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yiliy · 4 months

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Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View: Return of the Jedi | "Brotherhood" I NEED YOU TO UNDERSTAND THAT I STRAIGHT UP CRIED REAL TEARS AT THIS MOMENT. IT WAS EXACTLY WHAT I HAVE ALWAYS WANTED TO READ AND IT HIT ME RIGHT IN MY EMOTIONS. I was so wary going into this story, because the concepts of Force Ghosts are deeply important to me on a narrative level, that the Force and Lucas' philosphy in the movies and for the worldbuilding is that the message is: You need to let go when it's time. You can't hold on beyond anything or anyone's time, it will only cause you and others suffering. So, when Anakin's fiery determination seemed to be what kept him around as a Force ghost, I sighed a bit and kept shouldering on. I did not expect to be hit by the one-two-three-four punch of Obi-Wan's gentle guidance to get Anakin to the other side of the Force, Anakin's regret for what he'd done and the heart-wrenching way he instinctively turns to Obi-Wan and listens to him, Anakin looking on over his children with pride and faith in what they would do next, and then the ultimate message: "Finally, Anakin Skywalker let go." I AM EMOTIONAL. MY BOY FINALLY GOT TO THE PLACE THAT GAVE HIM PEACE. It was a perfect build-up to where Anakin needed to be in this moment, that this story is centered around the depth of his connection to Obi-Wan, that it's instinctual for him to reach out and grab onto the hand Obi-Wan is holding out to him, to turn to Obi-Wan and listen, like a flower turns towards the sun, now that he's out of the worst of the haze of the dark side. To seeing his children, seeing Padme in them, seeing both of them in the twins, and finally, finally letting all that noise in his head go. Trusting that Luke and Leia and their friends would make their own way forward. "It just took one final nudge from Obi-Wan to get there. Finally, Anakin Skywalker let go." What a perfect summation of Anakin's character and his difficult journey, his relationship with Obi-Wan, and one of the most central themes George Lucas intended for Star Wars. Becoming a Force Ghost is about letting go--Qui-Gon said that in the original ROTS script, he said it in TCW, the OWK show basically had the same message, and now Anakin has gotten there, too. That it acknowledged his part in everything that happened and did it with tremendous compassion, because that's what Jedi are all about. Obi-Wan has let go as well, he doesn't hang onto the hurt or the suffering, especially not when he will gain so much by letting go and embracing compassion for Anakin. He gently guides Anakin to understanding that he wasn't solely responsible for everything, only for the choices he made. Those choices were terrible, he bears that mark, they aren't erased just because Anakin is sorry, but holding onto all that guilt and pain is just more suffering. Obi-Wan has let go and, through that, he can guide Anakin to let go as well, and regain his friend. This is everything the Jedi have always taught coming to fruition. So, I'm emotional for my baby boy, that he finally got there after a lifetime of struggling, that he's finally at peace, and I'm emotional as a Star Wars fan, that the themes of my favorite franchise were just knocked out of the park.

#Star Wars #Anakin #Obi Wan #Anakin Skywalker #Obi Wan Kenobi #From a Certain Point of View #Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View #Force Ghost #Star Wars meta

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yiliy · 4 months

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I Should Have Known Better Then To Debate My Brother On Star Wars But I Did It Anyway

That's a lengthy way to start a post, I know, but I'm in a very riled up mood right now.

I remember the first time I argued with him about this. Our family did a rewatch of the Star Wars series (prequels than originals) at my request (and I usually never get emotional, so they were very concerned when I started crying my eyes out during Order 66 and asking if we should stop) and afterwards we talked.

Since I'm an avid Pro Jedi fan, there was a lot of arguing about 'The Jedi could have done this/should have done this!'. A bit with my family, but mostly with my brother since we're an argumentative pair and he's the only one who's watched extra materials such as TCW to further why the Jedi failed/should have done more.

We had to agree to disagree, so it ended there. Now here I am years later, having already talked to him about why glorifying this particularly abusive M/F is not peak romance or good writing, what defines bad writing, and general amatonormativity, and since I'm back in a SW swing, I thought about bringing it up to him, hoping he'd gotten a little more flexible since the last time we talked about it.

Clearly, I was too optimistic to think that.

