I really don’t care if the bad guys are mostly comprised of white people and the good guys are mostly comprised of a diverse set of people. They need to be brought down more than a few pegs.
BB-8 has feminine programming? Then why is she addressed as “he?”
There most certainly is a male Mary Sue…and it’s been around far longer than Mary. The term is however a derivative of Mary Sue. So yes, the term itself is sexist, however, the concept is a sign of bad writing. We can always change the name of the trope, but culture is very difficult to change and won’t change overnight.
I never connected Palpatine’s rise to power with Hitler’s specifically. He seemed like he could stand in for any number of dictators and tyrants. I see your point, but one cannot deny how these things apply today, tomorrow, and yesterday.
For instance, many of today’s dictators, tyrants, and “strongmen” have risen to power today not by coup, but by legitimate political means mixed with a little charisma and cunning. They also use crises to further consolidate their power, and they use fear, uncertainty, and doubt to maintain control over the people. Palpatine did these same things.
Other than the harsh environment of Geonosis, I’m not sure how it was inspired by the US War in Afghanistan. I’ll have to watch it again.
Lucas also said when the media was drawing parallels from George W Bush’s “…with us or you are with the terrorists” statement to Star Wars that the prequels were open to interpretation, and that the stories just represent how easily a tyrant can rise to power and just how fragile democracy is…so applicability.
I agree, applicability is better than allegory. However, an allegory can still have applicability. This happens every time anyone learns the author’s intent and says to themselves, “well, I still think it means/represents/symbolizes _____.”
Art is interpretive by nature. This is why it’s art and not science or math. That’s what makes art interesting. It would be boring if there was only one explanation/interpretation.