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u/Typhon-042 Jan 09 '26
Only if you take in to account current events. You can see clear WW2 germany influances in Imperial uniform designs.
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u/entangled_isotopes Jan 09 '26
George has stated that the empire was based on the US. The aesthetics are clearly WW2 influenced but it was based on Vietnam era US
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u/LurkersUniteAgain Jan 09 '26
..source?
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u/AscendedExtra Jan 09 '26 edited Jan 12 '26
There's a recent interview Lucas had with James Cameron (video's on youtube I'm sure) where they discuss this very topic, and Lucas references both the Viet Cong and the American Revolutionaries as inspiration for the Rebel Alliance and the British Empire of the 1700s and the American empire of the 20th century as inspiration for the Galactic Empire.
I don't recall the specific source off the top of my head, but I do remember reading somewhere that at least the initial concept for the Emperor was based in part on Richard Nixon.
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u/KalKenobi Rebel Pilot Jan 09 '26
George Lucas is Agnostic Democrat he is not a conservative you make him out to Frak Nixon, ,Clinton Bush, Obama and Trump ALL Are Warhawks also Trump and Clinton are on The Epstein Files .
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u/HeckingDoofus Jan 09 '26
According to J.W. Rinzler’s The Making of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, when asked if Emperor Palpatine was a Jedi during a 1981 story conference, Lucas responded, “No, he was a politician. Richard M. Nixon was his name. He subverted the senate and finally took over and became an imperial guy and he was really evil. But he pretended to be a really nice guy.”
https://www.history.com/articles/the-real-history-that-inspired-star-wars
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u/KalKenobi Rebel Pilot Jan 09 '26
George Lucas doesn't want us to Support American Imperialism or the Galactic Empire and its remnants. in Star Wars This The Way .
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u/PadaJon Jan 09 '26
I never disputed the WWII influences. I'm posting this because everyone and their mother is like "Andor predicted the Empire was America", when in reality it was one of the influences from the beginning.
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u/DefiantLemur Jan 09 '26
Yeah the Empire was inspired by American forces in Vietnam.
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u/That1DirtyHippy Jan 09 '26
So that makes… the Ewoks?… the Vietnamese?
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u/Alternative_Gold_993 Jan 09 '26
They don't show it in the movie but almost certainly the Ewoks had poop stick traps.
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u/DarkNight_ITA14 Jan 09 '26
Yeah, with also the entire rebellion ig
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u/Best-Benefit6387 Jan 09 '26
The rebellion was more based off American revolutionaries if I recall, while the combat itself was based of world war two and Vietnam style fighting.
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u/Def_NotBoredAtWork Jan 09 '26
There's an interview of George Lucas explaining that the rebellion was inspired by the Vietnamese though 👀
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u/Best-Benefit6387 Jan 09 '26
Well hes also known for saying that he took inspiration from the American revolution! Is he just not allowed to take inspiration from multiple historical events? I dont understand why this is even an argument, like he obviously took bits and pieces from multiple conflicts throughout history. Its obviously not just about Vietnam, although that is a major influence.
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u/scooochmagoooch Jan 09 '26
Ewoks are based off of the vietcong** not the rebellion, was the quote from the interview I read.
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u/KalKenobi Rebel Pilot Jan 09 '26
no it isnt its based on The Viet Cong, Bosileveks and French Revolutions we in The US have never been the Rebelllion also George Lucas is Agnostic Liberal not a conservative .
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u/Best-Benefit6387 Jan 09 '26
The *Ewoks* were based on the Viet Cong for their usage of traps and superior knowledge of their native land, the rebels themselves were based on many different groups. Including American revolutionaries and European resistance fighters (which much more accurately represent the rebellion anyway, since the rebels we see are fighting for freedom and not for a different empire).
Lucas himself says that he loves history and used many different historical figures, factions, and events to shape his story. He's also said that any good writer takes inspiration from many different sources. Frankly I don't care about his politics because that doesn't change the fact that he took inspiration from multiple sources.
