On Wednesday, September 16, 2020, at 2PM EST, the team at Students For Liberty invites you to join us for our latest Liberty at Home online event. This will be the fourth episode of our Instagram Live mini-series on Libertarian Pop Culture.
Titled ‘Did Star Wars Need Political Parties?’, this event will feature Stephen Kent, a libertarian political commentator, entertainment writer, and podcast host. He will be interviewed by Russell Coates, our Content Marketing Specialist.
Working as the Public Relations Manager at Young Voices, Stephen Kent has previous experience working in grassroots politics. He is passionate about the crossover between Star Wars and politics and has made numerous media appearances on this topic.
His podcast, ‘Beltway Banthas’, is dedicated to the analysis of the politics of the Star Wars universe. Exploring a wide range of topics relating to politics and Star Wars, a number of prominent figures from a variety of political backgrounds have been featured on his show. These guests have included former Minneapolis Mayor, Betsy Hodges, Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-Washington), Tamara Keith (NPR), Glenn Beck (The Blaze), Kennedy (Fox Business), libertarian comedian Andrew Heaton, and Ben Domenech, of The Federalist.
Wednesday’s event will consist of a discussion around the political landscape of the Star Wars universe, particularly focusing on how various aspects of the franchise’s political system relate to pro-liberty values. One of the main areas to consider is the decline and fall of the Galactic Republic in the prequel trilogy. Specifically, it is interesting to look at whether some changes to the Republic’s political system could have prevented it from giving way to the populism and authoritarianism of the Empire.
It is also worth exploring the role played by the conflict with the Trade Federation in the downfall of the Republic. In addition, the discussion will cover aspects such as the democratization of access to the force across the different movies and to what extent any political messages in Star Wars were intentional on the part of George Lucas. Finally, alongside an analysis of the overall message of the sequel trilogy, it would also be interesting to consider whether parallels can be drawn between the First Order and right-wing populists.
To hear Stephen Kent’s analysis of the political landscape in Star Wars, and learn more about the crossover between Star Wars and politics, make sure to tune in for his interview.
Be sure to follow us on Instagram so that you’ll be notified when we go live on Wednesday, September 16, 2020, at 2 PM EST!
