The Harvey Weinstein Matter

I'm from Los Angeles. Born and raised. Or, more specifically, I'm from Glendale, which is pretty much in the valley. As per se. Just east of Burbank, where you have the Disney Animated Studios and Warner Bros. and Universal. So, pretty much I've been exposed to this world practically all my life. The Hollywood scene being only a couple of miles southwest of me. And, within the last few years, I've been an Uber driver all throughout LA and Hollywood, and the hills of Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Pacific Palisades, Malibu, you name it! I've been on Mulholland Drive and Los Feliz Blvd quite a view times picking up women, very beautiful women, and driving them to and from those mansions on those hills, and I've heard their conversations many-a-times. I, as an Uber driver, had become the eyes and ears of that world. And, sometimes, that world would try to make me into a part of it. Can't tell you how many times I picked up people from West Hollywood, and got hit on, both men and women, which is one of the reasons why I stopped picking up people from there. Especially after one incident where this guy couldn't keep his hands to himself, and, I'm not a homosexual! Plus, a Christian at that! But, I tried to be as polite as I could towards him, more courteous than I probably should have been trying to simply explain to him that, what he was doing... just wasn't okay with me. No. Just, no! And, I was actually successful in doing that, and, I didn't need to kick him out of my car or pull in front of a police car, and demand him to get out (which I've done, once, after picking up two Armenian guys in Hollywood that I found punching mailboxes... I don't know what for! And, since I'm Armenian, I thought it was going to be cool. Didn't turn out that way.). One time I remember picking up this very attractive woman from Malibu. I remember her telling me how she was at this party, and there were celebrities there. Do remember her mentioning Rihanna, plus, an actor, whose name I will not mention (I wasn't there to witness this, so, it's a story, and I don't want to accuse someone of something I can't confirm actually happened), that acted very questionably in front of her. Her story was, this actor immediately came on to her, but once he realized that she wasn't interested in getting a part in a movie and such, by those means, he started ignoring her, and started hitting on a friend that she had come with, and those two were then pretty much  hitting it off. And, the woman in my car began  to express her frustrations to me, on how it seemed like her friend was going to get the part that she wanted. I really felt her frustration, as she told me all about what she experienced at that Malibu oceanside mansion. And, all I could do was feel sorry for her, and nothing else.

So, what am I saying here? Well, if it isn't obvious, I'm pretty much saying that these things, stuff that everyone is now hearing about Harvey, happens... A LOT! A hell of a lot! And it isn't just a problem we're all seeing with one man. This is Hollywood, all the way down to its core. 

Now, I'm a Christian. And, I don't like hearing stuff like this, and for obvious reasons. I mean, my faith is build around completely going against the objectification of women, in a major way. It was Jesus that pretty much said, if a man even looks at a women, and has the desire to commit adultery with her in his heart, then, he has already done so. And, therefore, has commited sin. And, as for me, I don't want to make myself out to be complete saint, since there was a time I wasn't a born again Christian, and was "lost," you can say. I mean, I used to be in the Navy, and, I've played a part in a lot of sin that goes on in that unique world. A lot of stuff, I feel too ashamed now to talk about.

You know, some people might argue that cases with Dustin Hoffman, let's say, and the alleged misconduct he had with women back in the 70s and 80s, was different. Since, in his time, sexual misconduct was consider, what older people called, "hanky panky." It was something considered cute. Making kissy faces at women, slapping their rears as they walked by, and as the woman would lift her eyes up and look at her sex offender teddy bear boss, wiggling his eyebrows at her, she'd just blow him off, and walk off. And, that was it! I mean, I remember all the movies, TV shows and cartoons (even in cartoons) I saw as a kid. And I remember all the cutsie wootsie hanky panky that went on. 

What I'm getting at is: this goes beyond just what's considered acceptable by society. Since, let's face it, behavior like this was once considered cute and innocent. And, there was supposedly nothing wrong with it. Nothing wrong AT ALL! And, this is what troubles me about secular society. Let me ask any readers, if you were someone that was around as an adult in anytime before the 80s, what would have your impressions been to this? Let's face it, even though all these allegations coming out now, and us having to hear from all of it, as much of a good thing as it is, I can't help but to feel that it's only going on because it's what's happenin' now. This is what secular society is now trying to be, all SJW about. But, you! Yes, YOU! If you were around as an adult in the 60s, what would have your opinion of stuff like this been, then? Would you have seen it as hanky panky, slapping a woman's rear and making cat calls, or, would you have seen it for what it really was?

