Listener Mailbag: January 10, 2013
We start the New Year off right by sharing listener emails about our Death Star New Year's Eve Celebration, Episode VII and the prophecy of the Chosen One, and Celebration VI.
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Blowing Up The Death Star On New Year's Eve
Dear Jason & Jimmy,
This New Years I was adamant about blowing up the Death Star at midnight. I spent the holidays at my in-laws' house in Denver and was the only hardcore Star Wars fan present. Or so I thought.
I wasn't afforded TV time for the Wars, so I played it on my laptop. As I was setting everything up, party-goers who weren't in the know asked what I was up to. My explanations were, for the most part, met with snickers and the general awkward feeling that I was the "nerd" in the family. To tell you the truth, I was so distraught by this that I almost lost faith and scrapped the whole idea.
But I DID NOT!! I plopped myself down in front of the laptop with my six-year old-daughter (who will always be my Star Wars buddy) and we celebrated New Years like TRUE Star Wars fans. While we were watching, though, the funniest thing happened. Each and every single one of the guests that I got the snickers from eventually got sucked into the movie. Not the whole thing, but just enough that I could tell that I wasn't the only fan there after all. Some of them would even point out their favorite scene to us, or let us know who their favorite character was
This went on and on throughout the movie to the point that when midnight hit, more people were watching the Death Star explode than watching the ball drop. People were high-fiving me for getting the timing just right (a big thanks to Jimmy for that one) and telling me that the unique experience really made the event for them. My only response to that was to invite them to join me in blowing up the Death Star in Return of the Jedi next year.
Thanks to you guys for a great 2012 and I can't wait to see what 2013 has in store for us.
-Faithful Listener Matt
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Another Fan Who Celebrated New Year's Eve Death Star-Style
Jimmy,
I just want to say thank you for giving me the gift of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope on New Years! I decided to have a quiet New Years celebration and a friend came over to watch a couple of movies for the evening. I cautiously suggested watching A New Hope, explaining about the Death Star exploding perfectly at midnight, so we went ahead with watching the film. Even though I mucked up the timing and had to adjust after a mad panic 20 minutes into the film, I have to say the experience was absolutely brilliant!!!! But what made this even more special is the fact I live in Edinburgh, and from my sofa I get a prime view out my window of the fireworks going off at the castle for Hogmanay! So as the Death Star exploded in front of me on my TV, I turned my head to look out the window and I could see the massive Death Star shaped fireworks going off with loud bangs and explosions!! Epic!
Thanks to both of you for all the hard work you have put into the podcast over the years. I have been listening for such a long time and the podcast has become part of my life, accompanying my commute and my extensive (6 days a week) gym sessions and serving as a way of enjoying my fandom. It's great to listen to all the guests you have had on the show, especially getting Ashley on and passing on the info about Her Universe -- a godsend to us female fans. :-)
I hope I can get to Celebration Europe, as we have so much now to look forward to over the coming years.
Keep up the great, fantastic and awe-inspiring work.
Best Wishes,
Sarah
Edinburgh
P.S.: I only have 6 figures left to finally complete my Kenner collection!
P.P.S.: Give a shout out to any Edinburgh-based ForceCast fans!
P.P.P.S.: I LOVE the BondCast too!!!
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Episode VII: The Balance Of Jedi & Sith
A recent conversation you had about the prophecy of Anakin bringing balance to The Force has got me to thinking. I believe Kyle Newman (and Jamie) were adamant that if Palpatine came back in Episode VII, this would negate the prophecy of ‘The One Who Will Bring Balance To The Force.’
I really don’t think that’s true, from my certain point of view, so I thought I’d write a mini-essay about that. Let’s take a look!
Episode VII: The Balance Of Jedi & Sith
“You speak of the prophecy of the one who will bring balance to The Force, and you think it’s this boy (Anakin Skywalker).” Mace Windu’s words speak of balance; there is really no mention of the Sith’s destruction. Sure, in Episode III Revenge Of The Sith, Obi-Wan may have said, “It was said that you (Anakin) would destroy the Sith, not join them,” but is this true? Or just Obi-Wan’s interpretation of the words. Who said the words Obi-Wan is quoting here then? We simply do not know. I submit that it wasn’t the prophecy who said the Sith would be destroyed, but simply another Jedi - perhaps Yoda. The fact is, we don’t what words Obi-Wan is quoting exactly. The only fact we have, is what the prophecy said from the point of view of Jedi Master Mace Windu. A “prophecy misread, may have been” from the point of view of Yoda in ROTS.
