lystn

Star Wars has always been political. This week, we explore how President Richard Nixon and the Vietnam War inspired George Lucas to create Star Wars!

We discuss how close George Lucas came to serving in Vietnam (02:52), and how the Vietnam War and Lucas' aborted attempt to make Apocalypse Now influenced Star Wars (03:51).

We look at Richard Nixon's opinion of Return of the Jedi, and how the disgraced President influenced the creation of Emperor Palpatine (10:30), and the parallels (or lack thereof) between the Emperor and Donald Trump (13:00).

Finally, we consider how the Emperor is viewed by the denizens of the galaxy far, far away, and how that compares with history's view of Nixon (23:27).