Preferred vs. Oppositional Reading

Star Wars - Episode III: The Revenge of the Sith

IMDB entry - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0121766/

The Video - http://www.megavideo.com/?v=F9INTT5A


Like all good science-fiction prequels released in the Spring of '05, The Revenge of the Sith can be seen from at least two different viewpoints (ignoring negotiated reading). First and foremost, the intentions of the creator to influence your feelings in a particular direction is the preferred reading. In contrast to that, an oppositional reading may instead be used by the consumer of media. Here, the reader decidedly does not agree with the intentions of the media artifact.

For this piece of cinema, the preferred reading is very well known. Hell. It was formulated by the FIVE other Star Wars movies. Throughout the video, our hero, Anakin Skywalker, faces challenges that can be easily related to our own society. The connection drawn between these fictional struggles and the consumer's own life aims to reinforce this preferred reading.

For example, the primary conflict between the Jedi Council and the (soon to be) Intergalactic Empire is akin to the fight for democracy across the expanse of our inhabited universe, Earth. With the long-lasting (and likely deserved) paranoia regarding socialism and communism, Americans are prone to decide in favor of the rebel alliance. I'm sure many of us already see our own Battle for Democracy being just as glorious of a pursuit as intergalactic freedom.

The preferred reading is very apparent, as shown above; however, the oppositional reading for such a clear-cut story is not totally absent. With the nation fearing terrorism so fervently, it must not be forgotten that the heroes in (original) Star Wars are still rebels. Do you think they got the rebellion this far by staging peaceful demonstrations? I don't recall seeing any democracy proponents holding hands to block the death star from destroying Alderan. They must have used guerrilla warfare to make their gains. Any assault would have been instantly crushed under the might of the empire.

Now, remove the preconceptions of good and evil. What remains?

1. We have a ruling body doing all that it can to remain sovereign. Sometimes, the government ignores the human rights of those who would seek to endanger it. In our current culture, we call these people enemy combatants and torture them in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

2. We have a small group of terrorists pushing their own political agenda by any means necessary, including the mass-murder of entire starships of (likely-drafted) soldiers. Today, we call these terrorist groups names like Al-Qaeda or The Islamic Jihad Union.

From the preferred and oppositional readings, we have the conflict of interest. Which is more necessary: total peace or total freedom? Most viewers will agree with George Lucas that freedom is the most important. That is, until the next rebellion uprises, claiming that the current system is corrupt. . .