{"id":97,"date":"2020-08-08T13:29:00","date_gmt":"2020-08-08T13:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rid.hamilton.edu\/mendelson\/?p=97"},"modified":"2021-04-19T04:40:26","modified_gmt":"2021-04-19T04:40:26","slug":"all-ages-of-star-wars-3-han-solos-hitlerian-cousin-human-supremacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rid.hamilton.edu\/mendelson\/2020\/08\/08\/all-ages-of-star-wars-3-han-solos-hitlerian-cousin-human-supremacy\/","title":{"rendered":"All Ages of Star Wars #3: Han Solo\u2019s Hitlerian Cousin & Human Supremacy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

DISCLAIMER: Article originally posted here<\/a> at All Ages of Geek on August 8th, 2020.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Some Spoilers For Star Wars: Ambush at Corellia (Corellian Trilogy \u2013 Book 1)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two Galaxies, One Issue.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Our galaxy isn\u2019t alone in dealing with racial tensions. I just finished reading Showdown At Centerpoint<\/em>, the third and final novel of the Corellian Trilogy<\/a>. I was surprised by how human supremacy, xenophobia, and race riots are seemingly so intertwined with the trilogy\u2019s overarching plot. It reminded me a lot of the recent social unrest in our world. Now, more than ever, is the time to talk about the ethnocentrism in a galaxy that, sadly, doesn\u2019t feel so far, far away at all. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Corellia\u2019s Economic Angst & Anger<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Corellian Trilogy takes place 14 years after the events of Return of the Jedi<\/em>. In those 14 years, Corellia<\/a>\u2019s economy tanks. Corellian humans, who make up roughly 60% of the sentient population, became more politically isolationist and anti-alien. Such sentiments don\u2019t bode well economically without an Empire to build warships for. Those bitter feelings towards aliens only worsened when the New Republic appointed a Frozian<\/a> named Micamberlecto<\/a> as the Governor-General of Corellia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Governor-General Micamberlecto<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The situation on Corellia provided an excellent opportunity for a human supremacist group to garner support from increasingly-sympathetic human ears. Thus, the Human League<\/a> rose to the occasion, led by a man who looked so similar to Han Solo<\/a> that Jabba the Hutt\u2019s bounty hunters might have easily gone after the wrong man had they seen him prior to Empire Strikes Back<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Thrackan Sal-Solo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The first book begins shortly before Leia travels to Corellia for a trade summit designed to reduce Corellia\u2019s economic hardships. Since Corellia is Han\u2019s homeworld, Leia decides to bring her husband and their three kids<\/a>: Jacen, Jaina, and Anakin, along, so that the trip could double as a family vacation. But not even Han Solo knew anything about the events that would soon unfold on his homeworld, least of all the involvement of his own flesh and blood \u2013 his cousin: Thrackan Sal-Solo<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thrackan\u2019s Ace In The Hole<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Things escalate very quickly after Mara Jade<\/a> arrives at the Corona House<\/a> with an encoded message. Thrackan uses a pseudonym for his message to Chief of State Leia Organa Solo. He promises to trigger supernovas and kill all life in a list of nearby star systems if his future demands are not met. The message contains each star\u2019s coordinates and the date when the said star is set to explode. The first star on the list went nova after <\/strong>the message was supposed to be given to Luke Skywalker. The threat is credible because the first star that went nova was the first one on the list, and it blew up when the message said it would.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Corellian Race Riots<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Later that day, the Human League initiates violent riots all over Coronet City<\/a>, Corellia\u2019s capital. They even set the Selonian Enclave on fire, sending a clear, appalling message \u2013 potentially starting a devastating race war between the two species.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Attacks on non-humans erupt not just \u201c\u2018in Coronet [City], but all over the planet\u2019\u201d (Allen, 284). The \u201ctorchlight parade\u201d of violence sweeps across to \u201c\u2018other [inhabited] planets [in the Corellian system], too\u2019\u201d (284). The Overden<\/a> ignites the riots on Selonia, and by the Drallists<\/a> on Drall. Soon, everybody is attacking everyone: \u201c\u2018Drall attacking Selonians, both attacking humans, and humans attacking\u2026 everywhere.\u2019\u201d (284). The chaos on Coronet continued for hours until suddenly all of the holo and flat view screens on the planet, which had shown nothing but static since the fighting began, changed to display a live stream of Thrackan Sal-Solo. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Coronet City<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Thrackan\u2019s Hitlerian Speech<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Speaking to everyone on Corellia, Thrackan declares himself ruler of the sector since he legitimately would have been the next-in-line Diktat<\/a> under Imperial law. Following his self-coronation, he condemns the New Republic and its \u201c\u2018oppressive all-species policy\u2019\u201d (295). Thrackan promises that \u201c\u2018[f]rom this time forward, [Corellia] shall be independent, with no Republican master in power over [them]\u2019\u201d (295). After declaring Corellia\u2019s \u201cliberation\u201d (secession) from the New Republic, he reveals that he has \u201c\u2018the power to back up these pronouncements\u2026 [since] two weeks ago a supernova explosion occurred on the outskirts of the Corellian Sector. The de facto Governor-General of the New Republic government ha[d] recently been provided with convincing proof that it was the Human League who caused that explosion, and the Human League that stands ready to cause further stellar explosions if [their] just demands are not met\u2019\u201d (295). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then comes the most shocking part of all: <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2018We hereby demand that the so-called New Republic commence immediate operations to deport all Drall and Selonians and other nonhumans off the planet of Corellia within thirty standard days.<\/strong> Otherwise, we will be forced to proceed with plans for our next stellar detonation. This is a day we have waited for these many years. It is now at hand. Now we can build toward freedom for all humanity in this sector, unfettered and unsullied by association with lesser races\u2026<\/strong> The future is full of promise. And the future is ours. Thank you all, and good night\u2019\u201d (295-296). Thrackan\u2019s message is clear: comply, or we will kill star systems starting with one hosting thousands of lives, then if you still don\u2019t obey, we target ones with millions of lives, and then, if you\u2019re too damn stubborn, billions will die when we blow up Corell<\/a>, the Corellian system\u2019s star.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Historical Context (Speculative)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Corellian trilogy would be very controversial if it were released today. But these books all came out in 1995. While this is merely speculative, perhaps the racial component of the plot is reflective of the real-world events that took place in the few years leading up to when Roger MacBride Allen<\/a> began writing. After all, these books came out only a few years after the Los Angeles race riots<\/a>, the end of Apartheid<\/a>, and only a few years after David Duke<\/a> won the majority of the white vote in the 1991 Louisiana gubernatorial race<\/a> (Duke lost since all votes are accounted for \u2013 thank God). I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if real-world events influenced his writing since the author\u2019s late father<\/a> was both an author and a historian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Concluding Thoughts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

