Tag: Star Wars

  • The Deen of Andor

    The Deen of Andor

    Andor may be the most important Star Wars television ever made. This is not because the characters themselves were significant (though the were), or the plot was essential to the overarching narrative (though it was). The reason for Andor’s importance, rather, is that as a series, it finally defined the spirit of the people in the Star Wars universe.

    Nemik’s manifesto speaks to this, with a call to action aimed at everyone, not just the mystical space knights/wizards/cleric multiclass who wield their magic and swords in a black and white partisan struggle. One might reasonable infer that this is a “secular” message, because the burden of building the rebellion falls on the hope and the sacrifice of “ordinary” people rather than demigods. As a friend of mine put it,

    Andor has forced me (so to speak) to re-assess my relationship to the original trilogy. In short, I am no longer a fan of magic people. I prefer to see real people making it happen.

    And the real people do make it happen! But Andor doesn’t distance itself from The Force – it doesn’t center it, but it does still reference it with the healer on Yavin who sees Andor and senses something about him that is very much not “normal” –

    I sense the weight of things, things I can’t see. Pain, fear… need. Most beings carry the things that shaped them. They carry the past. But some… very few… your pilot… They’re gathering as they go. There’s a purpose to it. He’s a messenger.”

    Andor has a destiny and there is a greater purpose – whether it pulls him or pushes him towards that destiny, is uncertain, but since we already know his fate, this is not just a throwaway line but an acknowledgement. Bix approaches this with the kind of reverence we associate with faith, not magic. Somewhat later, Bail Organa speaks the words for the time in the season (if not the series) – May the Force be with you – and it comes across as a prayer (du’a) rather than the militaristic slogan it takes on when X-Wing fighter pilots chant it as they prep for battle.

    The Force as spirituality if not outright religion is presented in Rogue One with Chirrut Îmwe’s mantra of I am One with the Force and the Force is with me, with the naming of Jedi places throughout Rebels and Clone Wars as temples, and even the sneering comment by Admiral Motti in A New Hope that mixes metaphors with reference to “sorcerer’s ways” and “ancient religion.” This isn’t new, but what is new is the idea that ordinary people all over the galaxy are part of the Force too, in non-obvious ways. Andor has his share of luck, but that doesn’t make him a Jedi, he has no powers, and isn’t even Force-sensitive in the explicit way that Finn is shown to be The Last Jedi.

    Andor isn’t some pawn of destiny, but is constantly making an active choice to go forward, and at various points even tries to turn away. It is Bix who forces his hand at the end, not fate. And yet, what is fate, but the aggregate sum of all our choices? It is that, but there is something more – the Force here is alive, it connects the players through their decisions, and looks over them in some way, as it seeks to restore balance.

    Put more simply, maybe in the Star Wars universe, ordinary people have power, too. And that power might be something as simple as having some spiritual connection to each other that unites their aspirations and their resolve. Yin and yang – free will and destiny – each feeding the other, but ultimately there is something at work operating at a level beyond just individual actions.

    And maybe that’s true for us in the real world, too. I certainly believe so. I have to. Rebellions are built on hope.

    When we finally meet Luke Skywalker, we can better understand him. He crosses the threshold from being part of the Force to being One with the force. But it’s less a threshold than a continuum. Andor has shown us the vast reservoir from which Luke draws his power. This is what Yoda tells us from the beginning – Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter.

    We aspire to be One with the Force. But the Force is with us. Always.

    Related reading – Irfan Rydhan’s classic essay about Star Wars from an Islamic perspective. Also see showrunner Tony Gilroy’s comments on why he wanted the Force Healer scene.

  • Concept Art from Star Wars: Duel of the Fates

    This is official concept art created for the earlier version that would have been directed by Colin Trevorrow. Images have leaked online via https://twitter.com/DRMovieNews1/, which provides the following descriptions:

    • Force Ghost Luke blocking Kylo Ren’s saber with his hand
    • C3PO comforting a damaged R2
    • Rey being trained by Luke
    • Kylo Ren fighting Vader
    • Rey (with double bladed saber) fighting Kylo Ren
    • Rey taking out Stormtroopers
    • Hux commits suicide with a lightsaber after Coruscant falls to the Resistance
    • Leia delivering a message to BB-8 (callback to A New Hope)
    • C3PO & R2 exploring the Coruscant ruins
    • The Falcon lands on a new planet
    • The First Order resuming control over Coruscant (pre-defeat)
    • Finn yelling “REY!” during a battle scene
    • The Final Battle on Coruscant

    The script itself was leaked and discussed by Robert Meyer Burnett in the following video:

    Trevorrow was fired by Lucasfilm Kathleen Kennedy, who also was behind the director change for the Solo movie for similar reasons of “different vision.”

  • Rise, Voices of the Jedi

    Rise, Voices of the Jedi

    Spoilers below the fold. My thoughts on the movie to follow later, and it’s not a spoiler to say I personally loved it. Also, the image on this post has nothing to do with the contents. It’s just bad-ass, so I’m including it.

