mainstream political discourse in america is almost entirely based on vibes. every once in a while reality will intrude to make everyone talk about something that matters in somewhat reasonable terms, but that is always short lived. once you abstract that kind of ungrounded discussion through fiction and try to discuss that fiction at if it actually happened, it becomes no better than noise. this is a prime example of that.

the only way to discuss art in a meaningful way, especially politically, is to talk about what it is says (or is trying to say) about the real world that we live in. i think it’s fairly uncontroversial to say that the interpretation that star wars invites you to make in the text is that the old republic is essentially a liberal democracy that gets overthrown by fascists. it’s a very liberal take on how that happens (through lies and treachery rather than openly calling for it), but that’s to be expected from art made by a liberal society.