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The Star Wars saga is renowned for many of its contributions, whether the incredible leaps and bounds in special effects or the meme-able "somehow, Palpatine returned." One thing that isn’t necessarily associated with Star Wars, though, is its scholarly accuracy. Naturally, being a sci-fi western at heart, the standard for Star Wars' factual basis isn't necessarily high.
Behind the laser swords and space sounds, though, there appears to be quite a bit of factual accuracy to the sci-fi series. Specifically, the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series demonstrates a distinctly sharp view of what happens to a society during wartime. This is the case to such an extent that a recent study determined the series is a great example of the militarization of society during a time of war.
The Journal of Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism recently published a study by Colin Atkinson entitled, "Deception: a critical discourse analysis of undercover policing and intelligence operations in Star Wars: The Clone Wars." Essentially, the text points out the way that policing and the change of society are portrayed on Star Wars: The Clone Wars, especially as regards espionage, and the fact that they are startlingly accurate to what happens outside of fiction. Looking at an arc spanning Season 4, Episode 15, "Deception" through Episode 18, "Crisis on Naboo," Atkinson used various linguistically based methods to examine the way subterfuge and spying are portrayed on the show.
To begin, Atkinson points out that the start of most episodes of The Clone Wars mimics a WWII-era newsreel and is clearly meant to portray the Republic forces as infallible. However, as the course of the episodes studied went on, the Jedi and Republic showed that they are not totally prepared for war and espionage. Kenobi's cover is broken multiple times, and the previously unwarlike peoples of the Republic keep on faltering in maintaining Kenobi's communications. Overall, for an undercover operation, Kenobi's actions during this arc show just how faulty the Republic's preparation for war truly was.
In terms of war adaptation among the Jedi and the society of the Republic at large, Atkinson points out that the Jedi of The Clone Wars begin wearing armor rather than their traditional robes. The Jedi justify their warlike actions for the betterment of society. Ultimately, the keepers of the peace resort to violence and lies for the greater good, the consistent justification of a peaceful society during wartime.
This justification of the means for better ends is one of the telling aspects of a peaceful society corrupted by wartime. It's also one of the important aspects of Star Wars' Republic as represented in The Clone Wars. In constructing a narrative that allows for the Jedi to be put under pressure to do things that are generally agreed as being immoral or signaling of turning to warlike tendencies, Atkinson states that Star Wars demonstrates particularly well the way a peaceful society turns into one of war. In doing this, Star Wars: The Clone Wars serves as a great resource for those learning about the moral greys of war. What's more, Star Wars fans are made to think about whether the clear forces of good and evil in the galaxy are truly as black and white as the narrative implores them to believe.
For purely academic purposes, Star Wars: The Clone Wars is streaming on Disney+.