Star Wars: A Diplomatic Incident Caused by the Shooting of the First Movie

It’s always good to remember just how big the Star Wars galaxy is beneath its exterior space opera, is peppered with George Lucas-infused political references, particularly with evocations of the Vietnam War. Already in 1973 He wrote a note of Star Wars, referring to the Vietnam War where he mentioned his screenwriting intentions, speaking “A large tech empire that follows a small group of freedom fighters”.

In the interview, he drew a parallel between the rebellion of the American colonies against the British Empire during the War of Independence and the Rebel Alliance of his saga, which he likened to the Vietcong resistance during the Vietnam War. An empire that is nothing more than the cinematic equivalent of the United States.

The irony is that in both cases the little guys won. The high-tech empire – the British Empire, the American Empire – lost. That was the whole point!” he continued. For reference, in the Return of the Jedi audio commentary, George Lucas already specified that the Viet Cong were also the inspiration for the Ewoks, who used their primitive weapons and guerilla tactics to fight the Imperial invaders.

A border incident caused by Star Wars filming?

When it comes to talking about the war, reality almost coincided with fiction. During the filming of A New Hope in Tunis (Tatooine) near the border with Algeria, the fictional characters of the local government and the lack of technology created caused an uproar between the two. neighboring nations.

When the crew was shooting their scenes with the Jawas, the production set up a huge sand cart to serve as their vehicle not far from the border between Tunisia and Algeria. A build that cost a fortune elsewhere: not far from $130,000.

According to the book The making of Star Wars: The defining story of the original film JV

Because this massive creation was mounted so close to the Algerian border, and because Tunisian army trucks were borrowed for the film’s production, the Algerian government publicly expressed concern about elements of what it perceived as the beginning of a massive troop mobilization on it. The border… the kind of political and military tension that makes you sweat profusely…

“True on the Border” confirms Lucas in the book. By inviting production, they want to show their credentials, “They came to check the sand tank to make sure it wasn’t a secret weapon” He continues. It’s hard to imagine that Star Wars could cause a war between two countries…