Scientific American: Jedi are “Problematic”

[ShieldWife]

Well, if you’re familiar with it at all, you’ll know that Scientific American is mostly trash. I’ve known that for a while, but this surprised even me with the utter depths of stupidity this article reaches.

Let me give you some choice quotes:

They are a religious order of intergalactic police-monks, prone to (white) saviorism and toxically masculine approaches to conflict resolution (violent duels with phallic lightsabers, gaslighting by means of “Jedi mind tricks,” etc.). The Jedi are also an exclusionary cult, membership to which is partly predicated on the possession of heightened psychic and physical abilities (or “Force-sensitivity”). Strikingly, Force-wielding talents are narratively explained in Star Wars not merely in spiritual terms but also in ableist and eugenic ones

Think, for example, of the so-called “Slave Leia” costume, infamous for stripping down and chaining up the movie series’ first leading woman as part of an Orientalist subplot. Star Wars arguably conflates “alienness” with “nonwhiteness,” often seeming to rely on racist stereotypeswhen depicting nonhuman species. The series regularly defaults onto ableist tropes, memorably in its portrayal of Darth Vader, which links the villain’s physical disability with machinic inhumanity and moral deviance, presenting his technology-assisted breathing as a sinister auditory marker of danger and doom. What’s more, the bodies and voices centered in Star Wars have, with few exceptions, historically been those of white men. And while recent films have increased gender and racial diversity, important questions remain regarding how meaningfully such changes represent a departure from the series’ problematic past. Indeed, a notable segment of the Star Wars fandom has aggressively advocated the (re)centering of white men in the franchise, with some equating recent casting decisions with “white genocide.”

There is more, but this is enough to get the general sense of the article.

Though really, I hope that the kind of woke imbeciles who are into this kind of stuff stay far away from Star Wars, and other sci-fi and fantasy franchises too. That’s too much to hope for.

 

[ATP]

Well, if you’re familiar with it at all, you’ll know that Scientific American is mostly trash. I’ve known that for a while, but this surprised even me with the utter depths of stupidity this article reaches.

Let me give you some choice quotes:





There is more, but this is enough to get the general sense of the article.

Though really, I hope that the kind of woke imbeciles who are into this kind of stuff stay far away from Star Wars, and other sci-fi and fantasy franchises too. That’s too much to hope for.

I fear you are right.They would not stop till Leia,Arwen and other heroines become black jewish muslim atheist lesbians

 

[VicSage]

Though really, I hope that the kind of woke imbeciles who are into this kind of stuff stay far away from Star Wars, and other sci-fi and fantasy franchises too. That’s too much to hope for.

Too late. We should have done our gatekeeping about a decade and a half ago. Nowadays everyone is in search of the mythical "Wider Audience", not understanding that they aren't attracting new people by making something that is just like everything else, and are chasing away the old fans by destroying what they loved. See Mass Effect for a speedrun of this process.

 

[The Whispering Monk]

"The battle is lost."

"Long live the Rebellion."

 

[LTR]

Well this confirms it...

 

[The Whispering Monk]

"Oh...you have heroes? Don't worry, we'll destroy them. Show you that they weren't worth your time, and that you shouldn't try and be like them. Trust us....we're with the government. We're here to help."

 

[ShieldWife]

"Oh...you have heroes? Don't worry, we'll destroy them."

 

[Bacle]

Only fools think Jedi are heroes, instead of indoc'd child soldiers/police-monks who are effectively above the law in many instances and have psyonic powers that allow them to effectively mind-rape/manipulate other's thoughts.

Force users in general are more of a danger to the common folk of the galaxy than a help to it.

 

[Captain X]

The prequels turned them into that.

 

[Abhishekm]

My take away from all this is "The Sietch has a twitter account?".

 

[Bear Ribs]

My take away from all this is "The Sietch has a twitter account?".

The Sietch is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural.

 

[bintananth]

The prequels turned them into that.

But, but, but ... it can't possibly be Star Wars without the Jedi and "we need moar Jedi!".

 

[Captain X]

I guess if it were me, I would have modeled them more on the Knights Templar as far as them being stateless warrior monks, basically, who followed a strict code which had made them trusted throughout the galaxy. And the Force would not have been something genetic per say, but much more in the realm of something religious to put it more in line with what Yoda was talking about in ESB.

