Friday, August 22, 2008

Nazi, Star Wars, & Chilean Helmets

I just watched a powerful and sobering account of Pinochet's brutal regime on POV's The Judge and the General. In the documentary, I noticed for the first time how much the Chilean army's helmet looked like the Nazi stahlhelm.

Nazi stahlhelm

Chilean army helmet

The other eerie connection is with Star Wars. George Lucas modeled Darth Vader's helmet and the Imperial Stormtroopers' helmets on the stahlhelm. Vader's other signature fashion statement is the long, flowing cape. Check this out:

Vader reviewing the troops

Pinochet leading the troops down the red carpet

CKY

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I always thought Vader's helmet, and outfit at all, was inspired by samurai stuff