Tom Engelhardt

In 1977, given the apparent war—weary mood of the nation in the wake of Vietnam, it is surprising that even a fantasy film about war could be as popular as George Lucas's Star Wars proved to be. Star Wars was a hit with audiences because it provided a vision of war that was in many ways the opposite of Vietnam. In Vietnam, U.S. soldiers had massacred civilians at the village of My Lai; in Star Wars it is the protagonist, Luke Skywalker, who sees his own family massacred by enemy troops. Americans had been appalled at the harsh conditions and high casualty rates in Vietnam, but in Star Wars war was sleek, technological, and bloodless. Star Wars made "playing war" once...