I like what's going on in Hollywood right now. But, a big part of me is worried that this is all just a fad, somewhat. And, after a while, things might revert back to the way they were. Since, fads are things that are never truly accepted by a culture, and, are eventually discarded after a certain time period. All it's going to take is one or two parties, who were wrongfully held guilty of misconduct such as these, because the women that had brought up charges against them, turned out, were making it all up to gain fame and notoriety, and, when it does... guess what? Everyone is going to start calling this a witch hunt, and, it's going to stop, then. And then... it's going to be back to business as usual.

Anyways, that's my take on this matter, through my Christian perspective.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi Review (SPOILERS)

A long, long time ago, back in my college days, I remember having a conversation with an older gentleman over Star Wars. Someone, whom back in '77, had to have been around thirtysomething. Young enough to where he could still appreciate new things. Although, old enough to where rosy tinted nostalgia goggles wouldn't have had much of an effect on him. You know! Altering his take of the movie from the default, loving-anything-that-would-ultimately-embarrass-you-once-you-got-older, childlike mindset, our generation has mostly had with the original trilogy (plus, a lot of other things 80s). The man being old enough to where he wouldn't be so impressionable; being swept up by the colossal juggernaut the movie franchise eventually became. And, what was the man's take of the original trilogy? His words... he found it charming to see in cinema a return to such black and white moraled, good vs. evil story structure. And, considering 70s cinema and how Serpico gray it was before Star Wars, I could see how that would have been his initial impression. I mean, Star Wars was to be for the Lucas/Spielberg generation of filmmakers a throwback to the good ol' Flash Gordon/Buck Rogers' days. Stuff that the person I was speaking to (can't remember his name) would have grown up with. A return to the old format. 

I like the new Star Wars movie. Actually, I’ll go so far as to say that I love it. Where would I rank it with the other movies? Just after Empire, I'd say. Yes! I really loved it that much. And, I'm the thirtysomething moviegoer, this time. Too old to be so impressionable, myself. But, here I am, loving this movie more than the prequels (not really much of a catapulting feat, although). And, loving this movie more than A New Hope and The Return of The Jedi. I mean, I could see how just about every effort was made with this (and The Force Awakens) to get lightning in a bottle. And, into the same bottle. Twice now. But, I can't help but to say they sorta managed to do that. Well, maybe not in the same bottle, at least. But, in a bottle that's... on the opposite side of the earth? (I don't know why I want to describe it that way, but, allegorically, something in my subconscious thoughts is just telling me so - so, go fig!).

Anyways, I guess what I'm trying to say is that: this did it! This truly was the return to form that The Force Awakens was meant to be. Since, unlike TFA, it wasn't so paint-by-numbers as that movie was. They took everything that was Empire, and they took it to the best conclusion that the series could go with. And, especially after the near total disaster that were the prequels. And, how did they do that? Simple. By uprooting everything. Practically everything! Right now, I know there’s been a giant divide between Star Wars fans. Scurry through any twitter post and youtube channel, and you’ll see a ton a material coming out explaining everything that’s wrong with The Last Jedi and the direction the series is taking. Post after post of people basically saying everything that's the opposite of what I'm saying right now. And, that Star Wars has been ruined for them. Ruined! And, as if the series hadn't already been so since Episode I. 

You know, the first Star Wars movie I actually saw in theaters was The Phantom Menace. I was only two years old when The Return of the Jedi came out, and I was about eighteen years old when The Phantom Menace did. And, as for that movie? Well… surprise, surprise! It ruined Star Wars for me, FOREVER (at least for a long time)! And, no, I mean it when I say it! It did! You see, even if I thought The Last Jedi was bad, it really wouldn't have mattered that much, considering how ruined the series already had been since that one faithful film. And, no, it wasn't because of Jar Jar. Also, no, not because of how boring the movie overall was. Or, having to do with some grievance with the paper thin plot. Or, all the wooden acting. Or, even, the cringe worthy scenes with kid Anakin. I'll tell you what it was. It was something so small. But, like the mustard seed, growing into something so BIG. Simply, the thing that completely threw me off was that whole midichlorian thing. Yes, that (I"m one of those critics, that's right!). Dab smack in the middle of the movie, coming out of nowhere, out of Qui Gon Jinn's mouth. In that one scene where he's explaining what they are to a young Anakin. And, once Qui Gon was done explaining away, it was then, for me, and for the SW fandom at large (which, at the time, I wasn't aware of, since, this was the 90s and I didn't have internet back then, not yet). That scene? It was an experience for me that just couldn't be un-experienced. Star Wars truly had become ruined for me—forever!  Since I no longer cared how much The Attack of the Clones was supposedly bad. Or, how much Revenge of the Sith was the same. Since, my expectations for anything Star Wars had pretty much gone out the window. Actually, now that I think back on it, I actually enjoyed Attack of the Clones an Revenge of the Sith. And, how's that? Because, it didn't matter anymore. I could just simply absorb those two flicks, in a haphazard way, like a bag of Lays potato chips (the sour cream and onion kind) and simply not care if they were or weren't bad movies. It's kinda like this: you know how the more you tend to love something, the more important it becomes for you to see it through with success? Well, it didn't matter if Episode II or III did or didn't. The less I cared, the more I was able to turn off my mind and enjoy those two movies for being what they were. Yes, I liked emo Anakin! And, yes, I actually thought that whole "sand is so coarse" line that Anakin was feeding Pademe was a okay line, because... that's just how much midichlorians messed the entire series up for me. And, it wasn't until I saw that Red Letter Media thing on youtube that I came to terms with how badly those two movies had failed to launch, themselves. 

