ST What "Cultural Influences" do you expect in the ST?

One amazing thing about the Star Wars Universe is that it seems to draw from many different cultural influences. Lucas was definitely influenced by Japanese Culture as the Jedi are very Samurai Fuedal Japan like. We know filming is going to be in the middle east so I'm wondering if we will get a little of that. Wasn't some aspects of the Empire based on Hitler's German culture during WWII? Here's a Darth Vader in full traditional Samurai gear released by Bandai:

 

I would love to see some Middle Eastern and Asian extras throughout the ST as well as those cultures influencing some of the visuals.

 

Well, we might see that by virtue of the fact it was shot in the UAE. And there has always been a rather significant North African influence in Star Wars. In addition to being shot there, Tatooine is even named after Tataouine. And like hachijedi said, there is a lot of Asian influence in Vader, but there is also a lot of Eastern philosophy in the way the OT described the Force and in Yoda's character as well.

I just hope that we see some cool influences in terms of design, like it was originally, and I want them to avoid the cultural stereotypes that they projected onto certain characters, and sometimes entire species, in later films.

 

Padme clearly had some Chinese/Japanese/Asian influence in Episode I:

 

well Luke shows a messianic tendency in redeeming his father, and so i guess i would also like to see some Christian influences in there as well

I also want Star wars gourmet hot chocolate, just like in the eu. lol

 

Knowing JJ Abrams, looking at his filmography, seeing what he's done up to this point, I'd imagine the cultural influences most readily identifiable in Episode VII will be POP-cultural, not historical or sociological.

Meaning whatever cultural influences you see will be stuff that was already baked into Star Wars before he got to it. I get the sense he's just trying to reset the general vibe of the series to 1977-1980. So instead of looking to countries and ancient civilizations, I'd suggest looking to Lucas & Spielberg (and maybe Richard Donner, even) and the work they did in that period.

 

"Padme clearly had some Chinese/Japanese/Asian influence in Episode I:"

Hmm. Not like that.

 

Whatever they are, just make them new and old styles.

 

I want that statue!

 

Here's some more photos of it:

 

The Chinese in that poster reads 'Indomitable' for any language nerds out there.

FTR, 'Darth Vader' would be: 達斯維達.

I would reasonably expect the Asian and North African influences to remain strong, with a Western gloss over the top.

 

It's time for Lucasfilm to get up to speed and incorporate traditional Bronie imagery.

 

Yes stormtroopers were german special forces in WW1 and WW2.

 

Wasn't this scene "Hitler/German/Nazi" influenced too?:

 

Thank you for ruining that scene for ever :/

 

LOL, doesn't ruin the scene but it just accents that Star Wars draws from many different cultures. The "Medal Ceromony" could very well have been draw from other influences than "Hilter" but someone connected the two photos.

 

I know

 

http://geektyrant.com/news/2010/4/15/awesome-samurai-warrior-star-wars-action-figures.html

 

Cool. I always viewed the names "Obi Wan" and "Qui-Gon" as Japanese/Chinese. I always viewed Yoda as a Buddist Master:

 

star wars is pulled from westerns, Japaneses samurai, the legends of king Arthur and his knights, WWII, the roman republic and empire, the bible and other religious texts like the odyssey and follows the heros journey of Joseph Campbell.

 

Let's not forget the Nazi imagery used for the Ewoks.


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Just want to say that this is not just a case of there being a coincidental Nazi image floating around that kind of looks similar. The shot in question is from Leni Riefenstahl's Nazi propaganda film Triumph of the Will, a well-known example used in film schools along with Riefenstahl's other classic, Olympia.

From Wikipedia:

Lucas was no doubt well aware of Riefenstahl's films and most likely was attempting to create a similarly powerful image in the Throne Room scene.

Yes, Star Wars borrows from westerns, pulp SF, comic books, Japanese cinema and Nazi propaganda!

 

Ok. Semi-hijacking this thread.

The Box Office thread talked about the Chinese market for SW so I'm wondering if a country with a history and culture as rich as China could produce some amazing influences on the new SW (saga or stories). The obvious answer is yes, but in what specific ways?

I have some ideas, but I think somebody that has a deeper immersion in the Chinese culture (living it for at least a majority of their lives) would be far more interesting than surface level ideas that someone like me can provide. Do we have anybody like that here?