I'm not sure what's more amusing: the (satirical) attempt to frame the original Star Wars trilogy as the radicalization of a young man (Luke) into a rebellious religious cult (the Jedi), leading to various acts of terror (destroying government defense installations, sand barges, etc.) … or the outraged disgust from some of the commenters about how it's a terrible analogy and Luke would never ever do something mean and evil like that.
(As the saying goes, "One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter," and vice-versa.)
Originally shared by +Yonatan Zunger:
The story of Star Wars is a familiar one from an unfamiliar angle. It follows the life of a young jihadi, from his socially isolated teenage years on a hardscrabble farm, through his encounters with local radical elements, through the death of his parents as "collateral damage" in a military operation, through his move to a remote location where he studies under a hard-line mullah, to his involvement in a series of terrorist acts, leaving thousands of soldiers dead in his wake. What's unfamiliar about this story (from a Western perspective) is that we see this story not from the point of view of civil society, the police, or the victims of radical Jedi terror, but from the point of view of the terrorists themselves. That is, this is a chance to see the logic of violent terrorism from the perspective of those participating in it.
This unconventional angle may make the film politically highly sensitive in these security-conscious times, but with a new installment coming shortly (about the consequences of living in the aftermath of the destabilization of the government by terror and insurrection), I think it may be worth the risk of being placed on watchlists to watch this film and seriously consider its lessons for our day. After all, nobody is a villain in their own eyes.
h/t +A.V. Flox
The Radicalization of Luke Skywalker: A Jedi’s Path to Jihad
You may find yourself surprised by how much the original Star Wars trilogy’s characters and themes echo the current War On Terror.
Basically, since Return of the Jedi, that has been my point of view of the Jedi and the Rebels, and Clerks solidified that PoV.