#the jedi cult

[josephsaturn]

I think that “Anakin was a slave child who was groomed by Palpatine and raised by someone who wasn’t ready to take on a child, thereby leaving him in a social limbo state where he’s surrounded by people but only has a few close confidants, with the one he trusts the most actively trying to take advantage of him”

and

“Anakin was taught right from wrong from a young age, first by his mother and then by Kenobi, but any time he was presented with a choice, actively CHOSE WRONG EVERY SINGLE TIME”

are two sentences that can, should, and MUST coexist to fully understand Anakin Skywalker as a character

Edit: PART 2 of this post here

[blackkatmagic]

Savage Opress, as a character, is what a certain type of Anakin stans want Anakin to be, in practically every aspect, and the fact that he's so underappreciated in the fandom is partially because seeing the reality of a character who is actually damaged in those ways makes that certain type of fan uncomfortable. In this essay I will - [gunshots]

[auxxrat]

so sick and tired of the “jedi are an evil and abusive cult that steals children” as if half the reason they weren’t protecting these children is bc sith were out killing them or TURNING THEM INTO SITH. they weren’t even STEALING children to begin with I thought we all knew that was Palpatine’s game not Yoda’s.

[gholateg]

Oh, I've not even gone into the whole aspect of their having to be basically guilt-abducted from their families.

Because the government-sanctioned order of religious monks knocks on your door, and tells you that they need to take your child to Wizard School and you'll never see them again, and isn't that a great honor for *you?*

Meanwhile, they're taking children who are younger then 9, because 9 is *too old* for proper training, isolating them all into one giant building, drilling into them that emotions are bad, that self sacrifice is good, and that dying for the cause just means you go back into the River of Life and that's pretty awesome.

And then there's the whole Thing that for a group of people who's whole Hat is Diplomacy and Protection, there is not ONE instance in the lore of Star Wars where we see a Jedi Mission that doesn't end in them murdering people.

There are no Jedi Colombos, no Jedi Sherlocks, No Jedi Agatha Cristie's.

For as "uncivilized" as blasters are, they have stun settings, lightsabers do not.

The entire political despotism of the Republic hinges on the jedi.

The very *reason* Palpatine can do what he did, is because the Republic has not had to deal with a galaxy capable of spreading a rebellion.

Because every time the sparks of dissent popped up, after all diplomatic options had been used...

They sent in the Jedi to "Talk sense" into the rebellious faction.

And eventually, the one put in charge of that faction was more interested in being alive, then in their ideals.

And thus, "peace" is maintained.

And I can go ON about this. I have EMOTIONS about this.

sometimes i feel like it'd be easier to get all star wars fans to agree that dooku's first name is yan (a fully made up fanon thing) than it would be to get them to agree that the jedi were good and didn't deserve genocide (a fully fundamental canon thing)

[aspiringwarriorlibrarian]

Honestly we should be making more comparisons between the Sith claiming that the Jedi were infringing on their religious liberty (to murder and enslave people) and the Lost Cause people who insist the Civil War was about state’s rights (to own slaves).

The Stranger: The Jedi War was about Sith’s rights.

Vernestra: Oh really? Sith’s rights to do what?

Stranger: Well, we didn’t want to be oppressed by the Jedi…

Vernestra: Really? How were they oppressing you? What were they preventing you from doing?

Stranger: Uhh…….it was more complicated than that…

Vernestra: Oh really, cause *very long list of Sith quotes about how they’re all about murder*

[tyger-land]

𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙧 𝙒𝙖𝙧𝙨: 𝙀𝙥𝙞𝙨𝙤𝙙𝙚 𝙄𝙄𝙄 - 𝙍𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙞𝙩𝙝 2005

[valenteal]

Oh my god I keep forgetting how some people in the Star Wars fandom see Anakin and then someone likes my long ranting reply and I just get reminded all over again.

And I know. I KNOW that I can’t change everyone’s mind and that it’s far from the most problematic issue I could be debating. But GOD does it piss me off when people say that Anakin was selfish or he should’ve just left the Jedi Order if he didn’t agree with them. Like… did no one ever teach you about recognizing a cult or its tactics? Do people not understand that the Jedi are literally brainwashed and have no “worldly possessions” and that leaving the order means striking out on your own, probably on Coruscant, with no money or job? Have people not payed attention to any of the NUMEROUS red flags? Do people just see that the Jedi staunchly oppose the obviously evil sith and decide they are saints?! Do people not recognize that the Jedi have literally committed genocide??? Like… the Jedi started the conflict with the Sith. They wiped out their entire civilization because of religious dogma. What are people not getting about that!?!?

And Anakin’s mental state. Oh my fucking god! Are people blind to the fact that he’s been groomed and manipulated for years by both the sith and the Jedi and is suffering from a severe mental breakdown during RotS??? Like. Even if you don’t know enough about psychology to recognize and understand BPD and a splitting episode it should still be obvious that he is NOT in his right mind through no fault of his own?!?! He’s traumatized after just coming back from literal WAR, he hasn’t been sleeping because he’s having premonitions of his wife DYING IN CHILDBIRTH EVERY NIGHT, his already feeble support system is in fucking shambles, and a guy he’s trusted for years is suddenly revealed to be an evil mastermind but the person standing against that evil mastermind is someone who has distrusted and scorned Anakin for just as long as the evil mastermind has been his mentor and confidant!!!!!!!!!