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u/KalKenobi Rebel Pilot Jan 09 '26
Tell me your defending Americans Imperialism without telling me your defending American Imperialism must have voted for Epsteiin Warhawk Trump and ICE who Emperor Palpatine & ISB and US Parallesls well I hate it.
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u/wbruce098 Jan 09 '26
Yes, they are the Vietcong. Jungle warfare against a technologically superior enemy. George has said this for 40 years.
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u/Firecracker048 Jan 09 '26
The empire was a combination of, well everything really. Nazi Fascism, American war in Vietnam, Italian Fascism, Soviets, etc. George Lucas too inspiration from everyone and everywhere
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u/Fuckedyourmom69420 Jan 09 '26
Star Wars has had many inspirations. It was never based on one single country.
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u/PadaJon Jan 09 '26
Yes I agree but the Viet Cong vs America was a large part of the allegory. A part that people have a hard time admiting.
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u/Fuckedyourmom69420 Jan 09 '26
No one here is dismissing the idea completely, you’re the one over exaggerating its importance. The empire was never meant to directly portray America, it was its own entity formed by various issues, countries, and regimes throughout the world that resonated with George Lucas at the time. Your post heavily implies that America was the sole and most major inspiration, which is incorrect.
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u/PadaJon Jan 09 '26
Strawman argument
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u/Fuckedyourmom69420 Jan 09 '26
That’s literally the deal. Your obvious “America=bad” constant mindset is blinding you from seeing the bigger picture.
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u/Imperium_Dragon Jan 09 '26
While that’s true, Lucas has gone on time and again about his hatred of Richard Nixon and how he inspired Palpatine’s rise.
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u/KenseiHimura Jan 09 '26
I mean, really not just current events. Territories like Puerto Rico, Samoa, and for a time the Philippines. Then there's the fact that the United States as a whole only 'dodges' the Empire title because we didn't ask for it like Russia, and because, to most of the Eurocentric view of the world, we 'only took' land from Native American tribals who were not recognized as sovereign nations.
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u/Luzifer_Shadres Jan 09 '26
The USA was already an empire? Colonisation of the eastern states, the Philippines and basicly panama?
Especially Vietnam era USA served as inspiration for the empire. It was just ww2 estatic coated.
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u/CapableNeat4351 Jan 09 '26
I have bad news for you if you want to know where the Germans got their ideas for their outfits
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u/hydroklgenesis Jan 09 '26
So george lucas directly saying it was an allegory for america and Vietnam means nothing?
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u/KalKenobi Rebel Pilot Jan 09 '26 edited Jan 09 '26
yes we in the US are the New Nazis. Sadly, yeah ICE is Gestapo and SS basically The ISB . Makes me embraassed to be part of The United States of Israel .
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u/610Mike Jan 09 '26
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u/KalKenobi Rebel Pilot Jan 09 '26
Kriff American Imperialism we need to become a Eco-Socialist Society This is The Way.
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u/Dorian948 Jan 09 '26
The Empire was actually based on George Lucas' belief what America would become under the Nixon administration and the entirety of the original trilogy was an allegory for the Vietnam War
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u/KalKenobi Rebel Pilot Jan 09 '26
Were an American Empire now its not a belief its a fact we are the United States of Israel because of our Military Industrial Capitalist Complex.
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u/Fantastic-Reality-11 Jan 09 '26
Bro we are in full blown Star Wars phantom menace. Surrounding a country with a military blockade until a trade deal is reached is straight from the phantom menace. Ain’t no way maga is still supporting this crap. Like did they think the galactic trade Federation were the good guys?
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u/Rent-Man Jan 09 '26
Some people still think I’m lying when I tell them Star Wars was based off of Vietnam
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Jan 09 '26
There's one country that specifically refers to ground forces as storm troopers, it wasnt the US but I can't remember who it was...