Cue the usual tangent of (which I've already seen from. . . So many fans):

-The Jedi should have known Palpatine was a Sith.

-They should have treated Anakin better.

-They should have made him a Master.

-They shouldn't have given him that advice about death.

-Obi-Wan wasn't ready for a Padawan.

-They should have investigated Sifo-Dyas's murder.

-They should have investigated more.

-That's just the way the story is written and how the characters would react in real life, so of course Filoni is a good viewpoint on the Jedi.

. . . And just the general, 'they should have done more' statement that's been uttered countless times before.

I tried to point out the flaws in this way of thinking, I really did.

-It's established right in TPM that the Sith have been extinct for a very long time, and they verbally acknowledge that they don't know whether the one killed was the Master of the Apprentice, so it wasn't like they just up and forgot about the enemy that could still be out there. And it's literally stated in the very next movie that their ability to use the Force has been diminished, so it's not like they could have seen the Sith in plain sight in the force. Minor note, I know Force Signatures are mentioned a lot in fanon, but I don't remember anything like that ever being mentioned in canon (I know there's Legends but that's a separate continuity). With all that to keep in mind, why would they think he was a Sith? We have a different view of things because we're the audience, but they don't! Even though they didn't magically know he was the Sith Lord, that doesn't mean they're blind to his dealings or the corruption within the Senate, unless I completely hallucinated the part where the Jedi Masters were on their way to arrest Palpatine even before they learned he was a Sith Lord.

-Questioning a kid to see how he would respond to your ways of life is not being nice enough apparently (people can debate about his trauma and the authorial intent all day, but the basis is that the Jedi are not supposed to be framed as the bad guys). Apparently adopting him and treating him as a part of their family just isn't enough. Clearly, they should have coddled him even more, maybe then he wouldn't have murdered them down to the last child! (This is sarcasm because they never treated him differently or anything, even the Chosen One thing is barely brought up, and all his darkest moments are ones the Jedi were never made aware of). I know people will just say to put him in therapy because I've seen them say that many times before, but the truth is that he's already in therapy with the Jedi, he just doesn't absorb any of it because he doesn't want to.

-Yeah, because an adult throwing a temper tantrum when he's been appointed to a leading authority by a shady government leader who should not have any authority over their organization isn't sketchy as fuck, that response alone proves he WAS not ready, because he still didn't understand what the Jedi were about, much less mastery of himself. My brother at least admitted that was a good point when I outlined it, so score for me, I guess.

-People give Yoda grief all the time for his advice, but they always seem to forget that, firstly, Anakin is asking this during a war they've been fighting for three years, one they've lost many friends and family to, and secondly. . . Anakin was really fucking vague when he brought this forward. He doesn't even specify who he's talking about isn't a fellow Jedi, clone, or otherwise (And I can't help but draw a parallel to how he didn't tell Obi-Wan about his visions of Shmi and people will blame Obi-Wan when Anakin's the one who can't bother to properly fucking communicate) and he doesn't listen because it's not what he wants to hear. He doesn't just want to save Padme; he wants to cheat death because he's possessive and greedy and doesn't want his loved ones to ever leave him. Yoda's advice was actually very useful, but since when has Anakin ever listened to good advice? Once again, my brother admitted that was a good point, so the second score went to me.

-I know fandom loves to portray Obi-Wan as this self-hating mess that's barely keeping it together (who also does a lot of medic dodging for some reason?). . . But that's not who he is in canon? The real Obi-Wan is controlled and capable, and he was a young adult when he was Knighted, not a kid, who went on to become the youngest member of the Council when he became a Master. It wasn't like he was left to teach Anakin alone, because he had the Order, and they're canonically big on communal teaching. Even just in the movies, we frequently see that Obi-Wan's the one who reaches out to Anakin and Anakin's the one who shuts him out. Obi-Wan was a great teacher, Anakin was just a shit student.

-The Jedi learned about Sifo-Dyas's unauthorized role in the creation of the clone army literally right before the war broke out, so it wasn't like they were in a position where they could look more into it. Even before that, they were under the impression that he died during a failed peace negotiation. My brother still said this even though there was a literal WHOLE ASS ARC IN TCW WHERE THEY INVESTIGATED HIS DEATH. He watched that arc to, and he still says they should have investigated his death even when they literally did. I have no words for such a contradictory way of thinking.

