Was 'a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away' too subtle for some?
A Devon academic is doing a talk on Star Wars and how the original film was about the Vietnam war
Last updated 13th Oct 2023
A Devon academic is doing a talk on Star Wars and how the original film may have been misunderstood by some viewers.
Doctor Chris Kempshall is a research fellow - who specialises in warfare and modern media representations at the University of Exeter.
He said: "When A New Hope, the first Star Wars film came out there's testimony from George Lucas that he's actually a little bit annoyed that people didn't get the subtext to it.
"They were coming out going 'that was a great Star Wars pew per science fiction film and they didn't get the underlying critique of the Vietnam war."
Dr Kempshall's talk called 'The history and politics of Star Wars' takes place at Exeter Phoenix on Thursday October 26.
Dr Chris Kempshall, a public historian, specialises in 'transnational experiences of allied warfare and modern media representations of history'.
He said: " This event will explore the films and their responses to real world moments. We’ll also look at the books and computer games in the franchise, to see how they responded to the fall of the Soviet Union, genocides and ethnic cleansings in the 1990s, and both 9/11 and the Global War on Terror."
Dr Kempshall is also a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Exeter and a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Army Leadership, Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
He is also the author of numerous academic works including 'The First World War in Computer Games' and 'The History and Politics of Star Wars: Death Stars and Democracy'.