Mako

Well, see, here's the thing. They're not technically wrong. The biggest problem with the prequels is that there really is no moral compass. It's played straight with the Jedi being the good guys and the Sith being the bad guys. But if you actually pay attention to the movies, which even Lucas himself didn't really do, then you realize there are no good guys in the prequels. The Sith are bad, but so are the Jedi. Before you write me off as a cynical millennial indulging the "all your heroes are dead" trope, let me explain. The Jedi are a cult. Yes, I'm being serious. They are a cult. Their main recruitment strategy is taking infants from their parents to be indoctrinated in the Jedi ways. This is why in episode one the council is hesitant to train Anakin. He's "too old" they say. Yes, Anakin is "too old" to be trained. He's nine. A nine year old boy is "too old." How is that too old? Well, it's because he's old enough to have attachments. He's old enough to actually have experienced the real world outside the sheltered, fabricated reality the Jedi have constructed inside their walled-off temple. He loves his mom, he's seen actual oppression, he has a moral compass, he knows things. And that alone almost disqualifies him from being a Jedi at all. Because the Jedi are cultists. They are ascetics. Their whole schtick is preaching abstinence and the rejection of worldly attachments. Love and pleasure are essentially forbidden. It's all about denying yourself and being "one with the force." Kind of hard to do that with a nine year old boy who has already experienced these things. But they train him anyway, because he's "the chosen one," and this is where the relatability with Gen Z comes in. Anakin actually is really powerful. Genuinely. By episode two he's a teenager and he's already chasing down bounty hunters, fighting in a war, going toe-to-toe with Sith lords. Also, he falls in love, because he's a real human with real connections and not an indoctrinated cultist. Then his mom dies, and this is where the hypocrisy of the Jedi comes into play. These people preach about being "guardians of the peace" and yet he comes from a planet where slavery and oppression is the norm and the Jedi do nothing. Qui-Gon could have totally freed them both, but he just saves Anakin because he's "special." The Jedi preach peace, and they'll totally fight a giant war if the Sith are involved, but otherwise will not lift a finger to stop actual atrocities and help other people in need if it doesn't directly benefit them. His mom, the only human that ever really loved Anakin to this point, dies in what Anakin perceives as an entirely preventable way. People make fun of his little breakdown on Tatooine, but it's accurate. He's right. The Jedi are holding him back, and he could have saved her if any of the Jedi gave a crap about him and his situation, but they don't and they never did. Screw your mom, you're a Jedi now, no attachments. Then by episode three he's having more visions. First he had visions of his mom dying, which came true, and now he's dreaming of Padme dying. He's married to Padme now (against the Jedi's wishes) and has a real, human desire to not lose her too. But he's still trying to be a good little Jedi, and he knows the Jedi would not approve, so he goes to Yoda for advice. Go watch that scene again. This is a dark scene. Yoda is literally telling Anakin to "rejoice" when people he cares about die, because they're "becoming one with the force." He then says "mourn them do not, miss them do not," and makes some nonsensical claim that attachment leads to jealousy and the dark side. Finally he ends with "train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose." Wow. Real helpful advice, Yoda. Just stop caring about stuff. Cool! So Anakin is stuck in this institution that doesn't like him, is afraid of him, and is basically telling him to stop caring about his very real human emotions. This is where Palpatine comes in. Yes, we, the audience, know Palpatine is a manipulative, cynical liar exploiting Anakin for his own ends, but Anakin doesn't know that. From Anakin's perspective, Palpatine is the only real human who truly understands him. He's able to sympathize with Anakin, and it works brilliantly because Anakin is right. Yes, the Jedi are afraid of you. They are holding you back. They don't care about you, but I do! I want to see you succeed and grow, the Jedi only want to stifle and control you like a pet. I care about you. From Anakin's perspective, Palpatine is the father he never had. He literally did not have a dad, and Palpatine is doing what a father should do, encouraging his son, setting him to aspire to greater things, and actually giving a damn about his problems. Again, he's a liar, we all know that, but this is about Anakin, not the audience. This whole perspective changes the movie completely. Anakin goes from being a whiny emo teenager going "waaa I want my wifey to live foreverrrrr it's not fair!" to an actual, genuine human being who is being held back and stifled by an oppressive cult that just wants him to close his eyes, be a good little boy, and do what he's told. Now he's a real person whose concern is "I have these people I care about, there's real evil in the world, and the Jedi don't care and just tell me to shut up. I really hate these people. Finally, the real kicker is Anakin's turn. Remember in the beginning of episode three, when he has Dooku by the throat, he's debating on what to do, and Palpatine just says "kill him." Anakin does, and he expresses regret, but Palpatine reassures him with "he was too dangerous to be left alive." Then, when Windu beats Palpatine and has him by the throat, Anakin intervenes, and reminds Windu that it's "not the Jedi way" to execute their prisoners. And what does Windu, the second-in-command of the Jedi council say in response? "He has control of the senate and the courts, he's too dangerous to be left alive." At this point Anakin knows Palpatine is a Sith, and here's Windu using the same exact argument the Sith lord used to break the code of the Jedi because reasons. The Jedi's stark hypocrisy comes into full focus here. It's at this point Anakin finally realizes what gross hypocrites and liars the Jedi are. This is also why, in the fight with Obi-Wan, Anakin angrily proclaims "from my point of view, the Jedi are evil!" They are evil! They're hypocrites and liars who preach peace but practice war when it suits them, tell you to 'let go' but will stubbornly refuse to do so themselves, who will kill their prisoners if they're really really bad but chastise you for doing the same thing. And this is what Gen Z feels like. This is why these movies are so relatable to them. They are feeling exactly like Anakin did, trapped in a system that stifles and ignores their very real concerns while hypocritically preaching this dogma of "you're just not trying hard enough. Stop caring so much!" Yes, again, Palpatine is an evil dictator selfishly exploiting Anakin's fears, but this is why it works, because the Jedi do not give a damn about Anakin or his problems, and have revealed themselves as hypocrites and deceivers. Of course Anakin is going to side with the Sith lord, because at least the Sith lord pretend to care about him and actually offers him a solution to his problems instead of just telling him to stop caring so much. And of course the zoomers are going to sympathize with Anakin, because it's very nearly a one-to-one comparison with what they're going through right now.