Do you think that this art defiles the memory of those who have fallen

"The Wall" is very special to me. The names of my fallen brothers are inscribed there. And though I am a huge fan of Star Wars I don't think there is anywhere the two can meet.

I know the genealogy of Darth and several of the Storm Troopers. And who is the character depicted to Darth's right hand side? It looks like a German Uniform.

But Star Wars is fictional. The Wall is as real as it gets. Besides, no Storm Trooper ever covered my six or kept me from stepping on a Bouncing Betty. Just sayin'....

It's just Dumb

It's art but it is definitely poor taste. The monument represents all the American Vietnam War deaths, this art cheapens their respective contributions and of course their ultimate sacrifice whether they died in combat or not. How is Darth Vader who represents evil and selfishness, equal to a Vietnam War veteran who survived the war and grieves for the loss of comrades and deals with the survivor's guilt that sometimes comes with surviving combat or a traumatic event? He does not and therefore while the First Amendment protects this artist's right to modify the original painting they do so with poor taste and a total lack of understanding what the Vietnam veterans went through.

There is a cross culture approach that I think the artist used to soften the blow of what he really wanted to say.
Vietnam's greatest complaint about our venture into their civil war was that it deprived them of their self determination. It was, depending on your interpretation of the laws, an illegal military action as well. And our first post WW II foray into imperialism/colonialism.
Are American Service Members just stormtroopers for a political agenda? The big bully on the block? or is there more to us? Do we believe in what we do? Is there a greater good for which we fight? Is there a need to restore a balance to the world? Is that what we were doing? or were we misguided?

It is art, it is there to make you think and to question your reality.

Does this art defile the memory? No, I don't think so. It may not be entirely appropriate but I don't think it defiles or denigrates the original artwork. I'm a big Star Wars fan though so my views might be slightly skewed from the masses. I can appreciate the symbolism the artist was most likely trying to convey. Vader may have given in to the Dark Side but he wasn't inherently evil. I think we could say the same for many of our leaders today as well. Most of them are good people at heart but have been corrupted by politics and self-interests.

This is an interesting variance on the original.

The original is powerful, in ways that cannot describe words, but it is an experience that is extremely limited.

Star Wars however is a "cultural experience." How many of us don't know Star Wars?

That said, are we offended because we have conflicting cultural experiences? The Wall is Personal, which makes it important to us. Much like the Flag is Personal, which is why get offended when people treat it badly.

But art isn't sacred. It's not immune from criticism, or satire, or mocking, or tributes, or whatever you want to call this variation.

This is an interesting take on the original, much like Band of Ballers was an interesting take on Iwo Jima. Whether we like it or not is Subjective however, like all art.

I know some may call it butt hurt but we live in a country of late that seems to make a blood sport out of taking things important to one segment of society and using them callously or in poor form.

This is not art, it is a childish attempt to use something very important to millions of Americans to bestow something (I have no idea what) on to fictional characters that have nothing to do with a war in which 58,000 Americans lost their lives.

Does Darth Vader leaning against the wall indicate the "artist" thinks Vietnam Veterans are as evil and murderous as Vader was(the character) and that the dead, whose names appear on the wall are like storm troopers for the empire?

It is probably in poor taste, but it does nothing to defile those who have served. If we started getting rid of everything in poor taste, we would really be busy.

I am perplexed in that this is like showing Custer and all his fallen men. Custer died too. Darth Vader died. So how is it he is on one side of the wall and his "men" are on the wall?

And I doubt Darth Vader would have mourned the lowly fallen storm trooper anyway.

Not well thought out by this nerdy type.

I look at it as showing that no matter which side you are on in a conflict we need to mourn our fallen, especially those who may not have had a choice in serving.