(I feel forced to make at least one Force joke this post...so there! We’ve got it out of the way.)
“May the Force be with you” - I think most of us are familiar with that phrase. But do we know what it actually means? What is the mysterious Force?
To answer these questions, I’m going to draw on information contained within the Star Wars movies and the books. For those of you who don’t know, the Star Wars story continued off of the screen in the form of a multitude of novels - somewhere around 150, at my last count (not including the comics). Within these books the concept of the Force is expanded upon, giving us a better understanding of what it actually is.
To begin with, the Force is a...well...force. There really isn’t a better word for it. It isn’t an entity, per say, but rather a mysterious power that flows through all things.
Which begs the question - if the Force is in all things, why does the expression “May the Force be with you” even exist? Isn’t the Force already with the person being addressed? Why is such a redundant expression so frequently used?
The phrase is really more of a wish for fortune. It is the equivalent of someone saying “Good luck,” or “God go with you”. That last expression raises an interesting point, and one that I intend to explore further. In many ways the Force is like a god - one that has priests, believers, and disbelievers.
The “priests” of the Force are probably pretty familiar to us. They wield lightsabers and are able to accomplish impossible feats. This is because they can draw upon the Force and use a portion of its power. The way in which these Force users utilize the power gives them a title. The Jedi are those who use the Force in benevolence and for good - this is called the Light side of the Force. Those who use the Force for personal gain or for evil purposes are generally called Sith; this is the Dark side of the Force.
Now, it has always been my belief that the Force itself has neither a Light side nor a Dark side; it simply is. This notion of mine is supported in some of the Star Wars books by a concept (or, if we’re looking at the Force as a religion, a theology) called “The Unifying Force”. The Unifying Force states that the Force is neither Dark nor Light. Instead, it is impartial, neutral (Switzerland!). It is those who use the Force who twist it to either Light or Dark through their own actions and intentions.
Now that you have a better understanding of the Force and its users, lets look at another group - the believers. The Jedi/Sith are the “priests” of the Force, those who can actually see it and interact with it. The “believers” are those who cannot see the Force, but still accept its existence. Take Princess Leia from the original Star Wars trilogy - she believed in Luke, and in what he could do with the Force. She also believed in the evil Darth Vader could accomplish with the Dark side. (Perhaps Leia is not the best example, since she becomes a Jedi herself in the books, but she is probably one of the best known characters who believe in the Force.) The Rebel leaders believed in the Force, and in Luke’s ability to use it to defeat the Empire. I’m sure any Imperial troopers who ever saw Darth Vader use the Force to choke someone to death also believed in the Force, though they were probably afraid of it.
Finally, we have our last group of the day: the skeptics, the doubters...those who do not believe in the Force. Han Solo was a member of this category at the beginning of the movies; he openly scoffed at the idea of the Force. Events in the movies eventually opened his eyes, and he later comes to believe in the Force. In the later Star Wars books Han, who once doubted, is literally surrounded by a family of Force users. (Seriously. Both his brother-and-sister-in-law, his wife, his three children, and his grandchild are all Force users. Even Chewbacca’s nephew is a Jedi!)
Not all skeptics come to believe in the Force as Han did. Some doubt its existence for their whole lives. Others see what the Jedi and Sith are able to accomplish and still don’t believe! Oh, they might think that Force users have special abilities, but they don’t believe that the Force is a thing which exists outside of its users.
With these three categories of people, the Force has what any other ancient religion had. The Force itself is a deity; those who have special access to its powers - the Force users - are its priests; those who accept the existence of the Force, either through faith or by witnessing the actions of a Force user, are its believers; and those who question the existence of the Force are its disbelievers. Since all ancient religions had these groups of people, I view the Force as a mythology like any other.
I hope this has been an interesting look into the Star Wars universe! I am a huge fan of Star Wars (as you might have guessed), and I very much enjoyed taking a closer look at the Force. If you guys have questions or comments, or if you’re interested in getting into the Star Wars novels but don’t know where to start, please comment below or email me! I’d love to hear what you have to say, and maybe to help you out.
(Seriously. Star Wars is my fandom! Let me introduce you to it!)
As I said in my last post, this is going to be the last time I update on a Friday for the foreseeable future. Because of my school schedule I’m going to be switching to a once-a-week update schedule, with new posts going up on Mondays. I’ll do my best to keep my posts long and interesting.
This coming Monday we’re going to take a look at the differences between mythology, fairy tales, folktales, and legends. After that, we’ll delve into the wonderful world of fairy tales! Stay tuned, and I’ll see you then!
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