The Force in Star Wars exists in all living things and is divided into a dark and light side. The Jedi use it to defend and protect, while the Sith manipulate it for their own purposes. Midi-chlorians give the ability to wield the Force, and surrendering to negative emotions makes one susceptible to the dark side. The Jedi see the Force as “the way,” while the Sith see it as a tool. The Force can be used in many ways, but killing with it for any other reason than protection or defense is a path to the dark side.
The Force is a concept developed by George Lucas for his Star Wars films. In the Star Wars world, it exists in all living things, and some individuals prove more adept at sensing or handling it. It is divided into a dark and a light side. Giving in to emotions, especially fear, anger, and despair, makes a person susceptible to the dark side. Rigid control of emotions and a sense of detachment from the world and worldly possessions, much like that held in Buddhism, makes a person a better vehicle for the bright side.
Lucas’ concept of the Force focuses on the idea that it is not good or bad. Rather, how someone uses it determines how it will change him or her personally and how it will determine her or her fate. For the Jedi Order, the goal in using the Force is to allow it to flow freely through one, not to use it in anger or hatred. People who use the dark side, called Sith lords, manipulate it for their own purposes. The Sith see it as a tool, while the Jedi see it as “the way”.
An analogy can be made between the light and dark side of the Force and the different ideas of the Christian religion and magic-based religions, as explained by Joseph Campbell. In Christianity, a person prays for what he or she desires, as a subject of God, that is not under your control. In magic, people attempt to manipulate the gods or the universe to do as they please. In this way, the Jedi are comparable to the idea of Christianity, receiving, while the Sith are comparable to the beliefs based on magic by taking.
Sith and Jedi must surrender something to manipulate the Force. For the Jedi, surrender is only to the Force. The Sith, on the other hand, surrender to the emotions of anger, hatred, and fear as this makes them more powerful on the dark side. A person who surrenders to their emotions is likely to be “seduced by the dark side.” Seduction seems more centered on the seduction of negative emotions rather than the Force itself.
In Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Lucas expands on his idea of the Force by suggesting that all people, and all things, have special microorganisms found within them, called midi-chlorians. A higher midi-chlorian count, tested by a simple blood test, gives the ability to wield the Force. In Episode One, Jedi Master, Qui-Gon Jinn tests Anakin’s blood and discovers that he has more midi-chlorians than even Yoda. This knowledge persuades Qui-Gon to train Anakin as a Jedi, even though Anakin is technically too old to begin training.
No mention of midi-chlorians is made in the first Star Wars trilogy, which actually covers a later period in the Star Wars world. It is hinted in episodes four through six that the ability to wield the Force may be partly genetic. Both Luke and Leia inherit their ability from their father Anakin.
The Force can be used in many ways, and some types of uses are considered unreasonable by the Jedi order. For example, killing with it in any other means but to protect or defend others or oneself is a path to the dark side. In fact, when Luke must face his father at the end of Return of the Jedi, his goal is not to kill his father, but to overcome his father’s lingering sense of good, long buried by many bad deeds. The emperor, witnessing this battle, urges Luke to seize his anger and kill his father, which would effectively turn Luke into a Sith.
Jedi tend to use the Force to defend and protect, to move objects with their minds, to read minds, to sense the future, and to influence the feeble-minded. Jedi can also use it to live eternally. The Sith use it, especially dark lightning, to kill, maim, harm, and destroy. They can employ telekinesis, mind reading, and mind-affecting like the Jedi, but are a chaotic order that will easily dispatch each other in power struggles.
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