(I think it was because... I saw how much time and attention Mr. Plinkett put into those reviews. How much love and care and ANGUISH! That made me take a much more critical stance, and to realize... wow, those two moves did also suck!).

Okay... now let me explain why the midichlorian thing was as bad as it it was for me. And, I'll start this off like this:

The Force isn't Science.
I want magic! Simply put! That's why I can look at a scene like Leia, let's say, doing the Mary Poppins' thing in this movie, and think it's: good! You see, I'm a spiritual person. And deep down what that means is: I hate science! Actually, let me rephrase that. I hate presumed science. And what is that?? Some of you might ask. It's ill conceived science - that isn't science at all! It's like this, imagine if someone argues over that Leia scene, again, saying, "when she got sucked into space, how did she survive that, doesn't the human body decompress when getting sucked into the vacuous space, why didn't she explode?" As you can see, based on the this person's logic, decompression immediately means EXPLODING! So, this person is never going to be happy in scenes like that, if the body in space doesn't explode. "That's science!" This grievous party will say. Since, that's what he believes is fact, and what is supposedly suppose to happen. Now, as for me, I don't know exactly what happens to the human body when getting sucked into space. But, I know for a fact it doesn't explode (I've researched a little on this matter). I used to think it would get instantly frozen up like a popsicle, and I only thought that because of that one scene from that Tim Robbin's Mission to Mars movie, since that's what happened to him in that flick (how stupid of me, then, I know! I know!). Here's the thing... science? It's always on a progressive track. Meaning, there's still uncharted territory to be acknowledged out there. Think of dinosaurs. At one time they were believed to just simply be giant scaly lizard. Now, you got a T-rex looking like a giant chicken. With feathers. What will science prove to be the truth, next? Who knows! 

(Now, I know what you're thinking, you're thinking, "wait, aren't you Christian? Doesn't that mean you don't even believe dinosaurs existed 65 million years ago since you only believe the earth and universe is six to ten thousand years old, based on the Bible?" To that I say, "stop trying to change the subject, this is a Star Wars review, I don't want to get into that. Plus, the Bible is so overly allegorical that I'm still trying to understand it, completely.)!

Anyways, back to Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Actually, back to why I hate midichlorian! First off, a little about me: as I said, I'm a spiritual person; been that way all my life; having an affinity for all things metaphysical; that which transcends us. And what I always liked about the idea of the force was how it was inherent to that. The force being this magical thing holding all matter in the universe in a cosmic balance. Something that science simply could never understand. Well, at least not our science right now (Stephen Hawking can keep trying to find the equation to everything, for I don't see him doing it, ever). In the original trilogy, the force was something beyond our understanding, existing somewhere between our world and the world to come. It was something mystifying. Something fantastical. And I don't believe I was alone in feeling this way about Star Wars. But then came midichlorians, throwing a monkey wrench into that whole dynamic that the series had. And, I feel like I know why George Lucas chose to do that. Now, we all know that Georgie can be a bit of a obsessive compulsive control maniac. And, when he gets that way, its like his OCD demands for him to fix... what isn't broken. And, doing so by breaking it. Want examples? Look up the whole Han Shot First debacle that went on back even before the prequels came out (it was the first sign to many Star Wars fans what was to come, him having full control of creative rights to the prequels). Now, I don't want to pass any contempt and bitterness and hatred towards Lucas, the man has suffered enough from angry Star Wars nerds since that Han Shot First debacle, so I'll try not to criticize too much about all the wrong decisions (I believe) he made. But, midichlorians was definitely one of them. I mean, Star Wars was always meant to be Science Fantasy, not Science Fiction. Unlike Star Trek, that has to have a ton of made up technobabble to make sense of that universe. And, since Star Wars is Science Fantasy, a little bit of magic could go a long way. We didn't need an explanation of how the force worked. But, we got it, anyways. And, since we did, now everything in the Star War universe needed to be explained. 