-I know it's easy to say stuff like that, but Star Wars isn't written for adults who want all the messy bits, but for kids for a good vs evil story, so of course investigation stuff is shoved to the side. Even in TCW where we do see them investigating, they're hampered by the Senate, by Palpatine, by the war, and by the narrative. Even ignoring that, Anakin literally said in ROTS that Palpatine was the Sith THAT THEY WERE LOOKING FOR, so that means they were investigating even though we didn't see it onscreen.

-Filoni. . . God just thinking about him makes me angry. I could write a whole essay on how he's twisted the narrative for Star Wars so badly, and I hate essays, but plenty of people have already done it better, so I won't.

-But still, I think it's hilarious that I can point out certain things he's written terribly (TCW, TOTJ, TTB, and Ahsoka) to show that he doesn't like the Jedi, and my brother is still saying, 'well that's just how the story is written and how the characters will react so he doesn't really hate the Jedi with that sort of evidence and blah blah blah.'

-Of course, for TCW, my brother brought up that stupid arc where AsHoKa iS pErSeCuTeD - I just think it's funny how, with trying to make his special oc look good and the Jedi Council unlikable, Filoni accidentally made her unintentional unsympathetic and made the dOgMaTiC lEaDeRsHiP unintentionally sympathetic. And of course, who could forget the infamous s7 moment of her not being fair to Obi-Wan? I know people will say she's a teenager and she's confused and she's still feeling betrayed - but the thing is, that doesn't hold up because the narrative never follows up on it. It's not a personal flaw of hers, it's solely there to frame Ahsoka (and Bo-Katan/the Mandalorians by proxy) as right and Obi-Wan (and the Jedi Council/Order by proxy) as wrong. I'm sure there are more examples that can be noted, but those are definitely two of the biggest offenses in my book.

-Tales of the Jedi wasn't even about the Jedi, it was about two specific individuals who LEFT the Jedi. One who went on to become invincible/immortal/a sanctimonious prick/even more of a mouthpiece then she already was, the other went on to become the undisputed head of an enemy who went full throttle on genocide, slavery, and war crimes. Mace's treatment and Yaddle's treatment was more poorly veiled racism and even more poorly veiled Jedi hate. And of course, the super special training from Anakin that allowed Ahsoka to survive Order 66 unlike those useless unprepared Jedi who were too soft on their kids - but really just made him look like an incredibly abusive parent. Frankly, while I do hate Anakin and can see him pushing too hard as in character, even I can see that it could have been written a lot better than it was. Tales of the Jedi was a fucking joke because it should have been titled 'Tales of The Super Special Creators Pet OC and the Asshole Who Falls And Spearheads A War', and if we ever get Jedi content that is actually positive for them without the usual criticisms coming up (Kenobi's the only one so far that's come the closest) I'll be throwing a fucking party.

-Of course, I have to point out TBB's whitewashing, consistently carried over from TCW except even whiter, though I forgot to mention how that show just completely fucking forgot the Jedi existed. Though frankly, I wouldn't want them to be mentioned in the utter waste of time that TBB is.

-Ahsoka was made into even more of a mouthpiece in her show then she already was. I didn't even watch Rebels in its entirety because I don't care for it, but even with some of the more frustrating decisions with her in that span of time she never said the Order wouldn't have fallen if they had just brought in more non-Force Sensitives to train them into being Force Sensitive (another part of canon that Filoni has fucking taken a hammer to) singing Anakin's praises after she's 'saved' by him (though even in Rebels it got pretty egregious how she just fucking abandons the Rebellion and the Jedi because she won't leave him again) just being a general fandom anti on how the Order was at fault for everything and Anakin was actually predestined to become a Sith (instead of defying his destiny by attacking Mace and siding with Palpatine as per Word of God) so everything he did was justified. All written and directed by Filoni, just as the other pieces where he's had narrative control will label the Jedi as arrogant, as forgetful, as unworthy, as not ENOUGH. And as soon as he can, he shoves them aside for characters who are 'to cool to be a Jedi, a cooler Jedi than those useless old Order jerks who spent too much time playing politics and being too stringent because they were cautious rule followers and not plucky rebels and weren't loving enough to poor widdle Anakin and -'

