Why the "Force" in Star Wars is the greatest part of the movies and that master Yoda knows more than he lets on.

In the 1970's, a man named George Lucas would have a vision. In '77, he would go on to turn that vision into a movie which he called Star Wars. Most of the world thought that this movie and the others sharing the same name were about flying airplanes through space with lasers and fighting with cool swords. But the real star of these films is an aspect that is largely misunderstood, even by the characters themselves.

In the very first film of the franchise where we are first introduced to this thing called the Force, it is referred to as both the most powerful weapon in the galaxy and an archaic religion in the same scene. But the fun part, is that it's actually both. Let's take a look at the two quotes in question, Darth Vader: "Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've constructed. The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Force." I'm going to run out on a limb and say that if in this galaxy, a weapon capable of destroying an entire planet in a single shot was created, it would become the most powerful weapon in the galaxy. Vader knows the capabilities of the Death Star and actually scoffs at it and the confidence of its owners compared to the Force. Even Vader doesn't have a complete understanding of the Force and how it works, but he DOES acknowledge from personal experience that it is stronger than the Death Star. This is to demonstrate just how powerful the Force actually is. It's hard to imagine something more powerful than a device capable of destroying a planet, but if you can come up with something bigger than that, the Force can do it.

The response to Vader's statement was this, "Don't try to frighten us with your sorcerer's ways, Lord Vader. Your sad devotion to that ancient religion has not helped you conjure up the stolen data tapes or given you clairvoyance enough to find the Rebels' hidden fort-." He's cut short here by the tightening grip of the Force around his lungs and neck, crushing the air out of his body, but what he was trying to say is clear enough. This poor fool finds the Force to be an ancient religion that only crazy old men who walk around in bathrobes and play with swords still believe in. In his mind, this "ancient religion" is obsolete because of their new and shiny technology. This creates a direct comparison between the Star Wars galaxy and our real world. I don't mean to make a statement that religion is pointless, but both sides are represented in this scene. The new age thinkers who have technology and science to fall back on and feel they have no need of "ancient religions" and the zealots themselves who believe their religion is better than the technology and don't care what the new generation has to say.

The only difference here is that the zealot ends the argument by literally using the power of his faith to strangle his opponent. You can't tell someone their religion is powerless when they are literally and successfully using their religion's power to choke you to death. But back to the point at hand, even the characters within the films do not fully understand the scope or the usefulness of the Force. If nonbeliever here realized its true potential as a weapon and an asset, he wouldn't have spent so much time working on the Death Star he was just bragging about.

So what? Who cares? Well we do. The point is that some of the explanations about the Force given to us in the movies contradict each other, which means that someone is right and someone is wrong. But who's on which side? If we take into consideration the facts we have available, we can solve the mystery and reach a deeper understanding of this mystical "Force."

So let's look at the two, contradicting theories. In the original three films, Yoda and Obi-Wan collectively provide us with the first explanations of the Force. "an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us, penetrates us, and binds the galaxy together." Obi-Wan used words here that Luke would be able to quickly understand and accept. Energy field was the first thing that came to his mind, but the rest of his explanation is spot on. It's created by all living things, surrounds them, flows through them, and binds them all together. Yoda describes the Force as being everywhere from within him and Luke to being inside inanimate objects all around them, as well as the space between. The Force is also described as having the ability to guide Luke as well as his actions. This tells us almost without question that the Force is a living being that possesses willpower. Its overall goal is to guide the galaxy towards the greater good, since its guidance brings about the end of the Empire and its evil regime.