• "Wait, how did Leia do that Mary Poppins thing? Why didn't her head explode?" 

This is what we have to listen to, now, and I blame midichlorians!

• "Wait, how did Luke do that force projection thing? Why did he die at the end? And if he was to die, why didn't his head explode when he did it?"
• "Wait, how did Yoda do that lightning thing as a ghost? Why didn't his ghost head explode?"
• "Wait, why no head explosions? Haven't you ever seen that Sean Connery movie, Outland? That movie was so scientific! Oh, come on! Star Wars is now ruined!"

You know what? I don't want head explosions. I just - don't! And, I think that Outland, Sean Connery flick was terrible. Absolutely terrible. Sorry, I HAD to say it! I don't want Star Trek technobabble, microscopic... whatever, needed to be technobabbl-ed up to lull the geek squad from going full medieval on the technical aspects of the movie. I mean, let this space soap opera just play out its course. Let there be magic. Let there be evil space Nazis battling space Samurais. Let there be space wizardry and sorcery. But, ever since George's OCD made him go nuts over the unimportant and unnecessary technical details in how it's all supposed to work (the devil in the detailed work), since he needed to dilute the mystical aspects of the force by reducing it to the process of some single cell organisms making everything magical in the SWU seem non magical, to make it all seem plausible. Since everything now can be explained away by the coding in your genes and DNA, and the experiences of happiness and sadness depends upon the level of dopamine being pumped into your brain chemistry. Now, I know that midichlorians weren’t meant to be the force, itself, just what made all living things in the universe force sensitive. But, even then, I still don't want it in my SWU. The force wasn't strong in Yoda because the midichlorians were strong in Yoda, I don't even want to see any middlemen playing the part. The force was strong in Yoda, because, the force that was in Yoda was making him strong, shaping him out to be who he was. It’s that direct link that makes it out into something special.

(Also, with ghost Yoda, how is he connected to the force, as a ghost, if he's dead, and his mortal body is gone, which means he no longer has midichlorians in his cells, since he has no cells, or shape or form, and if without midichlorians in his body, he wouldn't be able to connect to the force? So... how was Yoda able to do so, without any midichlorians...?

I'm waiting for an answer...?

Do you see! Do you see all the stupid question that then come up when you try to apply science to something that was never meant to be scientific in the first place?)

All right, now, with all that said, let me get into my religious outlook of Star War: The Last Jedi. Let me get into how, and why, the midichlorians  thing is such a nuisance to me as it is. You see, I believe at the core of the Star Wars fandom, there is the admittance of the Star Wars universe as a possible truth. Meaning, the fans don't just like the idea of the force, they're starting to believe that the ideas behind it are actually true. They're placing their belief system in it. And, the Jedi thing isn't just a celebrated fandom, it's now in the process of becoming an actual up and coming religion. So, yes! Jedism is a real thing now. With core beliefs, and core faith. And, you have a ton of people backing the idea. All it's going to take now is a L. Ron Hubbard like figure to rise within this dogma, and, you then going to probably start to see actual Jedi temples being funded and built, in actual cities and towns. Trust me when I say, give it some time, but the Jedi cult will come to fruition. I know it will. I believe.