Let’s take a look at what George Lucas said about the balance of the Force in the Blu-Ray bonus disk 2 in the special feature ‘George Lucas On The Force 2010’ where he explains the Force to The Clone Wars writing team. He spoke of what happens when one becomes too selfish - that that it is the way of the Sith, but for arguments sake he did not say one can not be selfish at all, he spoke of what happens when one get’s consumed by selfishness and “holding on to things.” Lucas explained, “The core of The Force, I mean you got the Dark Side, the Light side, one is selfless, one is selfish and you want to keep them in balance.” He also spoke of the selflessness of the Jedi, but he did not say that should not be selfish at all. Simply put, in this video he stated that these two things needed to be in “balance.” We need to consider this grey area of balance. This idea will also be supported by something The Father in The Clone Wars Mortis Trilogy.
When we refer to The Clone Wars season 3 ‘Mortis Trilogy,’ we must keep in mind that it’s a concept that came straight from George Lucas. In one of these episodes the character of The Father says of Dark and Light, “too much dark or light would be the undoing of life as you understand it.” In an episode we also see Anakin balancing both the Dark and Light side by make the Son and Daughter submit to his powers of balance. Add unto that, that because the Daughter died, it also became clear that the Son and Father had to die for their to be balance. This could also be seen less literally; it is what happened when both the Jedi and Sith were destroyed in the 6 movies we now have. Except… now there are no Sith and at least one Jedi has returned to The Force (Luke Skywalker.) What does that mean for all this emphasis on balance if there is possibly only now the Light side? Remember what the Son said of the Dark and Light sides, “How simple you make it, Light and Dark, as if there is one without the other.”
Let’s look at the simple issue of the Prophecy and ‘time.’ With Palpatine gone after Return Of The Jedi, maybe it is the case there is a short period of balance, perhaps 3 decades. So in this scenario the prophecy is literally true; for a time things are in balance. But what if a few decades later something happens for things to tip out of balance? What if that thing is the return of Darth Sidious?
I’ll end with three final thoughts just for the sake of getting us to think!
One. Palpatine has been balanced by Anakin throwing him down the Death Star shaft; but not destroyed. His death is not a fact, we did not see him die and we know what tends to happen when Jedi think Sith have been killed without certain evidence. Perhaps Palpatine returns in the nearby forest of Endor , sort of like Sauron returns in Mirkwood forest in The Hobbit. If so, perhaps, like Sauron, Palpatine is not yet fully formed and strong. Midichlorians are said to be found in life, if you don’t have a full body like Darth Vader, your count is lessened and your power weakened. Qui-Gon Jinn said “they are microscopic beings found in all living things… they continually speak to us telling us the will of The Force” Yoda furthered this with, “Life creates it (The Force), makes it grow.” So the more Midichlorians one has, the more they can use The Force, they are communicators of The Force, not The Force itself. Darth Vader had perhaps half the Midichlorians that Anakin had. Maybe, there is a point where a weaker Palpatine and a stronger Luke are balanced… but perhaps as Sidious grows again in strength, perhaps as he gains a physical form again, the balance is lost. This whole return of the Dark Lord thing is a mythic archetype that is found not only in LOTR but also in the Harry Potter saga. Lucas has made much of how evil people want to “hold on” and not die. It seems possibly obvious that in the case of the Dark Lord Palpatine, things would be no different.
Two. This one is completely out-of-the-box an far out, but maybe The Jedi and Sith will have to unite to fight a 3rd party threat? Maybe Dark and Light work together to achieve a balanced outcome? Perhaps selfishness and selflessness come to balance for an effective solution?! This is a stretch, but given the facts, you never know.
Three. Maybe will see and end-game for Mortis in the Sequel Trilogy. Perhaps Luke Skywalker and two others need to retire to Mortis finally, to create a new Father, Son, Daughter trinity - to maintain balance in the galaxy and make way for the next generation of characters to take over in the saga.
Finally, We can see that there has yet to be a totally fulfilled statement on how balance of The Force will be realized. The Mortis Trilogy threw all this all into question. We also see that Anakin did in fact fulfill the prophecy of the Chosen One bringing balance, but there is no real proof that those words specifically meant the total final destruction of The Dark Side and the Sith - nor did it say for how long the balance would remain.
This essay is not what I believe will happen, it’s just a look at what possibilities the known facts suggest.
Thanks for reading and may the Force be with you!
-Din
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Celebration VI Memories
Hey Jason and Jimmy Mac
I know this is a little late but I've been meaning to send you this message and pics for a long time. My son and I attended CVI and had the pleasure of meeting both of you on a couple of different occasions. Jimmy Mac asked me to send in the picture I had taken with the both of you so here it is over 4 months late. I've also attached a few other pics from CVI, including a collage picture I made for my computer background from some of my other CVI pics.
Related Stories:
Listener Mailbag: December 21, 2012
Listener Mailbag: December 6, 2012
