Giant Freakin Robot

Science fiction fans are, traditionally, an under-represented group when it comes to political campaigns. Still, we have a very specific set of issues we like to see addressed by our duly elected leaders, including things like space exploration, time travel, alien invasion preparedness, the impending robotic takeover, Death Stars, and many, many other important concerns raised by the world of speculative fiction.

Well, the mayor of Reykjavik, the largest and capital city of Iceland, is more sensitive to the needs of nerds, and is way, way cooler than the mayor of wherever the hell you happen to live. Jón Gnarr—I’d vote for him based on that name alone—the incumbent mayor, turned up at the latest national election dressed as a flippin’ Jedi knight. Now that is one politician that doesn’t take himself too seriously, though lets hope he’s a little less flippant when considering important proposals.

In 1980, Lucasfilm followed up the success of Star Wars with its sequel film The Empire Strikes Back. The film was noticeably darker in tone and saw our heroes from the first film in dire danger and on the run from the Galactic Empire. It wasn’t the same movie as the original and in many ways it’s better for not being a conventional sequel.

While George Lucas didn’t direct the film, Irvin Kershner took the series to a new height that could never be matched with any of the subsequent Star Wars movies. Even though The Empire Strikes Back is by far the darkest of all the Star Wars movies, you wouldn’t notice it just by looking at the behind-the-scene photos taken while the film was in production in 1979. The cast and crew seem to be very happy and excited to make a new Star Wars movie.

Alderaan, Leia’s native land, was completely destroyed by Darth Vader and his Death Star. Not entirely unlike the way the White Man destroyed the land of the Native Americans, turning their home (eventually) into a Starbucks-laden cesspool. Also, it’s common knowledge that George Lucas‘ first script for Star Wars featured dozens of scalping incidents.

The first entry – and fourth episode – in Lucas’ space saga will be the first Hollywood film to ever be dubbed in the native Navajo language, bridging the massive cultural gap between tribal cinema and science fiction. Manuelito Wheeler, director of the Navajo Nation Museum in Window Rock, AR, has spent part of the last three years translating Star Wars, in collaboration with Lucasfilm and Deluxe. This will be the 40th official translation of the film, and believe it or not, the Navajo language – or Diné – is not equipped with words like “stormtrooper” and “holographic droid message,” so some liberties have been taken.

Because there are generally more English words involved in the translations, there will be probably be some overlay. Being conscious of this Wheeler hopes for something far different from “what people saw in the old Kung Fu movies when the lip movements didn’t coincide with what was said. I don’t want to disparage the Kung Fu movies because I loved watching them.” He continued, “But this can become very distracting and we don’t want to see that happen here.”

It’s safe to say that, love ‘em or hate ‘em, George Lucas’ Star Wars films have had a colossal impact on pop culture over the past few decades. Whether it’s old fogeys like myself who grew up with the originals, or the younger generation who got hooked on The Clone Wars, Star Wars is a topic that inspires passion, devotion, and creativity amongst its fans. That last one is the most important, because it’s the quality that gives birth to things like Casey Pugh’s Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Uncut, which you can see the trailer for up above.