But... let's set that all aside. Right now, as for me, I'm a Christian, and I'm only going to pick apart what I like and what I don't like about the SWU, based on my core beliefs. And, in my core beliefs is this: to me, the force is what -you can say - is something similar to that of the Holy Spirit, the other Godhead in the Trinity in Christianity. An omnipotent force that exists shaping all things in the universe. Now, I’m not going to go straight on to say it’s exactly that, since, that’s technically what we as Christians call “blasphemy.” And the reason for that is, to say the force is similar to the Holy Spirit, is to say that the Holy Spirit has both a light side and a dark side. And to say such things, that the Holy Spirit has a dark side, is straight up blasphemous in my faith. Let's face it, there is no gray matter in Christianity. It's totally binary. Black and white. Night and day. And God is the pure light of good and love and there exist no darkness in Him. Now, that isn't to say there is no gray matter in our universe. Since, we and the world would be what's considered gray matter, and we exist in between the light and the dark. Somewhere between heaven and hell. God... and the horned one. Now, back to Star Wars through the lens of Christianity. All right, based on the principals created in explaining what the force supposedly is, I would say that the force would be gray, since it also exist between the light and the dark. It is something that still has worldly aspects, since, it’s based more on that which is the building blocks of this universe, this world, and not Who or what created it. The force is nature, mother nature, you can even say (think of the movie, Mother, Jennifer Lawrence's character in Darren Aronofsky's film) and like nature, it's all worldly. Now, let's look at what Christianity believes about the world we live in. The Bible say, "do not love the world and things that are in it." The Bible says that. And, why? Because, this world is meant to be temporary. It's meant to be disposable. And, in the end, it's going to be destroyed and rebuilt into something of pure value. Perfect. We live and breath right now in a fallen world, reflective of the fallen state of man from God's graces. This world... is going DOWN! But God has extended his hand to man (and woman, lol) to pull him (or her) out of this sinking ship. And, all Christianity is about is accepting that hand, to pull you out of this mess. All right, let's go back to Star Wars and the force, again. Actually, let's put the Jedi and the Sith into the Christian doctrine to see how they would play out. Now, obviously the Jedi would be the ones choosing God's path, whereas the Sith would choose the devil's. The Jedi striving to stay in union with the light, while the Sith resorting to wickedness in the dark. Now, the forces of good and evil are things that science cannot explain. They're concepts that can't be explained. The closest relations science can have to this is the views of creation and destruction. Science is unable to have a spiritual aspect, since the spirit is something that exist outside of any physical principalities. And all science is based on physical principalities, while rejecting the belief that any spiritual principalities would even exist. This is a reason why science and Christianity (actually, not just Christianity, but most religions placed side by side with science) tend to butt heads a lot. Forcing people to either accept one and reject the other (even though we should be trying to accept both in their own right, and finding a middle ground). Okay? Back to Star Wars. Now, look at the force, look at the light side and the dark side, and what you see is aspects that only exit (supposedly) in our heads. The worldly view rejects the spiritual view, rejects the light, and rejects the dark. Since, light and dark has no allegorical value to it. Nothing tied to a spiritual sense or meaning. This here is why midichlorians simply don't work in Star Wars. And needs to be retconned out if we're to save what we love behind the philosophy of Star Wars. All midichlorians will do is limit things. Limit what one is capable of doing with the force, and what one can't. For instance, The Force Awakens was about force awakening, obviously! But, awakening in Rey's character, mostly. And then, all of a sudden, Rey could do things she couldn't do before. Now, if you're to look at it based on the Star Wars made up science behind midichlorians, it doesn't make sense. Where did she get all those midichlorians? Were they there from the beginning? If they were, what was it then, was it the force awakening or the midichlorians awakening in Rey? All midichlorians do is bog everything down to physical principalities, forcing for nothing unique and creative to be done in a Science Fantasy setting. Bogging down the wondrous aspect into a systematized mechanism of binary inputs and outputs. On and off inputs/outputs. So... here's what I'm getting at: I loved The Last Jedi, because, it's pushing out all the physical/plausible science aspects from the SWU, pushing out the Star Trek influence, and relying back more on the smoke and mirrors magic that once was in the original trilogy. All while, enraging a lot of number crunching SW geeks. But, they need to chill out, and calm down a bit. If you ask me.

Luke and the Jedi are not the Force.

