Force (Star Wars)

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"May The Force Be With You" redirects here. For the Only Fools and Horses episode with this title, see May The Force Be With You (Only Fools and Horses).

The Force is one of the main concepts in the fictional Star Wars universe, created by George Lucas. First mentioned in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, it is integral in all subsequent films in the series, as well as the Star Wars "Expanded Universe" of comic books, novels, and video games.

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[edit] Depiction

In Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, the original Star Wars film, the Force is first described by the Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness) as an energy field created by all living things, that surrounds and penetrates living beings and binds the galaxy together.[1] Throughout the series, characters exhibit various powers that rely on the Force.

The Force has a "dark side", which feeds off emotions such as anger and fear, whereas the Jedi use the Force only for peaceful purposes.[2] The series' villains, the Sith, embrace the dark side in order to seize power.[3] The Jedi's compassionate and selfless use of the Force has come to be known by inference as "the light side", although that term is not used in the films.[4]

The prequels introduced the idea of midi-chlorians, microscopic organisms that reside in living cells and communicate with the Force.[5] A being's potential to use the Force is correlated with the number of these organisms residing in its blood.[6]

[edit] Force abilities

Main article: Force power
Jedi Master Yoda (Frank Oz) holds a senatorial platform aloft in Revenge of the Sith
Jedi Master Yoda (Frank Oz) holds a senatorial platform aloft in Revenge of the Sith

The Force can enhance natural physical and mental natural abilities, including enhancing strength (such as during a 'Force jump' or to slow a fall from an otherwise dangerous height) and precision (as when Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) was able to launch proton torpedoes into a small thermal exhaust port on the Death Star in A New Hope). The Sith can sometimes use the Force to create harmful energy to attack others.

In the Star Wars original trilogy, certain characters use the Force to retain their spiritual presence after death. In the Expanded Universe novel Heir to the Empire, Obi-Wan Kenobi says this can only continue for a while before the Jedi must "move on" to a spirit realm.[7] In Revenge of the Sith, the late Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) communicates with Yoda from the spirit realm, promising to teach him and Obi-Wan this power; the latter two appear, along with a redeemed Anakin Skywalker (Sebastian Shaw/Hayden Christiansen) in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.

[edit] Disturbances in the Force

Many characters throughout the series can sense a "disturbance in the Force" whenever something bad happens or is about to happen.

When the planet Alderaan is destroyed in A New Hope, Obi-Wan senses "a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced". In Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) tells Darth Vader (David Prowse) that he has felt a disturbance in the Force upon realizing that Luke Skywalker poses a threat to him. In Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Yoda (Frank Oz) feels a disturbance in the Force when Anakin, enraged by his mother's death, slaughters a tribe of Tusken Raiders.

Yoda is seen to be visibly weakened after sensing the deaths of many Jedi during the execution of Order 66 in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.

[edit] Cultural impact

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The expression "May the Force be with you" has achieved cult status and is symbolic of the Star Wars legacy. The quote appears at #8 on the AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes list, compiled by the American Film Institute in 2005 to showcase the all-time best lines in American cinema history. May 4 is International Star Wars Day, taken from a pun of "May The Force (fourth) be with you".

The player's ability to use the Force is a feature in several LucasArts titles, ranging from real-time strategy games like Empire at War to first-person shooters such as Jedi Knight. LucasArts, Del Rey, Hasbro, Lego, and Dark Horse Comics currently are developing the multimedia project, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.

[edit] Origin

George Lucas, the creator of the Star Wars films, has attributed the origins of "The Force" to the film 21-87 (dir. Arthur Lipsett) which used samples from many sources.

"One of the audio sources Lipsett sampled for 21-87 [a film that had a great influence on Lucas] was a conversation between artificial intelligence pioneer Warren S. McCulloch and Roman Kroitor , a cinematographer who went on to develop IMAX. In the face of McCulloch's arguments that living beings are nothing but highly complex machines, Kroitor insists that there is something more: 'Many people feel that in the contemplation of nature and in communication with other living things, they become aware of some kind of force, or something, behind this apparent mask which we see in front of us, and they call it God.'"

"When asked if this was the source of "the Force," Lucas confirms that his use of the term in Star Wars was 'an echo of that phrase in 21-87.'" [8].

[edit] See also

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness) in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope: "The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us, and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together."
  2. ^ Yoda in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back:"Anger, fear, aggression! The dark side of The Force are they. ... A Jedi uses The Force for knowledge and defense. Never for attack."
  3. ^ Star Wars: Databank | Sith
  4. ^ Light side of the Force - Wookieepedia, the Star Wars Wiki
  5. ^ Qui-Gon Jinn in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace: "Midi-chlorians are a microscopic lifeform that reside within all living cells and communicate with the Force. ... Without the midi-chlorians, life could not exist, and we would have no knowledge of the Force. They continually speak to you, telling you the will of the Force."
  6. ^ Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace: "...the reading's off the chart... over twenty thousand. Even Master Yoda doesn't have a midi-chlorian count that high!" Later,in Jedi Council, Mace Windu: "His cells contain a high concentration of midi-chlorians." Ki-Adi Mundi: "The Force is strong with him."
  7. ^ Zahn, Timothy (1991). Heir to the Empire, The Thrawn Trilogy. New York: Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-07327-3. 
  8. ^ Wired 13.05: Life After Darth

[edit] References

  • Star Wars Roleplaying Game: Revised Core Rulebook, hardcover, 2002. Bill Slavicsek, Andy Collins, J.D. Wiker, ISBN 0-7869-2876-X
  • Star Wars Roleplaying Game: Power of the Jedi Sourcebook, hardcover, 2002. Michael Mikaelian, Jeff Grubb, Owen K.C. Stephens, James Maliszewski, ISBN 0-7869-2781-X
  • The Dark Side sourcebook, Wizards of the Coast, 1st printing, 2001. Bill Slavicsek, J. D. Wiker, ISBN 0-7869-1849-7
  • The Tao of Star Wars, John M. Porter, Humanics Trade Group, 2003, ISBN 0-89334-385-4.
  • The Dharma of Star Wars, Matthew Bortolin, Wisdom Publications, 2005, ISBN 0-86171-497-0.
  • The Making of Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Laurent Bouzereau, Jody Duncan, ISBN 0-345-43111-1
  • Galaxy Guide 4: Alien Races (Revised and Expanded), Troy Denning, West End Games, 1994, ISBN 0-87431-208-6
  • Empire Building: The Remarkable, Real-Life Story of Star Wars, Garry Jenkins, Citadel Press; Revised & Updated Edition, 1999, ISBN 0-8065-2087-6
  • Life After Darth, Steve Silberman, Wired Magazine, May 2005

[edit] External links

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