Saga After ROTS did the Empire put out a propaganda campaign to discredit the Jedi?

The gap between ROTS and ANH is only 18 years, and yet the Jedi seem almost forgotten. This has always seemed a bit of a problem to me since there'd be plenty of people still alive that remember them.

But - thinking about it - after the Jedi purge Palpatine would likely have blamed all sorts of stuff on the Jedi (it'd be easy to fit them up for causing the war etc.) And then also discredit their legacy by various dis-information about how a lot of them were charlatans doing simple tricks etc.
And then onto just removing much of their history from the records and so on.

what do you think?

 

In the newcanon, that's certainly a thing.

Lost Stars (two kids doing their history homework)


"Come on. You know this."
"Do I?"
"This guy started a war."
"Okay. The criminal gang that interfered with a legal execution on Geonosis and sparked the Clone Wars was led by ... by ... Mace Windu?"
"See? You knew it all along."

 

By whom? I don't see the Jedi being forgotten so much as simply not being talked about. And why would people talk about them 20 years after their extinction? Even in their prime most people had never even seen a Jedi.

 

Those who heard of the Jedi likely did hear that they were traitors to the Republic (Imperial Propaganda). But Imperial Propaganda didn't reach the whole galaxy, nor did every being who saw it remember it or preach it.
A large majority of the galaxy never heard of Jedi before the purge, and even some in the Republic didn't know about them. Palpatine wanted to erase Jedi remnants when he could but occasionally address them in certain spheres (Imperial politcians and the military).
And of course, the Sith were far more obscure. Few knew Vader was a Sith, and even fewer knew Palpatine was force-sensitive and a Sith.

 

It is a misconception that the Jedi are forgotten. Luke never said that he no knowledge of the Jedi's existence. He just asks what the Force is. Han doesn't believe in the Force since he never saw it in "Solo" and ANH, the way he does in ROTJ.

 

so - he's never heard of the Force, but he doesn't know what the Jedi are --? Like he's heard of pizza but doesn't know what cheese is.

 

It makes more sense to know about the Jedi and not the Force than the other way around. The Jedi were not a secret, they were Republic officers. The power that they use or their beliefs is something much more particular to them (even if other people know and believe in the Force) and thus it makes sense that some people might not know about it even if they know about the Jedi.

 

yeah I think the Empire would've pushed the narrative that their powers were mere tricks, the Force was hooey etc.
Would they ban any teachings of the Force too. Which brings up another question, the Jedi/Force is a religion, presumably people other than jedis believe in it or follow it.

 

Yes, Dodonna says "Then man your ships, and may the Force be with you." in ANH.

And IIRC, there was a church of the Force in Lucas's Underworld series, operating underground.

 

I'm sure they cranked up the propaganda machine post-66.
I figure it was something along the lines of how, generations ago, they may have been good guys. But now we know they were a dangerous cult, separated from normal people and dedicated to their strange religion. They used tricks and philosophical-sounding gibberish to fool the gullible into thinking they were benevolent. Then, when wise Palpatine learned the truth, they nearly killed him to maintain the illusion. And, when the brave 501st went to bring them to justice, they horribly murdered the innocent kids they kidnapped, rather than give them back to their families (cue the clips of grieving parents), and fought to the death to escape the law.
Anyone knowing of the whereabouts of any suspected Jedi are warned these are dangerous fanatics. Do not attempt to apprehend them yourself. Contact your local security office or nearest Imperial garrison. And believe nothing they say; they are willing to lie and influence the unsuspecting into believing their treasonous views.

 

Legends' take on "Imperial propaganda about the Jedi" prior to the PT, was in the Wedge's Gamble novel - where a couple of Rebel operatives are touring the Imperial museum prior to the taking of Coruscant.


As he moved on to the Hall of Justice with Iella he found himself amazed at how easily the Empire had been able to warp the truth into a story that sustained the realm. "The people who create these exhibits are very good at what they do."
"That was never more evident as it is with this area concerning the Jedi." Iella linked her arm through Wedge's as they strolled on. "Were it not for the Emperor, we would be slaves to a tyrannical Jedi state."
The history of the Jedi Knights was presented in a linear fashion, moving from right to left around the room. The thousand-generation saga had been condensed such that it gave emphasis to the legendary Jedi Masters of old, then suggested a gradual deviation from that noble tradition as the Knighthood grew. The corruption had begun—Wedge gathered by implication—when human Jedi Masters had taken on nonhuman disciples. The Jedi Knights went from being the guardians of the Old Republic to the secret masters of its future. They used their powers to manipulate and direct the Republic's leaders.
After the resolution of the Clone Wars, the Jedi began to move toward an open grab for power. Senator Palpatine circumvented them and deposed their puppet. In overthrowing the corrupt Old Republic, the Emperor stripped from the Jedi their political power and laid their evil bare for all to see. The Jedi denied the truth he revealed, all except one of their number. His fellows tried to murder him, but he survived their treachery and rose to assist the Emperor in rooting out the evil that had ruined the Knighthood. He was Darth Vader and, said the display, never had there been a greater champion for the high ideals of the Empire than he.
Wedge smiled. "At least that last bit is true—Vader was Imperial through and through."
"Notice how they have the true line of Jedi Knights dying with Vader at Endor? No mention of Luke Skywalker, but the implication is that he is heir to the corrupt tradition." She shook her head. "I wonder if that is too subtle?"
"Appeals that play to fear can be subtle and still very effective."

 

And of course we've got Motti's contemptuous attitude towards Vader's 'sorcerer's ways'.

 

The main problem is that the OT was made before the communications revolution and didn't anticipate things like the internet existing. Obviously in any society as advanced as the one depicted everyone would know about the jedi, would have seen videos of them, etc.

Star Wars has continued this even in the more modern movies - the setting is supposedly high tech, but the information technology is primitive in many ways compared to our world (which to be fair, is not a unique problem in these kinds of settings. A lot of story tellers still haven't figured out how to incorporate the modern reality of having basically most of human knowledge at your fingertips all the time)

 

I don't think that as obvious as you think. The internet provides access to information, it doesn't dictate what information (if any) each one of us get. Not to mention that most people use the internet for the most trivial stuff, not exactly with the interest of getting knowledgeable.

And again, people tend to forget the fact that the Jedi are very few in numbers, specially on a galactic scale, and even in their prime they were a rare sight. Those that know about the Jedi don't need to research them (or whatever limited information exists about them). And those that don't have no reason to.

 

They’re definitely getting the word out that anything Jedi is corrupt and to be shunned.

 

I would guess they did. Palpatine's speech in ROTS can be seen as the beginning of overt anti-Jedi propaganda, with promises that they would be hunted down and defeated. If the Empire begins with such a statement, you can assume that it would continue.

An interesting idea would be a soft taboo against talking about the Jedi or the Force among loyal Imperials. Things quickly disappear and are forgotten if they are simply not spoken of. This doesn't mesh with what we see in ANH, though.

One thing we should all remember is that everyone in that meeting on the Death Star, and other officers like Piett and Ozzel, are plenty old enough to have been alive and even adults during the Clone War. It's almost a certainty Ozzel would have been a Republic officer, and Piett may have been a young officer as well.

 

Motti's actor was 31 in ANH - if the character was the same age as the actor (a big if) then he'd be 12 during ROTS.

 

Damn, Motti's actor was 31? Never would have guessed. Dude looked much older. Anyway, the other actors were older. Twelve is still old enough to remember.

 

Yeah, it's almost as if all the details hadn't been worked out when GL made the first SW movie.