Margaret Atwood recently claimed that the Star Wars franchise is guilty of inspiring the 9/11 attacks. During an interview with Variety on Tuesday, the award-winning author of The Handmaid’s Tale said that the terrorists “got the idea” from Star Wars. “Remember the first one? Two guys fly a plane in the middle of something and blow that up? The only difference is, in Star Wars, they get away,” Atwood said. It is not clear if Atwood was joking when she said this. She continued to say that after 9/11, the government hired Hollywood screenwriters to help them figure out “how the story might go next” because sci-fi writers are good at anticipating future events. CNET writes that it is true that science fiction writers can help plan for an uncertain future and have been hired by the Pentagon in the past. The government uses the writers’ creativity to think more laterally about terror attacks and the changing face of warfare, according to CNET. Atwood’s remarks about Star Wars have been largely mocked on Twitter.
Me waiting for @HamillHimself to respond to Margaret Atwood’s claim Star Wars inspired 9/11: pic.twitter.com/P7Gp6nJ5fq
— ოᕱᏒg๏ (@filloryresists) April 11, 2018
This is the equivalent of saying the Super Mario Bros. movie inspired 9/11 @MargaretAtwood https://t.co/yoIg6yuAVn
— Ethan Beller (@BuggusMaximus) April 12, 2018
i agree with margaret atwood: STAR WARS should not exist.
— your friend john (@johnsemley3000) April 10, 2018
Atwood has caused controversy before, like in January when she questioned the efficacy of the #MeToo movement in an op-ed. And in 2016, she signed a public letter condemning the University of British Columbia for firing novelist Steven Galloway after allegations of sexual assault.
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