Justin Markwat

Mrs. Thomas
UWRT 1102
February 22, 2016
Reflection
Going into this paper I had known that I was going to write about
something Star Wars related, but I had no idea exactly what my topic would
be. All the topics that had my interest seemed far too complicated to be
understood by the average reader and I did not want to have to spend half of
my paper giving a backstory of Star Wars just so that I could get my point
across. I had originally settled on a different topic but once I started writing
on that it seemed far too broad so I finally settled on this one. I am very
aware that this paper is nothing more than a first draft; It should not have
taken me until the end of the third paragraph to finally spit out my inquiry
question. I waited so long to mention it because I was so caught up in giving
some history into star wars and explaining why I chose the topic. I think I
have a lot of good thoughts for this paper but to make this paper a final
product I will have to organize them all and be able to stay focused without
wandering into other aspects of Star Wars since I am so passionate about it.
Star Wars and Politics
So this is how democracy dieswith thunderous applause. Senator Padme
Amidala
If you were to ask someone from a foreign nation What do you think is
wrong with America? there is a high chance that they would respond by
saying how apathetic we are about our own politics. With an average of
about 50% of Americans voting in each election, they would not be wrong.
That is a staggeringly low number, does the other half just not care about
their leaders, and which way the country will be ran? I believe that the
numbers are so low not only because the American people dont care enough
to vote, but because they dont care enough to learn about a topic which
doesnt interest them. My solution to this problem is to take a topic that
some see as boring, and make it interesting by incorporating it with
something that we all love. As such I have come up with the question How
do our current presidential candidates compare to Star Wars characters? in
an attempt to educate others on the viewpoints of our candidates in a way
that will capture their attention so that they might vote.
The Star Wars universe is one that is cherished by children and adults
alike. Since the first movie was released in 1977 the film franchise has been
one of the most successful in history, with the original trilogy still being

ranked at the third best trilogy ever produced to this date. In addition to the
current seven movies and the five more which are already planned; several
hundreds, if not thousands, of books have been written by Star Wars fans to
expand the universe past just what was shown in the movies. These books
along with the movies and television shows and my own imagination made
up the majority of my childhood.
For the few who do not know, the plot of Star Wars is popularly known
as this: the Jedi, benevolent guardians of peace, struggle to bring freedom
and peace to the universe while the Sith, corrupt monsters who lust for
power, attempt to destroy them and bring chaos to the universe. Put this
way it sounds like a very black and white story of good versus evil. I however
do not believe it is as simple as this. I believe that close observation into the
story reveals good and evil moral behavior from both sides. This made
me question why were the Sith considered evil? Maybe they werent and this
is just another case of history being written and slanted by the victors. And if
that is the case, were the Jedi actually the evil ones?
Because it has been around for so long, many people of all ages can
claim to be Star Wars fans or to have been in their youth. Star Wars has
become a large part of multiple generations culture and is on track to
become more and more popular. As I mentioned before, the movies
themselves are immensely popular, and there have been hundreds of books
written by authors who love the Star Wars universe. There are also extensive
wiki pages on the topic and, because of its popularity, countless blogs
scattered across the internet. Star Wars is something that I have also taken a
massive personal interest in. My childhood involved reading every single one
of the books I could get my hands on, watching the movies hundreds of
times each, and spending countless hours researching the lore and history of
this amazing universe. As such I can confidently say that in a typical setting I
will undoubtedly be the subject matter expert should there be a question
regarding Star Wars.
There will be no shortage of evidence as I research more into this
comparison. It is the nature of politics to expose every dark secret that your
opponents do not want to be known. Due to this, just as both the Jedi and the
Sith showed good and evil behavior, we will be able to see the good and the
bad of each political candidate. Finding the evidence on the Star Wars side
will be just as easy, due to its already proven popularity and also because of
my own passion for the topic.
When I first heard about this assignment I knew without a doubt that I
had to do something related to Star Wars. I have always wanted to
incorporate my love for it into a school assignment but have never been
given true freedom to pick my own topic before. I think that with my already
present passion for the topic and the wealth of knowledge and sources

available to me I will be able to merge a fun topic with a serious one and turn
it into a good academic paper.