Nothing quite illustrates the men in power think they’re untouchable, honestly mood like Admiral Motti insulting the religious convictions of an armored, superpowered cyborg with a laser sword.
See, this bit has always fascinated me for other reasons.
Fans have long noted that once the prequels entered SW
continuity, we had to accept that the Jedi had been erased from history only
two decades after they had ceased to exist –now I can well believe that an
effective propaganda campaign could have accomplished this, but the behavior of
the admirals in A New Hope implies that even the Empire’s top brass have
apparently swallowed the belief that the Jedi died out centuries ago. Like, they
very clearly view Lord Vader as “the daffy old guy we have to tolerate because
he was a Hero of the Revolution and is still one of the Emperor’s drinking
buddies.”
I think the Doylean explanation is probably “Lucas didn’t
know Vader would turn out to be one of the most popular characters and hadn’t yet
bothered with a detailed backstory, whatever he claimed later,” (the initial
marketing pitched Grand Moff Tarkin as the Big Bad, because Peter Cushing was
one of the two well-known actors in the film). Watsonian explanation? Maybe the
Emperor’s been adding some mind tricks to the basic “kill or at least demote
any senior officer who admits to remembering that he actually met some Jedi
back in the day.”
Mooncustafer 