Right now, there’s a lot of uproar with the way Luke Skywalker’s character was portrayed in this movie. Even from Mark Hamill, himself. A lot of people saying that this Luke wasn’t “their” Luke. And the only reason I see this being the case is: this Luke... is flawed. Everything that Luke stood for in the original trilogy is absent here, and what’s left is a mopey, moody, self-hating and self-doubting jerk. All of Luke’s integrity, principal and character, the savior Luke, here, is absent. So, therefore, this can’t be Luke! There is so much clamor about this, and, I’m sorry to say, I see this argument as being invalid. The problem I see here is this: Luke is a Jedi, and a Jedi is supposed to be the pinnacle of everything good and right in the Star Wars universe, according to what's given, what has been led to believe. And, with the power of the force that’s behind a Jedi, the Jedi are supposed to be almost on the level of being godlike, themselves. But, I must say, what is wrong with Luke being just another flawed being in this universe? Now, I get the fans, this is all about hero worship, and Luke was always supposed to be this incorruptible force of good and righteousness. This being Luke’s virtue, and not the virtue in Luke that made him so. So much faith entrusted in one Man, in being this ultimate bada**. But now, thanks to TLJ, all of it, ruined, all thanks to Rian Johnson and his blasphemous intent in making Luke a much more three-dimensional character with a beautiful character arc. Now, once again, the reason why I love what the director did with Luke’s character, here, is obvious, and definitely obvious to any other fellow Christian, like me, that knows where I’m going with this. And where I’m going with this is this: Luke… is not the force! Just as midichlorians, I see, aren't and can't and shouldn’t be the force, Luke and every Jedi or Sith that’s ever existed aren't/can't/shouldn't be, either. They are merely pawns played out, and played out by the light and dark side of the force, that which are the real players, here. Now, back to my Christian beliefs, we Christians like to believe that with any good that comes from us, really, is not from us, but from Him, which all good originates. In our belief, no faith – absolutely no faith – is to be placed on us human beings. No ounce of faith is to be placed on men or women, but God, Himself. That’s how it goes for us. Something we eventually learn to find peace in, since, we’re taking all the stress we might have for ourselves, and having it placed on the grace of God, Himself. I like what the director has done in this movie, because, not only did he take away the spotlight that was focused on Luke being this Jesus Christ Superstar, Chosen One, Neo-whoa-I-know-kung fu character, but he took it off every Jedi that has ever come before him. Especially all the Jedi back when the Republic was still around. Before one Sith lord’s influences (Darth Sidious) was able to mastermind the fall of both the intergalactic senate and the Jedi order. What I’m getting at is that one part in The Last Jedi where Luke is in the process of training Rey, where Luke speaks to Rey about the Jedi, and, the Jedi at the height of their power. Back in Yoda’s day, when the Jedi council still existed. And what he has to say is... a little disappointing. Actually, I take that back. Not a little, a lot! Very disappointing and discouraging when it comes to Jedi. Now, all those Star Wars fans that like to dress like Jedi or Sith, running around the theater that's showing The Last Jedi, being a bunch of thirty year old eight year olds, are mad now. Mad at Rian Johnson, for what he did. But, you know what? I think what he did was great. Because, he almost single-handedly fixed the biggest glaring problem we all had with the prequels: with how all the Jedi weren’t all they were cut out to be. So “good” and “righteous” and “fair.” Now, we see them as being flawed. Flawed. Shortsighted. And dumb, even. Dumb enough to have allowed that Palpatine character to pull the wool over all of their eyes. Now, when I look to the prequels, I don't see the Jedi order being at it's pinnacle of righteous perfection, but severely flawed and fragile, but also very hubris, exactly how Luke described them in TLJ. Remember all those gripes fans had with the prequels? Well, personally, I feel like just about all of them (almost) were solved, all thanks to that one line. Luke took everything that the Jedi stood for and did away with all of it, all together. The force would exist, with or without the presence of the Jedi or Sith. Who are they to be so self-absorbed and self-righteous to think they stand for everything that makes them grand? With us Christians, it's always pressed that we should give thanks to the Lord, because without the Lord, nothing in our lives would ever come to fruition. No good would ever come from us. So, we should be thankful, and not hubris in our own abilities. And, I kinda wanna relate that with the way the force, the Jedi and the Sith are set up in Star Wars. Without the force, without the light side and dark side, there would be no Jedi or Sith. Actually, there wouldn't be nothing. You see how spirituality works? It's almost fluid how everything extends from a true Source. Here, in this movie, we have a fallen Luke. He's no longer who he was when he was at his height, how we remember him. He is a shamed reminder of who he was. He's a failure now. A failure, that needs to learn from his failing. He's also a wiser Luke, that sees how he has to do away with the Jedi, almost completely, in order for something new to grow. Do away with something that wasn't the source of the true light and dark side of the force. Being a Jedi or Sith. Now, we don’t see that it was Luke that saved the universe, but the force within him, no matter his medichlorian count, that did the job. And, Luke was only the right person that came around in the right time - and even though a Skywalker, no less! Still, it wasn’t all him. And, therefore, this Luke becomes a more believable three-dimensional character. This Luke is no longer held completely responsible of being the old Luke from the original trilogy. This is a fallen Luke. One whom has lost all his principals and integrity. One that became so wrong that he became fearful enough to even go so far as to murder his own nephew, since he figured he couldn't save him, like he saved his dad. The old Luke could do those things. The new Luke... could not. And the only problem with this Luke isn’t Luke, it’s just the fact that his days of being the savior had come and gone, and it was now time for a new generation to take his place.

The Tragedy of Luke.

