ok please reblog this version instead because i’m actually gonna elaborate on this point:
forgive me for being blunt, but i personally view the interpretation of “dark side = evil” and “light side = good” as just plain stupid because the force is just another layer of reality. it’s like saying the speed of light is evil because it prevents you from traveling cosmic distances instantaneously.
also, by saying the dark side is inherently evil, you run into a severe problem with the sith purebloods, who are described as having a “genetic preposition to the dark side” (x). the ancient sith on korriban had a society that revolved around the usage of the dark side, and so by saying the dark side is inherently evil, you’re also saying that a whole species and culture is also inherently evil.
so, my interpretation of the dark side vs. the light side is partly inspired by this post about force-healing, as well as some analysis made by the lorekeeper during his kotor playthrough (i think he went into it in like the first episode?)
to put it simply, the difference between dark and light is aggressiveness vs. passiveness.
“but kaleb, you said that the dark side isn’t inherently evil, so why are you saying that it’s aggressive?”
aggressive as a word has a negative connotation, sure, but it’s not automatically bad. at the roots, to be aggressive is to be forceful and assertive, and not backing down from confrontation. on it’s own, that’s not a bad thing. to say it more positively, you could call it bold or just taking initiative.
conversely, the light side being passive isn’t inherently good. passive just means to allow things to happen without a reaction. sometimes being passive can be a good thing, like just choosing not to give a bigot your attention, since that’s what they want. on the flip side, passiveness can also be terrible, such as standing by while that bigot goes on to call for violence against a certain minority.
of course, that’s just the general, black and white view of it, and there’s a lot more nuance to it than just action vs. inaction.
so, how about the difference between dark side powers vs. light side powers? because, like i said, it’s not just doing something vs. doing nothing.
you know how i said that the force is just another layer of reality? yeah, that was an important thing to remember:
light side abilities do not alter reality, exactly. they actually fit in pretty well with how we understand physics: energy cannot be created or destroyed, at least not under usual circumstances.
if a light-sider were to enhance their own strength with the force, it’d be by drawing on the energy around them. and, once they were done, that energy would return to where it came from. it’s passive in that the force-user isn’t acting on reality itself, or twisting the force in an unnatural way. all they’re really doing is redirecting energy, which is something that already occurs.
the dark side is different, and this is why i say that it’s aggressive. the dark side doesn’t follow physics like we understand it, and in fact breaks the above law i stated: energy cannot be created or destroyed.
if a dark-sider wanted to make themself stronger, they wouldn’t draw on the energy around them. rather, through the dark side and their own strength of will, they’d create energy for their body to use. they’d change how their body usually functions to make it stronger, or faster, or whatever else they wanted. the dark side is about taking the reins of your own biology, and doing it solely with your own power. and they get to keep that energy, because they made it.
the light side works in tandem with the natural order, the dark side breaks it, and that’s the difference.
but this doesn’t make the light side better and the dark side evil, because you can still do terrible things with both sides.
if we go back to my light side example, you could, in theory, draw so much energy out of someone else that you actually kill them. you could, quite literally, suck the life out of them. sure, you couldn’t hold onto that energy forever, but it’d only return to a rotting corpse, and once you die, you’re dead. even if all that energy comes back to your body, all it’s going to do is transform into something else as your body decays. you’re not breaking any natural laws, and you’re not using your own strength, so that’s still a light side technique, though it’s very obviously cruel and evil.
and on the other side, the dark side can be used for good. using the dark side, you could heal someone by altering their own biology. say if they’ve got a broken bone? using the dark side, you could force that bone to come together again, with the added bonus of not actually taking energy from anything else, but rather energy that you created yourself.
but the big problem with using dark side powers is that you’re breaking the laws of physics. luckily, these powers are used on a small enough scale that they don’t have a huge consequence for reality itself, but over time they can break down an individual. continuing to create new energy, over and over, can give you short-term advantages, but it will break you down in the future.
“we know about dark side corruption already, but what about the light side? if they’re not actually altering reality, it can’t really hurt, right?”
the consequences of leaning too much towards the light aren’t super obvious, and are more psychological than physical, but they’re there.
to really see the consequences of light side corruption, we should look at the jedi order of the prequel trilogy. particularly at yoda, aka the stupidest motherfucker of the era.
you heard me. yoda’s a fucking idiot.
he’s so hopped up on the light side, of concerning himself with not upsetting the natural order and a complete rejection of the dark side, that he is completely inactive. he is complacent with the presence of slavery and corruption in the galaxy. sure, he might acknowledge it’s there and that it’s bad, but it’s always “ah, but do anything we cannot”
yoda and the jedi order of this era are so concerned with peace that they allow themselves to be slaves and tools of the corrupt government–they accept the slave army that is given to them and they use it rather than standing up and saying “no! this isn’t right!” they are all so spineless that they fight a war engineered by palpatine rather than trying to find a peaceful solution to it.
another consequence of the light side is a prolonged lifespan, which could explain why yoda is so damn old.
but there’s something else about the light side…
you know how vitiate destroyed all life on ziost to gain power?
that’s a light side technique.
because vitiate wasn’t making his own power from nothing, he was taking it from everyone on ziost. he literally sucked the life out of everyone and everything there, and he did it earlier on nathema.
when we first see it, nathema is desolate and broken because valkorion/vitiate is still technically alive, and is still holding onto that energy it gave him when he performed the ritual.
but the next time we go to nathema, after valkorion is dead once and for all, what’s happened? everything is growing back, as if energy and life has returned to the planet.
according to my perspective, the ritual valkorion used on nathema and ziost was a light side technique.
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