But regardless of whether real-world events influenced this trilogy, the bottom line is that it\u2019s damn-good writing. The Corellian Trilogy tells an intricate story full of suspense. The author poured so much thought into it. And the plot goes well-beyond just the racial component. As important as speciesism<\/a> is to the plot, I have only spoiled a small slice of the cake. A mere piece of the puzzle. There is a lot more going on in this trilogy than what I\u2019ve revealed, and that is very intentional because it\u2019s such a great series of books<\/strong>. No one should have the meat and potatoes of the story served to them prematurely.<\/strong> I would definitely recommend reading them \u2013 especially if you love all ages of Star Wars. You can purchase them as mass-market paperbacks here<\/a>, ebooks here<\/a>, or abridged audiobooks here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Work Cited<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Allen, Roger MacBride. Star Wars: Ambush at Corellia<\/em>. Bantam Books, 1995.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DISCLAIMER: Article originally posted here at All Ages of Geek on August 8th, 2020. Some Spoilers For Star Wars: Ambush at Corellia (Corellian Trilogy \u2013 Book 1) Two Galaxies, One Issue. Our galaxy isn\u2019t alone in dealing with racial tensions. I just finished reading Showdown At Centerpoint, the third and final novel of the Corellian Trilogy. I was surprised by…<\/p>\n

Read More<\/span>+<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":570,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-97","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rid.hamilton.edu\/mendelson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rid.hamilton.edu\/mendelson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rid.hamilton.edu\/mendelson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rid.hamilton.edu\/mendelson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rid.hamilton.edu\/mendelson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/rid.hamilton.edu\/mendelson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":230,"href":"https:\/\/rid.hamilton.edu\/mendelson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97\/revisions\/230"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rid.hamilton.edu\/mendelson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rid.hamilton.edu\/mendelson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rid.hamilton.edu\/mendelson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rid.hamilton.edu\/mendelson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}