Star Wars, Syria, and Our Civil War: Bearing Witness to Atrocity and Suffering

Abstract

Bear with me on this one. The American Civil War will make it into this conversation, but I have a lot of other things to talk about first. And I should also warn: minor spoilers ahead. I was moved to silence after seeing Rogue One, the first spin-off film of the Star Wars franchise. Even now, tears creep into my eyes as I remember how it shook me. I had heard reviews claiming that it was the first Star Wars movie to put the cost of war at the center of the narrative. I hadn’t expected it to be so true. Rogue One is far from a perfect movie, but it boldly presents many powerful themes that move it beyond the traditional scope of the Star Wars universe. It deals not only with acts of war, but with their human consequences. [excerpt