No, Luke is no bada** in this movie. Whatever that was in him to be the savior of old is now gone, and all we have left is a tragic Luke. A man, living with the pain and sorrow of how badly he had fallen. None of the fans like this Luke, since, this Luke doesn’t even like himself. He was going to even go so far as to murder his own nephew, his very own nephew, and, in cold blood, too. Doing an act that was so beneath him… which has left a lot of fans grinding their teeth at the film director, blaming him for ruining Mark Hamill's beloved character, even though what Rian really did was nothing short of saving it. This Luke, on the other hand, is a much wiser Luke. Even though also very pessimistic, still, much wiser than the dumb Luke of before. I mean, let’s face it, the old Luke was a bit of a brat, and a little too assured of himself. And also, lucky, too! The old Luke was a Luke at the height of his Jedi career. At the pinnacle of how high the force was going to place him in order to bring balance. So, therefore, it was all bound to happen. Luke's fall was bound to happen, eventually. Now, let me go back to the perspective I have, based on the principals of my own faith. And, what I have to say is this: stop it! Stop putting so much trust and faith in one man in being a savior, again and again. This, to me, no matter what the fans, or even Mark Hamill wants to think, is the true Luke. This is who he really is! Since, the power that was behind him, supporting him, which is what really made him great in the first place is no longer there. And, this is the tragedy of Luke, from what I see. Having Luke, Mark Hamill, and all the SW fans out there, coming to the disappointing fact, that this is all he ever was, if the force was to fade from him. But, then again, it’s not really a tragedy. You see, I see this how I see this as a Christian, in that all good works are not supposed to be done to show the good that is us, but the good that’s within us. And, in the end, all good works are done in the name of a higher power, not for the glory of one man, but, for the good of all. The old Luke was needed by the light side of the force to truly fulfill what had been prophesied about. Originally, believed to be for his father bringing balance to the force. But, through Luke, it was done. Luke had only been the means, the instrument of the light side of the force, to have this happen. Just as Rey has now become the new instrument. In the end, the tragedy of Luke isn’t really a tragedy, since what happened was the force had decided to move on to the next generation, to continue the good fight. 

Rey isn’t Strong with the Force; the Force is Strong with her.

And now that the older generation has past away, it’s now time for the newer generation to do their own thing. Or, really, the force to work out all the good that's intended. Now, let me get to Rey, this so-called “Mary Sue.” So, here’s what the fans are complaining when it comes to her. So, I guess Rey is pretty overpowered, considering all that she’s been able to do, and without any real training. She’s a natural force user, a natural lightsaber user, and a natural born hero. But… no! Once again, it all goes back to the fact that, just as it was never Luke that was the one being the so-and-so-called chosen one in the original trilogy, it isn’t Rey, now, being the same. I mean, what’s the male equivalent of a “Marry Sue?” Oh, that’s right, a “Garry Stu.” Well, to all those complaining about how overpowered Rey is, has it occurred to any of you that Luke, himself, wasn’t that far off to fit the male version of the movie trope? Luke, himself, being a “Garry Stu,” someone with hardly any training, managing to do everything he did in The New Hope, Empire, and Return of the Jedi? Consider Luke's first battle with Vader in Empire. Consider how much training Luke had had up until that point using a lightsaber when he went head-to-head with Vader, someone that had spent all his life, just about, training in the art. And then Luke defeating Vader in a lightsaber battle in the third and final movie. Either than that one session Luke had had with Obi Wan in TNH, I can’t think of any other time Luke had ever received any training. One training session with a floating ball that shot laser beams at him while he stood around blindsided by the helmet he wore with the shield blasts down. One session, and that was it! Obi Wan died shorty after that. And, all the training he had with Yoda in Empire had nothing to do with lightsaber training. Now, I know some fans will speak about how in the EU: extended universe, there had been all these other training sessions that we never saw. But, I never saw it, and ultimately, I don’t believe any of those sessions would have still been enough to get Luke ready to face one of the most powerful force users and lightersaber experts in all the universe, Darth Vader. Yet, Luke was able to hold his own. This is, once again heading towards the fact that I don’t see it that it was all Luke, doing this, it was the light side of the force within him. Just as the light side of the force had awakened in Luke to make him the legend that he became, the same had been done for Rey, now. A nobody. Receiving the same grace, gifts and abilities to do what she did. Fact is, just as there is no science (I believe) that could be enough to understand and explain how the force really works, I don’t see there being ever enough training that can be had, for something that comes so naturally. Take Leia’s scene in TLJ, of course I’m talking about the scene where she was able to save herself after she had been sucked out into space. I’ve heard a lot of complaints about that scene, since, a lot of the fans just can’t understand how and when she had received the training to do all that. Let me just say this: enough with plausibility questions! The force has always been meant to be something that existed just outside of any understanding we're supposed to have and can ever have of the way the universe works, especially since we’re talking about a made-up universe, here, the Star Wars universe. Anytime you cross a story with metaphysical and supernatural elements, you’re bound to come across a Dues Ex Machina saving the day. It’s just bound to happened. This isn’t Star Trek, and there just cannot exist any technobabble that will and should be able to explain any of this. You just have to classify this somewhere between the peak of human understanding and the Twilight Zone, if you’re to make any sense out of this senselessness. In the end, TLJ was all about being the death of the old, and the heralding of everything that’s new. Luke, Han, and Leia’s time had passed, and in the end, the Star Wars storyline was always going to have to be passed on to the next generation. Rey is the new Luke, and just like old Luke, it’s not Rey that’s strong with the force, it’s that the force is strong with her. Rey isn’t a powerful character because she is a “Mary Sue.” Rey is a powerful character because the force makes her into a powerful character. Giving her all the abilities necessary for her to do her part. Or really, its part, the light side of the force, that is.

