Is George Lucas taking a cue from Walt Whitman?

[DerekG]

As most people know by now, Lucas isn't going to release the original Star Wars trilogy in their theatrical incarnations. While I could care less about the insipid "Return of the Jedi" (the movie needs all the help it could get), the first two films are, in fact, works of art. "Star Wars" is a sublime fairy tale; "The Empire Strikes Back" is as beautiful an opera as any in the medium.

Just as these films have become a part of American mythology, I recall that another mythmaker, poet Walt Whitman, "updated" Leaves of Grass time and again. I challenge anyone to argue that the revised editions are better than the original masterwork.

Did Whitman piss off as many Americans in the 19th century as George Lucas is doing now?