Analyzing the "Rebellion Trilogy"

This the first of a few posts I'll make in anticipating of The Force Awakens.  In this one, I'll discuss the overall themes of the original trilogy.

The original trilogy was about living on the fringe, fighting an evil that is completely overwhelming.  The first shot of A New Hope is a small ship fleeing a larger ship - a ship so large it eventually takes up half the screen (And the ship is called a Star Destroyer).  The Death Star: A space station the size of a moon with the ability to destroy a planet.  The entirety of Episode IV is about smallness overcoming bigness.  In every instance, smallness wins.  Where the Rebels are determined ("What good are stunt fighters going to do against *that*?", the Empire is arrogant ("Evacuate?  In our moment of triumph?")

Episode V is about every Rebel plan falling apart:  Hoth gets overrun; Han, Leia and Chewie get captured; Luke is drawn into a trap and loses his hand.  He also learns he is related to the man the Galaxy is meant to fear the most.  The Emperor rules, but Vader enforces.

Episode VI is about finally overcoming evil, defeating Jabba, destroying the Endor Bunker with the help of an overlooked native population, and destroying the second Death Star.  Most importantly, Luke ends the cycle of Jedi/Sith violence by refusing to kill Vader.  Smallness (and determined love) wins.

Star Wars was created during the Vietnam War (Though it wasn't released until 1977.  The war finally ended in 1975).  Lucas opposed the war, and the movies reflect this.  Here's another article on that.  The Empire was America, and the Rebels were the Vietnamese rebels.  It came out of a frustration that America was no longer a defender of peace as it perhaps once was, but was out to support its own interests and crush those who opposed it.  America was doomed to lose, despite it's strength, against those who were "right".

Star Wars had such an impact on America that Ronald Reagan took to calling the Soviets "The Evil Empire," as a way to rally Americans.  The end of the Cold War was even approached differently.  Instead of a big America trying to fight a big Russia, the struggle became portrayed as a morally right but small America against an overwhelming Soviet force.  "Tear down this wall" works into this model.  The idea was to challenge them morally, and use internal unrest to an advantage.  Even ramping up the arms race was more about economically exhausting the Soviets than militarily outdoing them.  In the end, the Soviets collapsed without an American invasion.  Like Luke Skywalker, we had broken the cycle of superpower violence.

Stay tuned for my analysis of the prequels.  Spoiler:  I really, really, really like the prequels.