 

[KilroywasNOTHere]

I guess if it were me, I would have modeled them more on the Knights Templar as far as them being stateless warrior monks, basically, who followed a strict code which had made them trusted throughout the galaxy. And the Force would not have been something genetic per say, but much more in the realm of something religious to put it more in line with what Yoda was talking about in ESB.

this maybe a bit off topic, but I've never understood the whole "Stateless celibate monk" fetish considering some of the biggest sexual and moral scandals have involved these spiritual orders (catholic church being the first one to spring to mind) I would have thought people would take the hint that the appearance of wisdom, disciple, and spirituality does not mean that's the case. I mean by appearances sidious rejected all forms of physical comfort (ignoring the ST) so he could spend all his time meditating on the dark side with the endgoal to become the force incarnate and ascend to the highest plane of existence. You can't get much more "Spiritual" than that.

I guess more to the point. I would have made the jedi more like thier Army of Light Counterparts full stop. Have a bunch of warriors and Lords working together to defend the galaxy from what is essentially space necromancers and other horrible threats. but I have to say I kind of agree with @Bacle the way it's portrayed the force is more akin to the ultimate comics version of the x-gene where anyone who has it is ultiamtly driven insane and generally turned sociopathic and superhero groups are essentially government consperacies to keep them leashed/caged without them being aware as such. this is especially the case when you add mediclorians to it all.

 

[ShieldWife]

Force powers are hereditary. That is one reason the people at Scientific American don’t like them, because they are offended by the idea of human heredity.

Back to the Jedi though. The Jedi take children strong in the Force and indoctrinate them from a young age not to love or feel passion, to be chaste and celibate, to obey the Jedi Order.

This means no children. Maybe the entire point of the Jedi and their rules is to eventually eliminate Force users by preventing them from reproducing.

 

[KilroywasNOTHere]

Force powers are hereditary. That is one reason the people at Scientific American don’t like them, because they are offended by the idea of human heredity.

Back to the Jedi though. The Jedi take children strong in the Force and indoctrinate them from a young age not to love or feel passion, to be chaste and celibate, to obey the Jedi Order.

This means no children. Maybe the entire point of the Jedi and their rules is to eventually eliminate Force users by preventing them from reproducing.

While that's an interesting idea, wouldn't a good old fashioned genocide be easier quicker and more effective? Kill any being two or older that shows sign of force sensitivity. that's what egypt tried doing to the isrielites and had it not been for divine intervention from God through Moses it would have worked. Having them die by population shortages seems like a very long conviluted way of getting the same result.

 

[Bacle]

Force powers are hereditary. That is one reason the people at Scientific American don’t like them, because they are offended by the idea of human heredity.

Back to the Jedi though. The Jedi take children strong in the Force and indoctrinate them from a young age not to love or feel passion, to be chaste and celibate, to obey the Jedi Order.

This means no children. Maybe the entire point of the Jedi and their rules is to eventually eliminate Force users by preventing them from reproducing.

Actually, Jedi never had to pledge celibacy.

They cannot form 'attachments', but a fling here or there helps ensure that there are Force sensitive kids for the next generation of Padawans.

Plus some species, like Mundi's, have very low birth rates so the Order made exceptions about the whole 'cannot have a family' bit for species like his.

Edit: Also there was the Padawan who got pregnant and had a kid with one of the Delta Squad commando's, and their trainer took it to keep the whole affair from getting the attention of the Council aimed at them.

 

[bintananth]

Actually, Jedi never had to pledge celibacy.

They cannot form 'attachments', but a fling here or there helps ensure that there are Force sensitive kids for the next generation of Padawans.

Plus some species, like Mundi's, have very low birth rates so the Order made exceptions about the whole 'cannot have a family' bit for species like his.

Edit: Also there was the Padawan who got pregnant and had a kid with one of the Delta Squad commando's, and their trainer took it to keep the whole affair from getting the attention of the Council aimed at them.

We, as a species, are very inbred and have ridiculously low birth rates. A human infant is about twice the size of a gorilla infant and has a brain about as large as an adult gorilla does at the moment the first breath of air is inhaled.

 

[The Whispering Monk]

Where do you get the idea that were inbred?

 

[bintananth]

Where do you get the idea that were inbred?

About 70,000 years ago Homo sapiens was reduced to a population in the "that's an endangered species" range.

The mtDNA everyone has came from just one woman. The Y-chromosome every man has came from just one guy.