I don’t get it and I’m literally crying right now because I just don’t understand how people can’t feel empathy for Anakin and just want to vilify him while putting the people who hurt him on a pedestal. All it took for Anakin to come back to the light was ONE person believing in him. If you somehow missed that the original trilogy is about how love saves people and the prequel trilogy is about how denying love DESTROYS people then I don’t know how to help you.

No seriously I’m crying right now I know people are sheep who want to follow the pretty light and see the people in the marble castle with the gorgeous gardens and peaceful philosophy as good. I get it. But open your fucking eyes!!!!!!!! Being detached from reality and your emotions is not a healthy way to live and I don’t want people like that in positions of power and authority. EMPATHY! COMPASSION! These are the things Anakin embodies that the Jedi largely discard in favor of being cold and distant. The only Jedi who don’t are rebellious af. Qui-Gon (who is still problematic but at least he fucking cares), Obi-wan (was never a fucking golden boy, he almost wasn’t a Jedi and contemplated leaving on MULTIPLE occasions!), Quinlan Voss (no explanation needed here, man wasn’t even raised in the temple), Aayla Secura (Quinlan’s Padawan and the only Jedi we ever see actually contemplating the morality of the Clone War and having a discussion about it and actually LISTENING to what a non-Jedi has to say), Ahsoka (again no explanation needed, she fucking left and didn’t look back), Cal Kestis (has multiple crises about Jedi philosophy throughout the games and eventually decides Fuck It and becomes a much better and less confused person for it)… I could go on but you get the picture right?! You do get this? The Jedi Order was a toxic environment that messed people up so badly and never acknowledged their own flaws until it literally killed them all. Every single tragedy that happened to the Jedi was a direct consequence of their actions and literally all of their biggest enemies originated from within their own ranks!

At least Palpatine was decent enough to put literal red flags all over the Temple when he went and made it his palace!!! Because you know… he turned the Jedi temple into a palace with minimal cosmetic changes and that should REALLY tell you something!

[renesassing]

listen revan is divine because they are mortal not in spite of it. it is divinity a construct. it the trappings of religion in the context of cult, in the fervor of worship, in the reverence for sacrifice, in the 'us' versus 'them.' they are the patron saint of lost causes, they are the prophet of retribution, the god of getting from point a to point b in the most efficient way possible, regardless of who or what you must move though. and it is a godhood held aloft by those who throw themselves underneath them. who come clamoring to their beckoning hands knowing loyalty will be rewarded with loyalty in turn. who eagerly feed a machine they know would shatter worlds to achieve their goal.

[courseyoulovemeyoudontknowme]

The Empire Strikes Back (1980, Irvin Kershner)

28/12/2024

[dancingdorito]

just had a weird thought...

what would happen if a jedi got pregnant? what would happen to them? would they be forced to give it up? is there contraceptives they are forced to take? would they be forced to leave the order? are female jedi given the choice?

cuz like, we all know jedi aren't "celibate" but like what would actually happen if a jedi didn't want to give a child up?

like i know no one will probably answer this but i giggle imagining someone telling yoda and the jedi council that they're pregnant and they dont know what to do and the council is just exchanging side eyes lmao

like we know that ki adi mundi had multiple wives because his species was dying out but like... idk has anyone ever thought about female jedi in this scenario like??? what if a woman was in that position?

in usual fashion, star wars is male-centered and doesn't think about these things so here i am wondering about them.

[gianluc30]

[kateeorg]

Between the gods discourse from Critical Role and the Force/Jedi/Sith discourse from The Acolyte, I'm just like... even fictional religion is stressful to talk about, man. Really interesting, sure, but the implications and different factions and multitude of things to consider just make my head hurt and I need to stop looking at it and take a break.

[schlock-luster-video]

Remembering Star Wars star Carrie Fisher on the anniversay of her death.

R.I.P. 1956 - 2016

[politicalprocrastinator]

does kanan ever reflect on how although he may miss the jedi the fact they don't exist anymore means he can live peacefully with his long term partner without being told attachment will lead him to the dark side

[jaguarys]

Hey. By the way. Here's your reminder that the way you talk about the Jedi Order can and does spill over into talk of real world religions and sometimes the ways in which you talk about the Jedi betray some really concerning and alarming views of those religions!! So maybe!! Be careful about that shit!! Thanks!!

[anneapocalypse]

The Scions are also really, really not a cult, given that two of the defining features of a cult are isolating members from the outside world and trying to prevent them from leaving and the Scions demonstrably do neither of these things. Like there's plenty of problems with them as an organization especially in ARR and there's lots to be said about how they idolize Louisoix and I've said some of it myself but calling them a cult really feels like over the top vilification of a bunch of flawed people doing their best.