Discover Top Posts Tagged with #jedi weekend

Ahsoka: We had quite an eventful mission.

Huyang: The most eventful since the time Master Yoda went to find his lightsaber crystal.

Obi-Wan: I'm afraid that story will have to wait. For now, be proud. You have survived an ordeal few your age could. Welcome home, young Jedi.

The Clone Wars 5x09: A Necessary Bond

#obi-wan kenobi #jedi younglings #ahsoka tano #the clone wars #jedi weekend #jedi positivity weekend #star wars #season 5

What do you think it means to be a jedi (as opposed to other beings that don't pursue to the dark side of the force - guardian of whills, etc.)? For example, when ahsoka says "I am no jedi"- how specifically is she not a jedi? Is it because being a jedi entails working with governmental oversight (sort of like how the superheroes in marvel were supposed to work with UN supervision?)?

Ah ah, that’s such a huge question ^^; I don’t wanna mess it up...

Hmm, I don’t think being a Jedi refers to being accountable to the authorities. Luke becoming a Jedi is a big part of the OT and he answers to no government, but it’s never expressed that he’s somehow “less” of a Jedi because of it. I think being a Jedi is about the mindset and the duty.

The problem with asking what makes a Jedi different from other Force-centered systems of beliefs is that those (like the Guardians of the Whills, the Bardottans, the Church of the Force, etc, etc) came *after* the Jedi in our universe. (Well, except for the GotW, but in the beginning they were just supposed to be kinda omniscient entities narrating the story, they weren’t really meant to be Force wielders/Force adepts.) When Lucas created the Jedi, there wasn’t an extended universe full of other cultures they had to be different from. So “being a Jedi” only existed in opposition to using the Dark Side. And being a Jedi was solely about the mindset expressed in the OT and PT: don’t let attachment cloud your judgment, reject anger/fear/any negative emotion that holds power over you, be compassionate, trust the Force.

That somewhat changed with the creation of other Force-centered cultures, but it’s still interesting to see that the Jedi are by far the most prevalent Force-users, and that all other communities that use the Force are *extremely* withdrawn and have very little impact on the Galaxy. People don’t say “Force-powers,” they say “Jedi powers.” Most cultures based on the Force in the EU/Legends are speciest (even in canon, the Nightsisters, the Bardottans or the Lasat don’t really teach outsiders about their beliefs - at least, they don’t take outsiders in). I think it’s fair to say these cultures don’t matter in the greater SW narrative - they certainly weren’t part of Lucas’ original vision for the meaning of “Jedi.”

So I think a part of the Jedi identity is that importance they have in the Force and to the Galaxy. Basically, *they’re* the Children of the Force - not in the sense that others have a weaker connection to it, but in the sense that the Jedi are the ones acting out its Will and trying to keep its Balance (and indeed, cultures like the Bardottans are represented as connecting to the Force *passively,* as observers - hell, even the Force Priestesses, the Bendu and the Father, Son and Daughter don’t actively participate in the fate of the Galaxy - the Jedi do).

Essentially, the Jedi Order is like the arm of the Force - and it’s pretty clear in the SW narrative that the Order will never completely die, when other cultures are wiped out without the Force keeping a remnant alive.

So 1) importance within the Force.

2) Would be, imo, their beliefs themselves - which are what make them so important in the first place. They’re rather simple.

Compassion, above all - and defending the innocent.

Willingness to let go (of your own emotions, of your life, of what you hold most dear) in the name of that compassion/of balance.

Pursuit of balance (which, as I understand it, is peace - inner peace and peace within the Galaxy).

Trust in the Force

Of course, being a Jedi was also about being part of their culture/community in the PT era, but we are told of several maverick Jedi who disappeared for months/years and doing whatever and nobody had a problem with that (Qui-Gon, Tu-Ahn, Eno Cordova, to cite a few canon ones).

I think when Ahsoka says: “I’m no longer a Jedi,” she rejects two things - the authority that comes with being a Jedi - government or no government - and some of the values that are indissociable from being a Knight. It’s exactly like Cere Junda or Luke running away from their identity - they can’t deal with the responsibility inherent to being a Jedi.

Being a Jedi means, without fail, that you are one of the most important people in the universe - that you have the absolute moral duty of placing the Galaxy’s burdens above your own wants, needs and hopes. It’s - still within Lucas’ narrative - the most difficult thing you could aspire to be. Of course after so much death and loss and suffering, Ahsoka would have difficulties taking up that mantle again/would doubt her ability to fulfill that role. She probably doesn’t think she can be a Jedi anymore. (For example, she doesn’t think she can open the Lothal Temple.)

The other things Ahsoka rejects, as I said, are some of the values associated with being a Jedi. Nothing says a Lasat can’t take revenge. But for a Jedi - who has chosen to bear that burden of responsibility and to be the instrument of the Force - there is no room for indulgences. You don’t get to act on your righteous anger, or your justified fears - because then you start to slip up, you inch ever closer to the Dark Side, and it’s a vicious circle that’s exacerbated by how much power you constantly wield to do your duty.

If you have no duty, you don’t have to hold yourself to that highest of standards. Ahsoka has chosen not to bear the burden of a Jedi anymore (and there’s nothing wrong with that choice), so she’s at liberty to do what she wants, even take revenge (as she tells Vader in the Sith Temple). In contrast, Obi-Wan chose to remain a Jedi instead of building a life with Satine, because being a Jedi is about denying yourself (which by no means is unfulfilling/restrictive/toxic - it’s just another way of seeing life; Obi-Wan and Satine both find fulfillment, joy and growth in their respective paths).

Hope that’s good enough of an answer :) of course, there are other things I associate with being a Jedi - the gentleness so many of them display, the diversity of their clothes and lightsabers, the open-mindedness that allows Barriss to have an idol in her quarters, the quiet resilience, the badassness, the drama, the sheer awesomeness of space-monks that go “swish-swish zoom-zoom” with their lightsticks as they protect people while looking as extra as possible... I love them. Can you tell?

#jedi appreciation weekend #jedi positivity weekend #jedi order #jedi appreciation #jedi positivity #meta #my meta #sw talk #ask #anonymous #jedi weekend

Day 3: Yoda

I’m quite excited about drawing a bunch of alien Jedi this month! Non-human but humanoid faces are always a fun challenge, and something I want to practice. And Yoda has a really visually interesting face, so he was a great one to start out with.

#yoda #star wars art #jedi weekend #inktober2020 #inktober #star wars #mine: fanart #mine: challenge