Though frankly my brother had some pretty ludicrous takes in general. There was this whole tangent we had about how since Rex removed his chip and voided death, that makes him gray/puts him in a gray zone. I just bluescreened at that, because while I've never cared for morally gray characters/storytelling, a character stepping out of their slated place in the narrative so obviously isn't gray it's not even funny, it's infuriating. While I know a part of me being a writer is what helps me look at stories more critically, it still makes me feel so confused how people will just take in bad writing or come up with bullshit takes like this. Whatever happened to thinking critically for the good of storytelling?

. . . I don't usually write my own posts (even though I'm usually better at wording things than actually voicing an argument as it started with my brother) because I prefer to just reblog stuff on my blog, I wrote this primarily as a vent post because my argument with my brother really got me stirred up, but I've been in a salty sw mood lately so it was kind of cathartic to get this out.

Also, if any Jedi anti or fan comes at me with 'but actually the Jedi should have -' no. Please just don't. I always try to tag stuff properly so people who won't agree will know what my blog themes are about, I'm never in the mood for the run of a mill gotcha takes that infest this fandom and I will not hesitate to block you if you come onto my post for that.

#Star Wars #Anti Ahsoka #Anti Anakin #Anti Bo-Katan #Anti Dooku #Anti Filoni #Anti Mandalorians #Anti SW Fanon #Yoda #Obi-Wan #Rex #Pro Jedi #Jedi positivity #Obi Wan #Obi Wan Kenobi

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yiliy · 4 months

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#Star Wars #Luke Skywalker #Mark Hamill #X-wing #Star Wars behind the scenes #Star Wars BTS

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yiliy · 4 months

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The first few times I saw the movie I also thought Palpatine was faking it because

Palpatine mowed down three Jedi Masters in a matter of seconds before engaging in duel with Mace Windu

Movies never showed Mace Windu is superior to other members of the Council in swordsmanship. The whole Vaapad/Mace is on the verge of the dark side/Mace is angry and aggressive/whatever came afterwards in Expanded Universe, headcanons, etc. In all three prequel movies he is extremely calm, patient, thoughtful Jedi Master and gives no indication in his superior lighsaber skills.

Palpatine is such a manipulative sleazebag that long before Revenge of the Sith I stopped believing my eyes and ears when he was involved. "Oh, Anakin look at what mean Jedi did to poor old defenseless me," seems right up his alley in getting Anakin to justify his crimes. (Which is exactly how he later presented it to the Senate.) Whether he could or couldn't defeat Mace, getting Anakin to kill him was Anakin's final step in the movie towards becoming the Sith Lord.

For me, Force user battles in Star Wars were never really about their power rank. (Which is one of the many reasons why I love it so much). Obi-Wan defeated Maul because Maul got arrogant, not because he was a better swordsman. Luke defeated the Emperor by having empathy and choosing light. Dooku defeated Anakin and Obi-Wan because Anakin didn't cooperate, etc. So it was never about doubting whether Mace Windu could defeat Palpatine but about current circumstances, which for a Jedi that felt the slaughter of his family and came expecting to arrest a Chancellor, were not favorable.

So for me before I got anything other than the movies the case was open. Of course, as soon as George Lucas said in director's commentary that Mace won, it was done.

And after all the canon material that showed Mace Windu as (one of?) the best swordmen among the Jedi, I don't understand how anyone can still doubt he won.

It's funny how certain elements of the fandom are so resistant to the idea that Mace Windu defeated Palpatine fair and square... When I thought the entire purpose of Palpatine's plan was to avoid detection and infiltrate the Republic specifically so the Jedi wouldn't catch on and come for him?

Like if Palpatine really is just so stupidly powerful that nobody could ever defeat him there wouldn't even be a purpose to his big plan. He would just attack outright at the head of the Separatists or he'd order the Clone Army for himself or something. The fact that he didn't shows that he knew the Jedi were a threat to him.

So surely Mace Windu, the second most powerful Jedi after Yoda and the one who specialized in anti-Sith techniques would be able to defeat him in battle. If he couldn't and Palpatine was just playing him, Anakin's decision served no narrative purpose because it wouldn't have changed anything anyways.

