add Mandalorians to the mix, I'll be very happy indeed.

 

I've always loved that idea. Rag tag. Not shiny.

 

Maybe the Death Star wasn't just to crush the rebellion? Maybe it was to also deter an even greater threat we don't see in the OT?

Mandalorians!

 

I like the idea of a cold war.

Obviously by the end of the movie it will be an actual war, but it will be cool to see it unfold in the books and comics pre-TFA.

That is just story of Palpatine's rise to power all over again. No, it would have to be different.

Old comments by Lucas mention that good guys and bad guys wouldn't be clear cut in the Sequels - this could be simply Boyega being a hero and a stormtrooper and Driver being (supposedly) an X-Wing pilot but also a bad guy.

Perhaps the others Luke, Rey, etc. struggle with who to trust.

Or perhaps (or also) there is a faction plotting to destroy the Empire and a faction in the Empire seeking peace - kind of like Star Trek VI.

 

Hell, Mandalorians would just invade the Death Star via jet pack, en masse, and drop proton torpedos in its termal exhaust port.

 

Nobody's concerned about imperialism any more. Nowadays, we are more fearful of lone gunmen, lone bombers. That's why I think that dark clad villain in the woods will be working alone in this film, with possibly a mentor pulling the strings, but no organized group as the villain.

Leia is Chancellor (or President or some new term) of the New Republic (they'll probably call it the "Second Galactic Republic" or something like that, just to distinguish it from the EU), and Luke has begun training new Jedi. I was going to suggest, however, that the New Jedi Order (again, they'll probably refer to it as the "Reborn Jedi Order" or something) was NOT very large yet...maybe numbering a dozen tops.

I think the villainous force in this trilogy will be one of Luke's students, or some loner, a new name/face, a Human, who is somehow exposed to the Jedi Code in a way Luke never was...maybe this new character finds a Jedi holocron...or finds some old Jedi records. The new character becomes a Jedi Code fundamentalist -- this is how the Dark Side creeps back into the story -- and feels that Luke (who had only the scarcest of training) doesn't know enough about what it truly means to be a Jedi. The new character, the Jedi zealot-fundamentalist, starts a movement against the Skywalkers...it's almost a personal thing...against Luke, who doesn't know enough about the Jedi Code to lead the Jedi Order, and against Leia, whose modern government doesn't live up to the tenets of a Jedi Code written in and for a bygone era. And yes, there will likely be Mandos, the force that the Jedi Fundmentalist enlists for shows of force (not Force), when necessary. Before long, the Jedi Fundamentalist is clearly a Dark Sider who resorts to violence and fear to enforce his twisted, militant-dogmatic view of the Jedi Code.

One thing Lucas's vision for Star Wars has always done has been to incorporate a bit of political criticism into the stories. Lucas has explicitly admitted that the Original Trilogy was a condemnation of the Nixon administration on some level. And one would have to be obtuse not to concede that Anakin's quoting of the scriptures of Matthew (Matthew 12:30) to Obi-Wan on Mustafar that "If you're not with me, then you're my enemy" is a direct reference to George W. Bush's quoting that same scripture passage to a joint session of Congress shortly after al-Qaeda's attack on the Twin Towers: "Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists."

And the Star Wars story has *always* centered around themes regarding democracy.

So what themes regarding democracy are topical today?

What's relevant today is how the West is trying to expose the Middle East to democracy, and the resistance to democratic ideals that fundamentalist Islamists are demonstrating because they believe that the only valid government is Sharia Law.

Just as Lucas used the Prequel Trilogy as a cautionary tale about how easy it is for a free republic to succumb to the pitfalls of totalitarianism, the Sequel Trilogy could be a cautionary tale about dogmatism. The Prequel Trilogy already touched on that a bit -- it was cleaving to dogma that helped contribute to the downfall of the Jedi. This is an opportunity to expand on that...how fundamentalists (be they religious fundamentalists of any faith, or political fundamentalists) can turn a beautiful thing -- like democracy or the teachings of the Q'uran (or the scriptures of any faith) or the Jedi Code -- into something "twisted and evil."

Anyway, that's my guess.