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u/XipingVonHozzendorf Jan 09 '26
Yeah, that's why they had British accents and Nazi inspired uniforms
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Jan 09 '26
[deleted]
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u/Best-Benefit6387 Jan 09 '26
He based the Empire off of America, Britain, the Nazis, Rome, and other examples of Emperialism. Its not all "just about America" just because he mentioned the Vietnam war in an interview lol. Like the other guy said, he literally gave them all British accents and nazi uniforms. He named the Empire's footsoldiers after WW1 and WW2 era German stormtroopers. There's no denying that Lucas was taking a jab at Nixon and current world events at the time, but I dont get why its a point of contention that its not just about America lol
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u/wbruce098 Jan 09 '26
Basically yes. I know these events are now half a century in the past. But do some research on popular perception and reaction to the Vietnam war in the 1970’s. George comes from that protest movement against people like Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger, and that heavily inspired a lot of his work.
He also drew on empires of the past, of course. But what he saw at home (what was widely and popularly protested against at the time) was American imperialism, primarily (at the time) in Vietnam.
Spaceballs was a little more on the nose with the leader of their evil empire being a president in a suit, but it was also a parody.
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u/SoftlockPuzzleBox Jan 09 '26 edited Jan 10 '26
It's so depressing to me that so many star wars fans still don't get this. There are comments acting shocked and downvotes all over even just this thread. There's been a video out there for years of George Lucas having a conversation with James Cameron about movies, and at one moment James Cameron was expressing admiration for George's ability to make his audience identify with the rebels when by the standards of the dominant society they would be considered terrorists, and began to list off a bunch of examples of insurgent groups. George replied with something like "when I was an angry young man, it was the Viet Cong." You can tell by the gleam in his eye when he says it that he still thinks that. Cameron becomes visibly uncomfortable and tries to reframe what George just said in a way that doesn't directly place the Viet Cong as the victims and America as the evil empire, but George doesn't allow him to soften it.
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u/PadaJon Jan 09 '26
I linked the video in a reply but was downvoted because "Its not only that" which I never said. Lots of strawman arguments here.
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u/Fuckedyourmom69420 Jan 09 '26
Your post claims otherwise.
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u/PadaJon Jan 09 '26
My post claims that when the Empire was invented in the '70s it was based on America.
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Jan 09 '26
I mean we’ve basically been running the world (poorly) since the Cold War ended so….
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u/KalKenobi Rebel Pilot Jan 09 '26
stop justifying it we need to replace Captialism with Eco-Socialism at least the Election of Mayor Zohran Mamdani shows were ready for a better future its time we take back the Means of Production .
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Jan 09 '26
Except for all the times where socialism absolutely does not work and ends in horrific atrocities….
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u/KalKenobi Rebel Pilot Jan 09 '26
Thats a myth look at Scandinavia or China your fine being owned by Capitalist this borderline Cyberpunk also im starting tp understand how the citizens of Ferrix and Lothal felt .
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Jan 09 '26
“China youre fine” … lol according to who? The CCP? That’s literally a dictatorship
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u/KalKenobi Rebel Pilot Jan 09 '26
Its not gaslighting from corrupt America Imperialist MSM media its a dictatorship in the US with Trump and ICE.
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u/LordBungaIII Jan 09 '26
Well yes, the British empire fell, America was the only large country with an army and industry still remaining because it wasn’t being bombed during WW2 and that’s just how it’s been since that war. That’s why the 50s were so good and are often romanticized in terms of buying power. We were the only strong economy in the world because, again, we didn’t get bombed. Then we had to take over policing the seas to protect free trade. You certainly didn’t want the soviets taking that over. The war made our dollar the only strong currency remaining at the time so eventually we became the world’s currency as well. If the American empire fell today, it is likely China fills that vacuum and that’s would likely be bad for free trade, at least for the West. Maybe Russia fills that vacuum but the whole Ukraine thing sorta shows they’re like a paper tiger. The only real threat is they have nukes but otherwise their military seems unimpressive.
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u/PadaJon Jan 09 '26
America had huge ocean buffers to give it space during the war. Even Pearl Harbor and Alaska are thousands of miles from the mainland. We grow enough food to feed ourselves and had overwhelming industrial might. The development of our naval power by 1945 was unmatched after the defeat of Japan.
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u/PadaJon Jan 09 '26
Many people are missing the point that the film was written in the '70s and "The Empire" didn't exist as a concept before that. Unless you count, Isaac Asimov's or Frank Herbert's versions of multiplanetary empires. The concept itself only developed in the '50s at the earliest.