#Star Wars #Mace Windu #Jedi #Jedi Master #Master Windu #Palpatine #Darth Sidious #lighsaber #George Lucas #Revenge of the Sith #Star Wars meta

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yiliy · 4 months

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Hellyea Mace Windu

consider joining Patreon for extra content!

#Star Wars #Mace Windu #Star Wars fanart #Jedi

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yiliy · 4 months

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and more intense?

#Star Wars #Deborah Chow #George Lucas #Making of Obi-Wan Kenobi series #Obi Wan Kenobi BTS #Obi Wan Kenobi behind the scenes #Jedi's Return #Obi Wan Kenobi Jedi's Return #Jedis Return #Obi Wan #Kenobi #Star Wars tv series #Star Wars funny

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yiliy · 4 months

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This is a really nice addition and I agree with everything, except the part that Galactic Senate's laws were meant to be enforced on planets outside of the Republic.

At least, I never saw any evidence of this in the movies.

I think Padme's comment is meant to reflect her youth and naivete. She has been educated on Republic politics and brought up in Republic's political system and she is experiencing a sort of a cultural shock. That's why Shmi tells her "the Republic doesn't exist out here," not "Republic failed to act here."

And the Republic became corrupt relatively recently prior to The Phantom Menace judging by the behavior and comments of the characters, but sadly slavery on Tatooine doesn't seem like a recent development.

Obi-Wan tells Anakin: "my allegiance is to the Republic, to democracy." I am certain Jedi help on planets outside the Republic as well, when they can and have the time, and accidentally end up there, like Qui-Gon did in freeing Anakin on Tatooine, but Jedi's mandate is to work within the Republic.

A gentle reminder that Tatooine is not part of the Republic.

Jedi have no authority on Tatooine

Republic has no authority on Tatooine

Republic system didn't fail the people of Tatooine, because people of Tatooine don't live within the Republic's system

Yes, Republic is flawed, yes it's horrible a planet is controlled by gangsters. But membership in the Republic is completely voluntary. To act against rulers of another planet is an act of war. To absorb a planet without it willingly applying is not what freedom and democracy stand for.

Tatooine is messed up because of the Hutts, not because of the Republic or the Jedi.

Qui-Gon talking about Anakin not having been born in the Republic.

#Star Wars #Tatooine #Galactic Republic #Shmi Skywalker #Padme Amidala #Qui-Gon Jinn #Star Wars meta #Star Wars politics

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yiliy · 4 months

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No.

Even if that were true, that would have been Cliegg, not Owen, and it is not true.

From official Star Wars databank: "Cliegg Lars was a modest, good-hearted moisture farmer who lived on the Lars homestead, not far from the township of Anchorhead. During a trip to the bustling spaceport of Mos Espa, Cliegg fell in love with Shmi Skywalker, a slave owned by Toydarian junk trader Watto. Cliegg purchased Shmi's freedom..."

He purchased her freedom, not her.

Disney canon made it more complicated, in Queen's Hope especially, where Cliegg had to gamble Watto, the family had to build a chip locator that Anakin talked about in TPM, and they were all actually involved in the White Suns, a liberation movement to emancipate enslaved people on Tatooine.

Where are all these hot takes coming from jeeeeez...

Uncle Owen is not a grumpy old man who is more worried about his farm than what Luke wants.

Uncle Owen is not afraid Luke inherited the cruelty of his father. He doesn’t even know Anakin became Vader, he thinks Anakin got killed.

Uncle Owen doesn’t hate Obi-Wan because they had an argument or because something happened between them while Obi-Wan was on Tatooine.

Owen Lars was handled a tiny fragile baby to protect, and told that this baby’s father, who was always restless on Tatooine as a child, who loved speed and flying, who brought his starfighters into the most dangerous battles, to whom there was never enough excitement and adventure, has gotten himself killed in a war he was so eager to fight in, and which Owen never understood.

He watched over and raised this baby for 19 years. He is afraid. He is afraid when Luke becomes restless just like boy Anakin. He is afraid when Luke falls in love with flying, just like Anakin. He is afraid Obi-Wan will drag Luke off Tatooine, just like he dragged off Anakin.

