BBC News has a fascinating clip, which is unfortunately unavailable to embed, about artist Michael Rakowitz, a ‘cultural anthropologist’ who is examining the ominous connections between former Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein, and Star Wars. His work and theories are currently being exhibited at Tate Modern in London through May 3, 2010. Check out the clip here.

“Through a series of interwoven narratives this project addresses, among other things, the Iraqi leader’s fascination with the iconography of Jules Verne’s novels and the Star Wars films, and the World Wrestling Federation’s unique take on Gulf War politics. The project centres on the Swords of QÄ�disiyyah monument in central Baghdad. This triumphal arch, otherwise known as the Hands of Victory, was inaugurated on 8 August 1989. The invitation card for the opening ceremony featured the heroic proclamation, “The worst condition is for a person to pass under a sword that is not his own or to be forced down a road that is not willed by him.” Rakowitz explores the multiple references and resonances of the Victory Arch, from the history of its design to its use as a backdrop for military posturing. In this and other aspects of the project the artist explores how powerful contemporary mythologies derived from popular culture have informed the collective unconscious. Fictional characters from Darth Vader to Sgt. Slaughter coexist with historical figures in Rakowitz’s symbolic universe, in which warrior fantasies transcend the alleged divide between east and west.”