    SPOILERS!!!! If you haven’t seen Rise of Skywalker YET, stop reading!
  • Star Wars Wish List

    I highly endorse everything that Mark says here.

  • An Elegant Weapon: Review of Savi at Galaxy’s Edge

    This is a guest post by HuzThatWriter.

    On June 5th I had the chance to visit Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. First on my list was a stop at Savi’s Workshop.

    Who is Savi, you ask? Savi is a friend of Lor San Tekka and is a fellow member of the Church of the Force. I think. What do you mean who’s Lor San Tekka? That old guy Kylo Ren killed at the beginning of The Force Awakens? The Three-Eyed Raven? Yeah, that guy. It doesn’t matter. You don’t see him anyways. You do, however, interact with his followers, the mysterious Gatherers who will guide you in the ancient ritual of lightsaber building.

    Jedi statue outside Dok Ondar's Den of Antiquities. Photo: Huzaifa Mogri
    Jedi statue outside Dok Ondar’s Den of Antiquities. Photo: Huzaifa Mogri

    I walked swiftly asking directions towards “scrap metal”. Don’t say “lightsaber,” for the First Order is in town and such talk is frowned upon. The Gatherers take this very seriously. Everyone in the land is in character. And so you wait in line in an amazingly decorated scrapyard to pay for your scrap metal.

    While in line to pay, some of the gatherers will show you cards with examples of four basic styles of lightsaber.

    Peace and Justice: Visually these are the most like the sabers carried by many of the stereotypical Jedi during the era of the Republic in the prequel Trilogy. Obi-Wan and Anakin have similarly styled weapons.

    Power and Control: This style evokes the blades carried by the bad guys. The aggressive styling and the red accents are reminiscent of Darth Vader and Darth Sidious.

    Elemental Nature: Made from natural materials like aged leather, intricately carved bone, wood paneling, and even a rancor tooth. The materials symbolize the Force’s connection with nature.

    Protection and defense: My personal favorite and the style I elected to construct. These are ancient unearthed pieces from the time of the Old Republic. The components are almost ceremonial in nature, some of the segments even containing writing from the Sacred Jedi Texts.

    After you pay your $199.99 plus tax you must choose one of the four styles of lightsabers. You are given a card, a cloisonné pin, and a return time. You are instructed to wear your pin in a visible location (the design is different based on what style you chose) and to act dumb if the First Order asks you about it.

    Group identification card. Photo: Huzaifa Mogri
    Group identification card. Photo: Huzaifa Mogri

    Cloisonné pin.   Photo: Huzaifa Mogri
    Cloisonné pin. Photo: Huzaifa Mogri

    As I was close to the front of the line for my particular reservation period, I had about 20 minutes to wander the land. When I returned at the appointed time, I was led to a waiting area.

    Photo: Vinnie Shahzad
    Photo: Vinnie Shahzad

    All the while you are warned that the First Order could show up at any time. And they do. It wasn’t long before Kylo Ren and some First Order Troopers swung by on “routine patrol” for some casual interrogation.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/ByWRtdTh_8v/

    After assuring them that we were simple scrap traders they moved on to other victims. Following the short interrogation by troopers we were ushered into the actual workshop. This is where the experience went from fun roleplay to absolutely magical.

    Spoiler warning for those who would like to go into this without any prior knowledge. (more…)

  • Unification, part N

    Unification, part N

    Austin Habershaw does the unthinkable: posits that Star Trek and Star Wars are part of the same universe. Along with Warhammer 40K. Lest you fail to click, reader, I will only cite one line, the worst line, the best line:

    Humanity did it – it conquered the stars – only to discover that the stars are a terrible, cold place where war in unending and death assured.

    Read it, then weep for the terrible truth of it.

  • My Neighbor Porgoro

    Rey-chan, ChiBB8, and Porgoro

    Via reddit, too good not to share 🙂 I think I shall name them Rey-chan, ChiBB8, and Porgoro

  • Star Wars, JJ-verse edition

    I guess Spielberg is out.

    I honestly don’t know how I feel about this. Cue the half-finished gas-giant-based super weapon with an orbiting planet full of cute aliens, a huge space battle and a climactic light saber battle where Rey defeats Kylo WHO IS HER BROTHER OMFG and then Kylo embraces the light and throws Snoke down a well.

    Then again, JJ is coming in late so hopefully the script will have been fixed by the story group and not be as vulnerable to JJ’s flights of fancy, or lens flares.

    If it sucks, we can always say it was an alternate universe and go back to Extended Universe for our head canon.

  • Star Wars at 40

    Photograph by Annie Leibovitz for Vanity Fair
    Photograph by Annie Leibovitz for Vanity Fair

    Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope was released on May 25th, 1977. I was 3 years old, so I didn’t see it until much later. But like everyone of my generation, it changed my life.

    Today’s Vanity Fair has the ultimate preview of Episode VIII. It is absolutely worth a read, right now.