So we know the Force is a good guy, so why is there a dark side? Simple. Because the Force is created by all living things. And since there is evil in the galaxy just as there is good, the Force has two sides which are constantly at conflict with each other which disrupts the ease of its use. This is why people have to train for years and years (or very hard for a few weeks in the case of Luke ((except he was part of the "chosen one" plot which actually made his training easier))) to use the Force with any real success. And just as it is in real life, often times, it is easier and more rewarding in the short term to give in to evil impulses than it is to restrain one's self to doing good. We often hear the Jedi claim the chosen one is meant to bring balance to the Force. Well that doesn't make sense, considering that the Force is only out of balance because of the whole "generated by all life" part of the package. The Force is attempting to do what's best for the galaxy, so it isn't guiding them to say this, so what is? It is my theory that they want a more "balanced" Force so using it will be easier for them. If the Force is in less conflict, then it's easier to use.
This leads us to the other philosophy in the movies about the Force. The one presented in the prequel trilogy. Anakin is determined to be a powerful possible Force user and the chosen one because of his extraordinarily high "midichlorian" count. This theory is based on the idea that small living organisms within the cells of life either are the real culprits behind creating the Force, or provide their host with the ability to feel it. Either way, this theory can be quickly disproved. In real life, science has been wrong and corrected on a few occasions. It's ridiculous to assume it's never been wrong in the galaxy far, far away. Midichlorians look very similar to a thing that even I have in my cells, called "Mitochondria." They're known as the powerhouse of the cell because their break down proteins and fuel for the cell's energy. It's possible that the Jedi scientists back at the lab were looking for an answer to how the Force works and were satisfied with this explanation. But even if I'm wrong and Midichlorians were different than Mitochondria, then the only effect they had on their host was preventing the host from reaching his true potential of Badassitude. So we should all be thankful that Anakin lost so many when Obi-Wan lopped off his good arm and both legs and millions more were burned along with his skin so that he could finally reach his potential and become Darth Vader.

Disproving this theory is what leads us back to the title of this article. Master Yoda knows much more than he's been letting on. For whatever reason, he's kept his mouth shut all those years that the Jedi were babbling on about Midichlorians and their magical powers. How do we know this? Because to date, Master Yoda is the most "powerful" Force user we've seen on screen. From lifting pylons well over a hundred times his size, pulling an X-wing from a swamp, to going toe-to-toe with the Emperor's super powerful lightning signature, Yoda has more than demonstrated that his mastery of the Force is greater than any of his peers. But here's the kicker, he's at least half of all their sizes. Do you honestly expect me to believe that the number of midichlorians in his body is higher than that of every Jedi or Sith around him? The numbers just don't add up. For one thing, it doesn't matter how small they are, if you have enough of them jammed into a single cell, you're not going to have room in the cell for it to function. Besides, the internet will quickly tell you (as will the movie itself if you go back and watch it) that Anakin supposedly has more midichlorians than Yoda. If this is true, and midichlorians provide sensitivity to the Force, then Anakin should have been able to learn how to use it on his own before he even met a Jedi, but he hadn't. Judge Yoda by his size do you? This theory does.

We see the Force manifest itself in many ways. From moving things around with the user's mind, to throwing lightning from fingertips, the Force is a versatile tool and ally in the Star Wars universe. But as Darth Vader said it best, the power to "destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Force." Master Yoda probably knew this all along, but theoretically, anyone in the distant galaxy could be a Force user. All they have to do is train their mind to accept it. It is a being of greater good and greater purpose and it uses individuals to shape the course of history. Speaking of anyone being able to tap the power of the Force, the only reason Han didn't was because he chose not to believe in it, not because he was incapable. And Jabba the Hut wasn't immune to its power (regardless of what he says about his species), the mind trick only works on the weak minded. The Huts are a race of intelligent bargainers. It only makes sense that they would have no interest in learning how to use it, and be too smart to be fooled by it. Like I said. Not every character in the films understands the Force. It was considered an ancient religion by the time of the Empire which even those who used it didn't understand. If a character spent enough time studying the Force and mastering it, they could become invincible, nearly all-knowing, and unstoppable. Of course, this character would have to be perfectly aligned to both sides of the Force simultaneously, but the opportunity is there, and the character would be fun to explore. Especially if it was a villain. Tapping into the Force is the ultimate power in the Star Wars galaxy… well, other than marketing it to our galaxy.

I may in fact be giving Mr. Lucas too much credit for the mere existence of this theory at all, but since the Force is about hope and second chances, I say we give him the second chance to say I'm right and midichlorians have nothing to do with the Force and hope that none of this nonsense ever comes up again to try and ruin my personal favorite character of my all-time favorite movie series.

-Henry