The Los Angeles Times's Hero Complex blog presents an interesting take on the Star Wars Prequels based on the idea that George Lucas employed various "mirrors" to contrast the Prequel Trilogy with the original three films.

This is how Hero Complex guest essayist Kevin McLeod summarizes Lucas's brilliance (emphasis mine):

[M]irrors do not duplicate images [...] they reverse them. [...] [Lucas's] most basic mirror, the through-line of the trilogy, simply inverts the power structures of his original trilogy, reversing who discovers the flaws of those in power (in the original trilogy, it is the rebels; in the prequels, the Sith do it). And why would Lucas do this? Why would he sacrifice much of the excited feeling that audiences had in rooting for the ?good? guys? He did it to show you that power does not align with good or evil, or with lightness or darkness, and that power itself can be evil. To shade his stories beyond black-and-white extremes, he uses colors and forms that, under his abilities, transform into patterns.

McLeod goes on to explain some of the intriguing parallels and contrasts that pop up, in his words, "between and within the trilogies." Examples include the ship-based opening scenes of the first films in each trilogy ("gesture mirrors") and the simultaneous similarity and differences between Jar Jar Binks and the battle droids ("character mirrors"). The article is a fascinating read both for those of us who enjoy the Prequels and for people who dislike them. Its illumination of complex Lucasian storytelling adds a new dimension to the impact of the Prequel Trilogy.

Source: LATimes Hero Complex blog (via Club Jade)