Saving what we Love.

How can people hate this line in the movie? How can you hate Rose for doing what she did? This is where the fan base really begins to tick me off.  If there’s anything I feel spoke most to me as a Christian, it was this line; coming about pretty much at the ends of the movie. Much of the movie is about heroism and sacrifice. And failure. And even though Christianity has a lot to do about sacrifices, it’s always been more about salvation more than anything. I love this line. I really love this line. What it means is: if all you care to do is fight your enemies, you’re just gonna end up fighting them forever. I mean, in Star Wars, we’ve already been through all this. We’ve already had an evil empire vs. a rebel/resistance alliance. I mean, just how tired do you imagine Leia or General Ackbar have had to be, going in circles, doing all this over and over again. Thirty years! Thirty long and painstaking years it’s gone on like this with the SW cinematic universe. And then, there’s the countless millennias in the EU (extended universe) that you’ve had Jedi vs. Sith, Sith vs. Jedi. Around and around, again. And the question that then needs to be asked: to what end? Luke believed at one point that he had put an end to it back when he brought his father out of the dark side, and brought him to redemption. He thought that. But now look what happened! And unlike Anakin, Ben Solo doesn't want to be saved. You see, what I'm getting at is this: the reason I see that Luke was led to believe that he couldn't save his nephew like he saved his father is because, he saw into Ben, he saw conflict, but not the conflict he saw in his father, Anakin. In TLJ, you see how Rey sets herself out to do what Luke had done before her, saving someone from the dark side. But, see how Luke responds to that by saying, "this isn't going to turn out how you think it will!" You know what I see here, I see that Luke has gotten to know Ben well enough, to see that he might not be savable, at all. You can't force someone to come to the light, they have to come willingly. Anakin/Vader wanted it. He wanted out. Except, he felt it was too late for him. He had gone to far. But still, in Return of Jedi, you can obviously tell Vader wanted out. But he couldn't get out. Or, that's what he thought. Ben... doesn't want to come to the light, and that's the difference between Ben and Anakin, and that's why I see why Luke would become so rash as to decide the best option was to kill him. 

But anyways, let's get back to that line Rose spoke at the ends of the movie. It’s obvious by now that the Sith and Jedi thing is bound to continue forever, if necessary. With countless number of sacrifics being needed to keep the ball rolling. Hell! That's what all this sounds like to me, hell, simply hell. I mean, Luke thought saving his father was the end point of this bitter feud between the Jedi and Sith, but then Kylo Ren happened. So, obviously this is meant to be continued. That...! Or... they can try something else. The point where we see Rose saving Finn, I see, as a turning point in this story. If the Jedi and Sith feud continues, it's only going to go on forever. Like insanity, and you know what they say about insanity, and trying and failing to do the same thing over and over again, just to see if there can be a different result. I'm glad Rose saved Finn from that stupidly heroic kamikaze mission attempt. Because, I like Finn's character and I don’t to see anymore blind heroism. I don’t want to see anymore sacrifices. Enough sacrifices have already been made in the name of the stupid Jedi and stupid Sith. Enough is enough. It’s time for something completely different to happen. It’s time to start saving what we love instead of killing what we hate, and if there’s any line in TLJ, that earns the most semblance to my Christian beliefs, it’s this! Since salvation is all – ALL – Christianity is supposed to be about.

What is The Christian Perspective?

So, this is what I’d like to call the Christian Perspective. This is where I delve into the popular culture at large - going over movies, music, video games, fads, fashion, celebrities, the internet culture, technology, books, etc. - and then going over my takeaway of it. And, through my eyes; through the lens of a Christian. Mostly, when you have an internet personality, a blogger or youtuber doing this, it's never through the perspective of their religious beliefs. Like oil and water, seemingly, pop culture and religion are two entities that just aren't supposed to mix, it seems. But, being a Christian, I can honestly tell you that it never truly works out that way. For me at least. I mean, even if I was to try, my belief system would still be there, ultimately shaping my perception. And as for this blog I am creating here, honestly, I want to do this. Since, I figure... what would be so wrong? Now, I know religion tends to be a hot button issue. Something that usually ends up having everyone's alarms go off. Pop culture is more of a recreational thing people would like to keep seperate from something such as Christianity. One's a light hearted, leisurely thing, and the other, well...? Wars have been started over the matter! But, you know what? I'm not here to preach over people (well... at least not intentionally). I love my faith, and I would like to simply share it with people. And, maybe, open peoples' eyes a little in how I look at the world, and how I see things differently from whatever other outlook that's out there.

And now, with all that said... let's begin!