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Being from the UK, we get our own SW magazine here. But a holidaying friend of mine bought me the Mace Windu issue as a present, so I finally got a look at how you guys present things.

Anyway, this Canadian guys' theory in the letters page on why TPM didn't get as good a reception as the clasic films make interesting reading... Here is the letter:

"I was recently thinking about The Phantom Menace and wondering why it doesn't move the viewer like the classic trilogy. The reason is that The Phantom Menace lacks the grounding in historical truth that underlies the classic trilogy.

"The classic trilogy is, on one level, the American Revolution in space. a 'ragtag' group of Revolutionaries fight off a larger military Empire, suffer losses and minor defeats, but eventually win the war. In The Phantom Menace, however, the viewer is led to believe that Gungans/Indians join forces with the Naboo/13 Colonists to fight off the Trade Federation/British Empire. The historical reaity is, of course, that the Indians- primarily the Six Nations Iroquois- joined forces with the British to fight the 13 colonists. After the Revolutionary War, the nascent 13 Colonists did not live peacefully with the Indians' they rounded them up and 'processed' them like tte Trade Federation.

"Maybe this is why The Phantom Mencase does not satisfy the viewer like the classic trilogy; because the film lacks historical truth, the viewers subconscious stirs uneasily at the manipulation of American History."



Now, I have a few thoughts of my own on this, because I think neither example bears close examination, but I can't really give it a fair appraisal without haring what some actual Americans thibk. Now, how could I POSSIBLY gather some of those...

So, it's be nice to hear what some of our cousins from across the water think... or anyone else, for that matter.

My cousins live in Australia...

(Sorry, could resist that one...)

Sorry, but is every American so high-set with the independence that he want to connect everything with the American history

Well, the letter writer was Canadian.

Well, that's almost the same...
*thinks: Darn it, I must get a new pair of glases*

Yerrsot it's completly different. It's like calling you Dutch.


I don't agree with that letter because it's talking about an AMERICAN audience. SW is popular world wide.
I don't know that much about the American revolution so does that mean that I can't identify with the rebels the same as an American would? Of course it doesn't.

The Rebel v Empire scenario is there throughout history.

And I don't like this assumption that TPM didn't satisfy the veiwer like the OT. It did for me. It's my second favourite SW movie and there are parts which I thought were more moving than exciting than the other movies. I wish people would stop assuming that all people hate TPM. I love it.

And where does he get the idea that the Naboo/Gungan/Trade Fedaration thing doesn't have any historical grounding? There are instances of this all over history. Enemies coming together to fight evil.

Britain and France fought wars with each other for hundreds of years (which the Gungans and Naboo didn't) but they still came together to fight the Nazis because they were both under threat.


The reason some people didn't like TPM was because they expected far too much.

Hey KJ, I wrote that I needed new glases, sorry!!! The writer was Canadian, Canadian,Canadian, Canadian,Canadian, Canadian,Canadian, Canadian, is that better?

If he thinks that that is true, let him have it.

Okay.