He is afraid Luke will be like his father, never content to stay on their farm where it’s safe, but fly too fast, and fight too hard, and be too idealistic, and then get killed.

So when Owen says he’s afraid Luke has too much of his father’s in him, he is not worried Luke will be like Anakin, he is afraid Luke will die like Anakin.

#Star Wars #Shmi Skywalker #Beru Lars #Cliegg Lars #Owen Lars #Slavery on Tatooine

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yiliy · 4 months

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@lamaenthel

Huh??? What? Who is a slave-owner? Owen? What did I miss?

Uncle Owen is not a grumpy old man who is more worried about his farm than what Luke wants.

Uncle Owen is not afraid Luke inherited the cruelty of his father. He doesn’t even know Anakin became Vader, he thinks Anakin got killed.

Uncle Owen doesn’t hate Obi-Wan because they had an argument or because something happened between them while Obi-Wan was on Tatooine.

He is afraid Luke will be like his father, never content to stay on their farm where it’s safe, but fly too fast, and fight too hard, and be too idealistic, and then get killed.

So when Owen says he’s afraid Luke has too much of his father’s in him, he is not worried Luke will be like Anakin, he is afraid Luke will die like Anakin.

#Star Wars #Owen Lars #Beru Lars #Luke Skywalker #Anakin Skywalker

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yiliy · 4 months

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🎬Mark Hamill/Luke Skywalker 💫

#Star Wars #Mark Hamill #Luke Skywalker

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yiliy · 4 months

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"Natalie Portman had numerous costume changes in Revenge of the Sith, but she loves what they called the deep blue 'end dress,' which she wore in her coffin in the funeral scene.

'I think Trisha [Biggar] wanted an ocean sense. Someone said to me it was very ‘Ophelia.’ With the flowers and the hair, it does look like I’m drowning'."

a 2005 article by Patt Diroll about the Star Wars prequels' costume exhibition at the fashion institute of Design and Merchandising museum in Los Angeles for the release of the book Dressing a Galaxy: The Costumes of Star Wars.

#Star Wars #Natalie Portman #Amidala #Padme #Amidala costumes #Star Wars prequels #Revenge of the Sith #SW prequels

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yiliy · 4 months

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anyway, I’ll keep saying until I can say it no more, but I love how hayden christensen just keeps getting to prove over and over that he was always a good anakin casting. I love that he gets to be as visually iconic as his other co-stars from the franchise. I love that he can see fans lose their absolute mind with cheer and applause at his mere presence in a SW project. All when he was once the scapegoat and punching bag of why people hated the prequel trilogy. I just love it all.

#He really portrayed Anakin excellently #Star Wars #Hayden Christensen #Anakin #Anakin Skywalker #Star Wars prequels #Star Wars prequel positivity

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yiliy · 4 months

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"Finally, being critical of the good guys or trying to view everything through a morally grey lens doesn't make the story inherently more interesting, nor does it inherently add anything to the story---so I'm not "missing" anything."

Yes. This!

Genuine question as to why you feel so passionate about being pro-jedi? I definitely wouldn't say I'm anti-jedi, but I think there are some decent criticisms that can be made about them. But overall I'm just interested to understand the dedication to being pro-jedi, cause it is a fictional organisation at the end of the day. Isn't it more fulfilling to look at them from different perspectives so we can get the most out of the story as possible?

Before I answer, I'm going to ask you a question in turn, would you ever ask this question to someone who was anti-Jedi? Would you ever imply that they need to change their view on the Jedi because they're "not getting the most out of the story?"

Now, I'm going to preface this answer by saying that I'm not angry with you, I'm just very passionate about this topic---so don't take any of this personally. You seem like you're genuinely asking, and I appreciate that.

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Personally, for me, there aren't really any criticisms that can be made about the Jedi- (keep in mind, I primarily adhere to Lucas Canon, everything else is just an add on depending whether I like it or not). Everything that people criticize the Jedi for or accuse them of falls into one of three categories:

Not true- (the Jedi are a cult, the Jedi repress their emotions, the Jedi were mean to Anakin, etc.)

Done for a reason because the other option would be worse/it was their only real option in a bad situation- (the Jedi shouldn't have fought in the war, the Jedi should've defended Ahsoka, the Jedi are slavers because of the clones, etc.)

