I’ll just leave this here, where George Lucas explicitly confirms the rebels were the communist Vietnamese and the Empire is america: https://youtu.be/Nxl3IoHKQ8c?t=56
And he explicitly corrects the interviewer when they attempt to call them the “English Empire” instead.
Lucas brings up the American Revolutionary War (he said something about “hayseeds in coonskin hats”) as a parallel to the Vietnam War, probably to smooth over the discomfort the lib interviewer has with characterizing the modern and 60’s US as the evil empire. So I don’t think that’s a correction, more like an insistence on continuing the parallel.
Side note, that turn of phrase was a masterful way to prevent/delay the interviewer from dismissing the viet kong as “terrorists.” Lucas is extremely sharp. I definitely couldn’t have directed the conversation as effectively.
Yeah he’s absolutely trying to make sure there that it is explicitly understood that is the American empire not just an “evil” empire that you can swap to anyone else.
I just realized the interviewer is James Cameron, lol. Well, Cameron focused more on European imperialism in Avatar, but maybe I’m not giving him quite enough credit.
Ho Chi Minh famously wrote a letter to Truman asking for American support in their war against the French because they were trying to do the same thing the US in their revolution. he believed the propaganda and got bitten by the reality - Truman never replied.
Georgie-boy is cooler than most people would admit
But also why is the camera constantly moving in that show? its supposed to be just an interview with the standard shots. why does the camera constantly swivel around them and why does it keep cutting to a cam thats directly behind a fuckin floodlight
I’ll just leave this here, where George Lucas explicitly confirms the rebels were the communist Vietnamese and the Empire is america: https://youtu.be/Nxl3IoHKQ8c?t=56
And he explicitly corrects the interviewer when they attempt to call them the “English Empire” instead.
Lucas brings up the American Revolutionary War (he said something about “hayseeds in coonskin hats”) as a parallel to the Vietnam War, probably to smooth over the discomfort the lib interviewer has with characterizing the modern and 60’s US as the evil empire. So I don’t think that’s a correction, more like an insistence on continuing the parallel.
Side note, that turn of phrase was a masterful way to prevent/delay the interviewer from dismissing the viet kong as “terrorists.” Lucas is extremely sharp. I definitely couldn’t have directed the conversation as effectively.
Yeah he’s absolutely trying to make sure there that it is explicitly understood that is the American empire not just an “evil” empire that you can swap to anyone else.
I just realized the interviewer is James Cameron, lol. Well, Cameron focused more on European imperialism in Avatar, but maybe I’m not giving him quite enough credit.
I don’t like that Cameron seems to be putting words in Lucas’s mouth. Lucas was good at getting his points across though.
Didn’t a lot of early CPV propaganda use the same American Revolution imagery in an appeal to the west?
Ho Chi Minh famously wrote a letter to Truman asking for American support in their war against the French because they were trying to do the same thing the US in their revolution. he believed the propaganda and got bitten by the reality - Truman never replied.
That is James Fucking Cameron.
I have no idea what he looks like lmao
George Lucas almost directed Apocalypse Now during the Vietnam war. John Milius wanted to film on location in South Vietnam.
wasn’t that Coppola? do you mean Lucas almost got it instead?
I had to look it up but yeah, Lucas was originally supposed to direct it with Coppola producing.
Georgie-boy is cooler than most people would admit
But also why is the camera constantly moving in that show? its supposed to be just an interview with the standard shots. why does the camera constantly swivel around them and why does it keep cutting to a cam thats directly behind a fuckin floodlight