The Jedi don’t own the Force. For far too long Star Wars fans have had the misconception that the Jedi are the only Force wielding beings in the galaxy far far away. This is an absurd and turns out, damaging notion for the future of the Star Wars franchise. The first thing Star Wars fans learned about the Force were from Old Ben Kenobi, “The Force is an energy field created by all living things that gives a Jedi their power, surrounds and penetrates them, and binds the galaxy together.”
He says, “it GIVES a Jedi their power” right there should be enough to halt all the hate about different types of Force users that we have seen in the Sequel Trilogy and most recently in the Acolyte. If that initial quote about the Force is not enough for all the angry fans, then let’s look at what Master Yoda said in The Empire Strikes Back.
“For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is.”
“It’s an energy field created by all living things.”
In these two short sentences Master Yoda also drives home the point that the Force and a Jedi (along with all living things) work together, that the Force gives itself to the Jedi. The Jedi do not abuse this power, they use it for good. As soon as they cross that line they are no longer Jedi, but have taken the path to the Darkside. They take their first treacherous steps to becoming a Sith.
The Sith and the Jedi are two different types of Force users, so why is it so hard for fans to think that beings would find ways to use the Force that are not inline with the Jedi teachings, if we already knew about the Sith? It should not be that big of a stretch to think that sentient beings, from all across the galaxy have felt the Force and harnessed it in a multitude of different ways.
The next example for non-Jedi using the Force, are the Nightsisters. Mother Talzin and her witches use the Force like it is dark magic. They manipulate the Force and use it for all sorts of interesting rituals and spells. Look how they created Savage Opress, or how they brought their fallen sisters back to try and help defeat General Grievous.
If you are not a fan of the nightsister, most people do not seem to have had a problem with Cal Kestis and Merrin. She is a nightsister and she uses the Force to help Cal overcome the Empire and other dangers on Dathomir and surrounding planets. Why aren’t people screaming that she is ruining the Force, that Jedi Fallen Order/Survivor is destroying Canon?
I know that not all Star Wars fans have the time or even the desire to read all or some of the amazing books that are being published by Lucasfilm and associates. A group of amazing authors, led by Charles Soule created a fascinating era in the Star Wars timeline called the High Republic Era. This time period goes back about two hundred and fifty years before the battle of Yavin. For those that don’t know, the battle at the end of Episode 4 is the starting point for all things Star Wars. BBY equals before the battle of Yavin and ABY stands for after the battle of Yavin, this is supposed to help clear up timeline issues for the different eras, trilogies, shows and comics.
In phase two of the High Republic, that actually jumps back roughly another hundred and fifty years, the planet of Jedha is a focal point for a lot of the comics and storylines of the books. On the planet of Jedha there is a council of many different types of Force using groups, not just Jedi.
The Convocation of the Force is made up of representatives from the Guardians of the Whills, Path of the Open Hand, the Fallasassi, the Lonto, the Matukai, Sorcerers of Tund and others. These groups try and work in harmony, but with any large group of differing opinions on religion it is not always smooth sailing on Jedha, but they are trying. They accept that there are different ways to use the Force, the Open Hand doesn’t think the Force should be used at all, that the Jedi and other groups are actually enslaving the Force and causing irreversible damage to it.
These groups bicker like Catholics and Baptists, but they all agree that the Force does not belong to just one group. They actively work to try and understand one another and work together for the betterment of the Force and for the people they protect and serve.
My last point and the reason for this topic is “The Thread”. I have never seen such a volatile reaction to Star Wars as I did during the airing of The Acolyte. Mother Aniseya and her coven of witches got a lot of hate and backlash for a lot of reasons, but one was because they called the Force something new and used it in different ways. People saw this as being “woke” not as someone using their imagination and expanding the lore of the galaxy.
If you hop online and do a quick Google search you will find that with Christianity alone there are estimated to be over 45,000 different individual denominations all worshipping the same God. So, why is it so hard to believe that there might be a few ways to view the Force, a few groups that worship it, a few groups that wield it in different ways. People need to open their minds and think about how small we are as a planet and how massive the Star Wars universe is supposed to be (it it just keeps expanding). If our planet can have that many ways to worship the same God, then it makes more sense that the Force would be spoken of and used in different ways.
This is a good thing for the Star Wars universe. Think about the possibilities this opens up for future films, streaming shows, comics and books. Imagine a coven of Witches that are mad at the world and trying to expand, Rey and her new Jedi order would have to come in and try to stop them. Force user versus Force (Thread) user would lend itself to some amazing action sequences and confrontations. But, if we can’t open our minds to something new then we will get the same old stuff and the franchise will be in danger of becoming extinct.
Remember, the Force will be with you always…..unless you want it to be something else!
