Loose Lips was a piece of unauthorized artwork created by an unknown artist. It could be found in Imperial Military industrial facilities at Kuat, Scarif, and Fondor. Though unapproved by the Galactic Empire, it enjoyed a forbidden popularity among Imperial engineers. The poster's design had an Imperial officer carrying rolls of design specs only to be suddenly halted by Darth Vader grabbing his mouth to silence them from offscreen, with the words "Loose Lips" appearing above the officer's head, and "Bring Down Starships" being on the officer's tunic. According to legend, Vader tracked down and executed the original artist for a lack of respect.[1]
Behind the scenes
This image was created by Cliff Chiang. It was originally made for 2010 Topps Star Wars Galaxy Series 5, a 2010 series of Legends trading cards by Topps.[2] A print was displayed in Pinewood Studios to warn people against leaking spoilers during production of Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens.[3] It would later be used by Jennifer Corbett to warn against spoilers for The Bad Batch Season 3.[4]
The caption "Loose lips bring down starships" is similar to "Loose Lips Might Sink Ships", a real-life slogan coined by the United States Office of War Information during World War II, which appeared on wartime propaganda posters as part of a campaign aiming to limit the possibility of people inadvertently giving useful information to enemy spies.[5] When creating a set of propaganda posters for the animated series Star Wars Rebels, Lucasfilm Animation concept designer Amy Beth Christenson made a poster titled "Loose lips Might Sink Ships", featuring the Executor crashing into Death Star II. However, it did not fit into the style and time period of the series, and the idea was scrapped.[6]
Sources
- Star Wars Propaganda: A History of Persuasive Art in the Galaxy (First mentioned)
Notes and references
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Star Wars Propaganda: A History of Persuasive Art in the Galaxy
- ↑
The Empire Wants YOU: New STAR WARS Trading Cards Feature Amazing Propaganda-Style Artwork from Cliff Chiang by Goldberg, Matt on Collider.com (February 22, 2010) (backup link archived on January 5, 2020)
- ↑ POTD: J.J. Abrams' On-Set 'Star Wars Episode VII' Spoiler Poster by Lussier, Germain on Slashfilm (October 6, 2014) (backup link archived on May 27, 2018)
- ↑
Jennifer Corbett (@JenniferCorbett) on Twitter (post): "A friendly galactic reminder as we near the S3 premiere... #TheBadBatch #BadBatch" (backup link)
- ↑
The meaning and origin of the expression: Loose lips sink ships on The Phrase Finder (backup link archived on April 17, 2022)
- ↑ An Advertising Empire: Creating the Star Wars Rebels Propaganda Posters on StarWars.com (February 6, 2014): "Most of the early sketches fit into the style of Rebels and its time period, others not quite so much — I couldn't resist making a version of "Loose Lips Sink Ships," with the Executor crashing into Death Star II." (original link is obsolete)