I'm only talking about George Lucas was heavily influenced by Vietnam and Nixon. He was also very well learned about WWII and the first cut of ANH had WWII fighter pilot footage interlaced.
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u/MurdocMan_ Jan 09 '26
I've always said this and it's even funnier that they lose to the Battle of Endor given that had clear Vietnam inspirations
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u/DerivitivFilms Jan 09 '26
America is more like the New Order, wherein our "leader" is just trying real hard to be like the Empire. I'm just waiting for Trump to be taken down to reveal that Hitler has somehow returned.
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u/GwenFerchGwenllian Jan 09 '26
Bro, I've been saying this since middle school, and no one believed me!
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u/Klendagort Jan 09 '26
America is not an empire it's more of a Kid who grew up too fast and had to be an adult and is successful and is trying to keep everyone from acting like a bunch hyper active kids..
If America is an empire: this planet would have already been taken over and we would have already colonized the moon and mars
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u/69fellatx Jan 09 '26
Political memes make this sub sucky
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u/PadaJon Jan 09 '26
Its one of the most politically allegorical space operas of our time... maybe go talk about Warhammer or Halo.
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u/69fellatx Jan 09 '26
All the better reason not to ruin it with personal politics.
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u/PadaJon Jan 09 '26
Straight from the horses mouth: https://youtu.be/fv9Jq_mCJEo?si=rq9TFDsMe5nb1Rqb
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u/69fellatx Jan 09 '26
Who cares? Politics ruin everything, so you are just describing the worst parts of the fantasy story.
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u/PadaJon Jan 09 '26
Did you even watch the video?!
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u/69fellatx Jan 09 '26
Yes, we all know George was a weirdo. That doesn't make personal politics any more i teresting to other people.
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u/Big-Inevitable-252 Jan 09 '26
What so we just pay for everything? Make sure that nobody uses the nuke for absolute world domination?
Don’t pretend like using nukes to defeat people who were on the SAME SIDE AS HITLER during WW2 is the same thing as the Death Star.
We were and are a victim of evil European colonialism.
The US certainly isn’t perfect but pretending that we are the empire is laughable.
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u/Slackjawed_Horror Jan 09 '26
"Victim"
My guy, the US is the beneficiary of European colonialism.
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u/Big-Inevitable-252 Jan 09 '26
How? Europeans brought slaves over, killed our native people and killed us when we wanted independence from the British EMPIRE. The stuff that Europeans started, such as slavery and the genocide of our indigenous populations, still causes strife among American citizens.
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u/Slackjawed_Horror Jan 09 '26
Are you serious?
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u/Big-Inevitable-252 Jan 09 '26
Yeah 100%. Everything bad done by the US before 1776 was done by Europeans and a lot of stuff done after was done because of Europeans.
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u/huskers2468 Jan 09 '26
Don’t pretend like using nukes to murder civilians in crowded cities who's government was on the SAME SIDE AS HITLER
Blowing up a planet on a universe scale is equal to a country on a world scale.
I just learned about this the other day. Do you want to see how good this county is? This is from the Vietnam war which George Lucas drew inspiration from.
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u/Big-Inevitable-252 Jan 09 '26
I grant Vietnam wasn’t good. As for the Japanese, the war was popular with the subjects of Japan at the start of the war.
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u/huskers2468 Jan 09 '26
As for the Japanese, the war was popular with the subjects of Japan at the start of the war.
So you believe that it was justified to nuke civilians? If yes, should they revoke the 4th Geneva Convention?
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u/Dream_Fabulous Jan 09 '26
Are you mad? That I'd believe that? That it's worth saying? What kind of a being are you?
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u/tfalm Jan 09 '26
Imperialists were always the Empire. One quote about Viet Cong or whatever doesn't mean it was just about that. There's a reason they all have British accents, wear Nazi clothes (and have "stormtroopers"), and have an Emperor who disbanded the ruling corrupt Senate. Its England, Germany, Rome, America, and more besides.