Or it's something that's an Eastern concept/practice but people refuse to look at it as such and instead project their Western viewpoint/religious trauma onto them- (literally the entire thing about attachment)

I've never seen any criticism of the Jedi that doesn't fall into one of these categories, so why should I be inclined to "hear people out" or "look at the Jedi from other perspectives" when there's...really nothing else to look at?

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Another thing to consider is that, while the Jedi are fictional characters, George Lucas based them heavily on very real religions and groups---particularly Jews and Buddhists.

So when people say things like- "the Jedi weren't allowed to care/love/have emotions because of Attachment™️" -they're spreading harmful misinformation and basically saying that Buddhists can't love/care/have emotions because of their rule against attachment, since the philosophy of non-attachment is literally taken verbatim from Buddhism.

And when people usually pair the above rhetoric with- "-and that's why the Jedi deserved what they got/caused their own downfall" -it's...a very concerning mindset for people to perpetuate---especially when George Lucas based the genocide of the Jedi and the rise of the Empire off of the Holocaust and Nazi Germany.

When you strip away the fictional aspects of it, a lot of what people say about the Jedi is literally Nazi/antisemitic/Holocaust denial rhetoric. To take an example of something that has actually been said on one of my posts:

"The destruction of the Jedi Order was less a genocide and more of a religious conflict that the Jedi lost. The Jedi Order is a sect of the collective religious culture of 'Force Users,' and their destruction cannot really be considered genocide as the cultural group of 'Force Users' still exists albeit heavily restricted and controlled by the Sith during the Empire Era." - @/ironwoodarl01

And, as @zarohk pointed out:

It’s depressing how so many “Jedi critical” talking points are pretty much antisemitism and Holocaust denial/justification: The destruction of the Jedi Order was less a genocide and more of a religious conflict that the Jedi lost. "The Jedi Order religion of Judaism is a sect of the collective religious culture of 'Force Users Abrahamic faiths, and their destruction cannot really be considered genocide as the cultural group of Force Users Abrahamic faiths still exists…" Similar thinly-veiled antisemitism in the Star Wars fandom also frequently includes supersessionism, the Christian idea that during the (Roman) Republic era, the Jedi Jews had become corrupt and lost their way, and and so finally a divinely created person was sent to show them new path. This is why attempts to read Star Wars where Anakin is a Christ figure or correct where the Jedi have failed (ignoring the fact that he wrecked the lives of most people he was involved with, including himself, and the Darth Vader was never happy) are not just incorrect, but generally have a thick underlayer of antisemitism.

So, while Star Wars is fictional, it's important for people to analyze why they feel the way they do about the Jedi and be critical of the ways in which they talk about/criticize the Jedi---because, like it or not, the Jedi and their genocide are based on real people/things and so your reaction to them/what happened to them can be very telling.

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Finally, being critical of the good guys or trying to view everything through a morally grey lens doesn't make the story inherently more interesting, nor does it inherently add anything to the story---so I'm not "missing" anything.

If believing that no one can actually just be good, and everyone has to have some agenda, and "the good guys were the REAL bad guys all along" adds something to Star Wars for you...by all means, go ahead and believe what you want.

But my view of Star Wars isn't "lesser" or "missing something" just because I don't share that view and actually like the good guys and believe in what they taught/did.

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I'm passionate about being pro-Jedi because of everything I outlined above and because they were truly good people who tried their best to help the galaxy---they were brought down, not because of anything they did, but because of one man's selfish stupid actions.

There might've been a time when I was willing to hear people out when they criticized the Jedi---because hey! maybe I was wrong---but that time has long passed because nothing anyone has ever criticized the Jedi for has held up to scrutiny, and anti-Jedi people won't just keep the fuck off my page and leave me alone.

So, frankly, this is my blog and I'm allowed to be as passionate as I want to be---and I'm not gonna stop, or start viewing the Jedi as "wrong" or "bad" or whatever, just because you- (and other people, I'm sure) -think I'm missing something by being strictly pro-Jedi

#Star Wars #Jedi #Jedi Order #Jedi positivity #Pro Jedi Order #SW prequels #Star Wars prequels #Jedi Council

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