forcetriad

[forcetriad]

everyday i see insane star wars discourse and takes that all tie back to the fact that the prequels didnt exist before the original trilogy, and everything made after those six movies no matter where in the timeline of the story also didnt exist before those things and I feel like I am screaming where no one can hear

[forcetriad]

Seeing someone seemingly intentionally misread the plot of the prequels (that man is a fascist please I know you know what a fascist is) and then complain that everyone who likes a character they like doesn't understand the plot and themes of the entire saga. Like okay, recognition of the self through the other, I guess.

[forcetriad]

original trilogy 🤭

[forcetriad]

Sometimes I see a prequels take and I wonder if the person making it has even like. Seen the original trilogy.

[forcetriad]

star wars could've been so good if it was good

[forcetriad]

*Jon Arbuckle voice* Oh Star Wars fans, the dark side is real. What's wrong with my political system? Did you hear what I said? The dark side is real. It's fascism. Maybe someone's using it for nefarious purposes... Star Wars fans. Listen to be carefully. The. Dark Side. Is. Fascism. The Dark Side is Fascism?!?

[forcetriad]

some of you guys talk about how healthy and normal padme and anakin's relationship is and i feel so thankful that unlike you i have a therapist

[forcetriad]

okay so the first thing to cover is that the jedi aren't really a religion. they have policies and behaviours that they try to uphold but they don't really have any kind of belief system that's any more robust than like. believing in scientific realities. and you can argue that in star wars that's progressive of them or whatever but that's hardly enough to make them a religion. obviously this precludes them from also being an ethnoreligion on account of you need to also be a religion for that to work, but even if we put that aside they still don't fit the bill because you're NOT BORN A JEDI. yes obviously some people are born force sensitive and depending on who you ask if you're born with it that's the only way you get it. and yes clearly it's at least somewhat genetic because we see all the major players are related to each other. but it also clearly isn't entirely genetic, or we wouldn't have so much stupid discourse over jedi kidnapping/borrowing/taking away to space boarding school/etc young force sensitives because they'd all be related. not to mention by prequels rules the jedi aren't even supposed to have their own kids so clearly they have no fear of ceasing to exist via lack of breeding. so then of course you want to ask what they are if not an (ethno) religion. to which i ask "did you not read the original post" because i feel like i was pretty clear. they can still be a cultural group. i don't know why we need specific microlabels here as it were. as points of comparison in the real world for cultural groups not based on religion or family consider the disabled and queer communities. much like the jedi there is something fundamental required to be a member (disability, queerness, force sensitivity), but this is not necessarily something you inherit/are born with, although it can be. there are still strong cultural practices, norms, and expectations within these kinds of groups. you're reading this on tumblr. i know you know this. you can also be disabled or queer and not be a member of those larger communities. the same can be said of force sensitives and the jedi. padme and leia make solid case studies as non jedi to help better explain this. padme is not a jedi despite how familiar with and understanding of the jedi culture she is because at the end of the day she is not force sensitive. if you subscribe to the idea that she actually secretly was the whole time this still works. she doesn't know she's force sensitive. if you haven't worked out you're gay yet you're not going to be telling people you're part of that community, now are you? leia is not a jedi despite being force sensitive because she has no meaningful connections to the culture. she is perfectly capable of becoming a jedi but until she actually spends time interfacing with the ideas and culture associated she will not be one. this whole framework also helps contextualise why anakin is still a jedi even as he turns to the dark side. you can argue that after a certain point he is or is not still part of the community, but in the early days of his descent he is clearly a member of the jedi order because he is entrenched in the culture. he doesn't necessarily agree with their common beliefs or even like the rest of the jedi but he's strongly integrated within the community and is a force sensitive and that makes him a jedi. there's a whole other discussion to be had here vis a vis jedi's pseudo religious practices and how they realistically engage with the science of that universe but i am entirely too busy at the moment to even begin putting proper thought into midi-chlorians and such so that's for another time

the jedi aren't a religion or an ethnoreligion they're a fucking cultural group closer in framework to queer or disabled communities but you guys aren't ready to accept that

[forcetriad]

the jedi aren't a religion or an ethnoreligion they're a fucking cultural group closer in framework to queer or disabled communities but you guys aren't ready to accept that

[forcetriad]

subtleties georg does it again

[forcetriad]

star wars is kind of giving the ship of theseus

[forcetriad]

this came to me in a dream

[forcetriad]

My spicy Star Wars hot take is that the reason we have issues with Star Wars stories now is because the lore and the world building of the prequels was specific for that story.

George didn't care about consistency, he could never imagine how pedantic we would all be. He was writing a mythology, his world was tailored to the story he was telling, in the case of the prequels that story was the fall of Anakin Skywalker.

So, the rules of the Jedi established in the prequels exist to be a thing Anakin can't do first and world building second.

It's a little clunky too, a bit of telling rather than showing. Sure, there's some philosophy there, that speaks to the broader themes of Star Wars, but at its core Jedi in the prequels can't get married, or build their world around people because Anakin is a guy who wants to get married. Jedi don't rescue Anakin's mom cause she needs to die. Jedi only take very young children so it can be too late to recruit Anakin. It's sewing the seeds of the tragedy.

That's the real reason Yoda doesn't lay them out in the OT. When people are like "these rules don't work!" Yeah, it's cause they were tailor made for one story.

That misconception has gummed up the works, because they have to address fans expectations about this thing or that thing when they were never really interested to be the axis around which the narrative pivots.

It's also hilarious, because that is also how mythology works - we all see it through our own lens, we all bring our own baggage. Also, the narrative of the prequels is that Anakin is the axis around which the narrative pivots, so even when people are trying to not make it the Skywalker saga, it still is.

[forcetriad]

they could have made every star wars trilogy better if the main three characters were dating each other. including the original trilogy.

[forcetriad]

People will be like ‘the Jedi are all evil failures who abused children’.

And then you will ask them who they think was the best Jedi and they will say ‘guy who killed 10000 children’.

And then if you point out that perhaps the reason they think the Jedi are so bad is because they’re using Mr. 3 On-Screen Genocides as a standard they will get very mad

[forcetriad]

could i interest you in my space regency au

[forcetriad]

i think it’s weird that so many star wars fans will talk about these experiences of growing up with star wars and loving it since childhood, but then also get really really offended if you talk about it as a kid/family-oriented franchise