The Emperor Palpatine Fan Club
May 9, 2008
A lot of shit is written about Star Wars. So, I thought I’d write about who ‘is’ The Shit in Star Wars. Yes, none other than your friendly neighborhood Ruler of the Universe Emperor Palpatine, aka Darth Sidious. I mean, what a legend!
He got rid of those pesky religious nut jobs and terrorists, the Jedi. He brought much needed order to chaos in the Republican shit pile of discord. Some of Palpatine’s innovations include separating Church and State, getting rid of the ineffectual Senate, founding the mighty Galactic Empire and being an excellent multi tasker on many political fronts like domestic security, industrial relations, military strategy and foreign policy. Add to this being the boss of unruly minister without portfolio, Darth Vader, and you have a mighty accomplished political animal.
Played with aplomb, in Lucas’s at times unflattering portrait of the Galactic Empire, by Ian McDiarmid. Indeed, I would go as far as to venture that I think Palpatine is being given a raw deal! Who by? None other than that channel for all things Star Wars, Mr. George Lucas himself. Palpatine is constantly portrayed as Evil, when he clearly is a more balanced figure working towards Galactic unity, strength and wholeness. Palpatine digs both sides of the Force, so is much more balanced than that Galactic dwarf and Buddhist rip off artist, Yoda. He appreciates art, politics, women, sex, intrigue and power like any normal, healthy person. He also manages to keep his thoughts hid from those annoying mind reading Jedi pests, that hijacked the Republic. All the while Palpatine goes about saving whats left of the Republic and strengthening it and creating something new, and some would argue better in the Empire.
Here at Idea Fix, we’d like to open “The Emperor Palpatine Fan Club”, the only one on the net. Probably not, but let me know others? A place to share and care about that misunderstood, humble Galactic ruler with da cool cloaks and da even cooler rhetoric.
Add your comments and send me Palpatine poop to post here on Idea Fix.
What up with this new animated Star Wars movie? It looks shite. Lucas, stop playing with Jar Jar Binks genitals and let new blood who appreciate the Dark Side as well as Light, direct a new episode each of the famed 7, 8 and 9 in the Star Wars saga. And bring the damn Emperor back, as a ghost if necessary, to train new Sith. That sounds sexy.
May 9, 2008 at 4:06 pm
Sorry, but I find Palpatine as one dimensional as the fascists he’s designed to replicate.
May 9, 2008 at 4:19 pm
Oh Greg, your so one dimensional in not seeing the subtleties. Star Wars is one dimensional portrait of a more complex world that you can apply your own hermeneutics too.
Your telling me you like the dull ascetic Jedi? You’ve always been more a Sith, in my eyes…this is that Greg Maxwell isn’t it?
May 9, 2008 at 11:19 pm
I don’t have your film makers eye Rich, I guess.
I do find the jedi just as one dimensional.
I don’t think Lucas was trying to put a lot of subtext in, he was too blatant in his racial stereotyping of those trader fleet types with the bad accents and the hook nosed pseudo arab with the bumble bee wings.
It’d be nice if there was a broader societal narrative in there, but I think that, aside from some in-jokes, this cigar’s just a cigar.