A Deeper Look At How Palpatine Really Turned The Galaxy Against The Jedi
From a third-person perspective and having seen the original trilogy, it would appear to be blatantly evident that Sheev Palpatine was the puppeteer of the Clone Wars and the secret Sith Lord behind the destruction of the Jedi. However, one may wonder how, even for Darth Sidious, thousands of years of the Jedi's reputation could essentially be wiped out of existence across the galaxy in the Imperial era. In the latest Star Wars installment by Marvel Comics, such a question was explored in Star Wars: Crimson Reign #3 written by Charles Soule.
The Jedi's history is deeply entrenched, with over a thousand generations of Jedi being welcomed as keepers of the peace by the galaxy. As described by the Archivist, the central character of Crimson Reign #3, and a scholar who studied the Force specializing in the Dark Side, the Jedi Order sat deeply in the galaxy's consciousness. The people, in some sense, worshiped the light side Force users, documenting about them and rightly treating them like celebrities. It certainly raised the issue of how such a positive light of the Jedi could be twisted and erased from memories in only a matter of years.
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As noted by the Archivist, Palpatine's key to doing so was his understanding of what the Jedi embodies and the inherent meaning to the people. Just as the Light and Dark Sides of the Force are integral to the balance of the Force, the people saw the Light Side as a representation of "what they should be" in terms of how they live and act, while the Dark side was more rooted in their inner nature and more closely connected to "how they actually were." By manipulating the latter, Palpatine schemed to make the galaxy fear the Jedi, which was the impetus to the orchestrated downfall of the Jedi.
Being the (technically) democratically elected representative of the galaxy, Palpatine framed the Jedi as traitors through modified recordings of the showdown between him and the four Jedi Masters who stormed his office in an attempt to arrest him as seen in Revenge of the Sith, creating the false image that they were trying to subvert democracy and peace and cause war. While the Senate was corrupt and under his influence towards the end of the war, the thunderous applause after his speech indicated the galaxy's view towards the Jedi had changed.
As noted by the Archivist, while the Jedi were loved by the public, they were also hated for appearing as their 'best selves," reminding the people that most of them were not. Coupled with the conflict and violence caused by the Clone Wars, Palpatine engineered the Jedi to gradually stray from their old ways of maintaining peace to becoming warmongers, thereby encouraging fear, hatred, and selfishness across the galaxy solidifying the hold of the Dark Side.
Having painted the Jedi in a negative light, the final chess piece for Palpatine was to simplify outlaw any knowledge and discussion of the Jedi under Imperial rule. By enacting new laws on treason, the Empire made it illegal to be and help a Jedi and use, study, or even be aware of the Force. Through monopolizing the means of coercion on a galactic scale, everything in the Sith's plot would fall into place - Order 66 purged nearly all of the Jedi, the remaining Jedi were picked off one by one, outspoken supporters of the Jedi were suppressed, imprisoned and eliminated. Finally, all that remained was the overarching fear that kept the galaxy "in check," forcing those who still knew of the Jedi to be silent, and as time passed, so would the Jedi Order be truly lost.
While appearing to be straightforward, the effectiveness of Palpatine's devious plan is truly chilling and, in some ways, even draws parallels in the real world we are living in. As seen in post-Order 66 Star Wars productions such as the comics, the Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order video game and the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series, Palpatine's scheme was indeed effective in creating the dystopian landscape of the galaxy before a new hope (reference intended) emerges once again.
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Source(s): ScreenRant