ST Midi-chlorians in Episode VII

Because it totally ruins the wisdom Obi-Wan gives Luke (and the audience) in Episode 4 and Yoda gives Luke (and the audience) in Episode 5 regarding what the force really is.

 

But he's had thirty years since to learn from them.

 

Very well put.

I get what you're saying and I have witnessed it personally. My 8 year old nephew's favorite movie is The Empire Strikes Back (I might have something to do with that), but The Clone Wars and Angry Birds are all Star Wars too, it's like a mega universe, not just three very good movies as it was when I was growing up. When he's 18, there will be like 12 Star Wars movies out there consisting on 3 trilogies released in the weirdest chronological order possible and a bunch of spin off movies. I get that but I will probably never "feel it".

I also get how the midichlorians take like 3 minutes of screentime in this vast universe, but still we're in a Star Wars message board and part of the fun is nitpicking, overanalyzing, discussing and even a heated debate here and there. I also believe that movies are made by little details, even if they last a moment on screen, so something like this can be stretched and discussed as it is now.

And I find it hard to believe that trilogy freaks like me are too annoying to the hardcore fans who are essentially fans of everything with Star Wars written on it. Isn't it fun to discuss these things? Wouldn't you guys find pleasure proving me wrong on something? I personally find that aspect of being a fan very entertaining. In the end we're all talking about movies, it should never be a personal matter.

 

No, I am mentioning that your attitude is that of a hateboy because you have to denounce about how ''awful'' the prequels were, when we've heard that argument a million times before and it really only serves the purpose of ruining the day of the people who like those films.

 

I haven't ruined anybody's day, man. And if I ruined yours, dude, please lighten the ***** up, we're talking about movies and having fun in the process.

 

I never had a problem with Midichlorians, if they do show up or they don't show up it won't be a big deal to me.

I always thought of Midichlorians are to a Jedi as a vertical jump/40 yard dash/etc. is to athletes. Easy way to identify a possible great athlete but at the same time it has nothing to do with why they are athletic or their athletic instincts.

I've always figured basically there can't be a Jedi scout at every hospital throughout the galaxy using the force to identify all possible force sensitive children. So every child gets blood tested at birth by the hospital, when there is a child of a certain amount of midichlorians the Jedi Order is contacted and they send a Jedi to come examine the baby. Then the Jedi talks with the parents of the baby and the parents decide if they want to give their baby to the Jedi Order for the greater good of the galaxy.

There is probably a good amount of parents that ultimately decide not to give their child to the Jedi Order mixed with a lot of systems not in the republic (so no midichlorian birth texting) which would mean there are a lot of force sensitive's out in the galaxy, just like Anakin when Qui-Gon found him.

 

Here, maybe this will cheer you up: http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/new-star-wars-films-to-feature-john-williams-scores-20130729

 

It serves the purpose of expressing an honest opinion about the film.

 

Maybe in the EU, but in the ST I suspect that RotJ was the last time the ghosts appeared. IMO, they all accomplished their goal with the destruction of Palpatine and redemption of Vader, so after waving goodbye to Endor they retired to the Elysian Fields or Happy Hunting Grounds or wherever good Jedi go to spend eternity.

If it doesn't matter how many midi-chlorians you have, why are all the Jedi so impressed by Anakin's midi-chlorian count? Anakin and Yoda have the highest counts and are the most powerful Force users. I don't believe for a moment that that is a coincidence.

 

Palpatine telling Anakin about how Plagueis could manipulate midichlorians to create life and save loved ones from dying was the key to Anakin's fall to the dark side.




Also, I don't understand why midichlorians are unpopular. If anything, they seem misunderstood. They are what enables living beings to "communicate with" the Force. Every living being has them. Some have more than others, and it tends to be a genetic thing... as Luke said, "the Force is strong in my family." What's so controversial about it? The Force is still an energy field created by all living things. Midichlorians aren't the Force, they're just the biological link to the Force. The Force was always grounded in science, especially biology, since life generates it and can manipulate it. For a real-world equivalent, it's like discovering scientific evidence for souls and psychic power. That doesn't make anything less mystical.

 

Souls and psychic power are inherently unscientific, IMO.

 

They're not inherently unscientific. There just isn't any scientific evidence for them.
(For example, in the future they could find out that consciousness is based in an electromagnetic structure generated by the nervous system, that leaves the body but stays intact after death. Etc. Not saying that's true, obviously we don't know, but just showing it's not inherently unscientific. I believe God himself is simply the author of the universe's natural laws, and works through them. I'm a firm Christian believer, believe in the resurrection and the incarnation and the trinity and in heaven, but don't believe anything is/was supernatural. "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.")

 

Just the opposite, Yoda is instructing Luke that the connection to the force is not rooted in the physical. It is the very basis of his teachings. That's the problem.

The force is the realm of the mind and the spirit, not the blood. And certainly not a force giving blood infection.

 

Not he isn't.

Living things are still luminous beings. But life still generates the Force, generates the "luminous beings." And midichlorians are how living beings communicate with the Force. What's the problem?

 

Qui-Gon also says life would not exist at all, without them.

 

They also probably play a similar role to real-life mitochondria, which are organisms that live inside each cell in a person, and generate energy for the cell to survive and function.

How is that a problem?

 

That the very basis of Luke's true essense is not rooted in the physical. This is a metaphysical lesson, for a movie dealing with a metaphysical truth. The reason a person can connect with the force is that they are the force. The force is life itself, all life. It is not rooted in the physical body. Midiclorians are by definition of the physical realm. Yoda teaches us that the force is of the spirit and the mind, not the blood. In fact, he puts great emphasis on the fact that Luke must learn that his connection to the force IS NOT ROOTED IN THE PHYSICAL, he treats the physical realm with disdain. He calls it crude matter for a reason, that is not a choice of words made by accident.

What Luke is being taught is that your physical body is of no concern, what Qui-Gon is teaching is that the body is the primary concern.

These are not concepts that are compatible.

 

I don't like the idea of only a chosen few being able to use the Force. If you happen to be born with a high Midi count, you're one of the lucky ones. I prefer to think that everyone is capable of mastering the Force, if trained to do so. I don't like the exclusivity the Midis gives some but not others.

 

And life couldn't exist without the physical first. Obi-wan's spirit would never have existed without being born first.

In fact, even the Force itself is described in physical terms, as an energy field.

The Force is not limited to the physical bodies, but it originates from them.

Yoda and Obi-wan also mention in the OT how sensitivity in the Force is inherited, "the Emperor knew, as I did, that if Anakin were to have any offspring..."

Plants generate the Force too, and have no mind or spirit.

If Yoda thought the body was of no concern, why was he being a physical trainer to Luke as well? Yoda took a holistic approach.

The metaphysical lesson, the metaphysical truth, is that reality is one, not spilt into clearly-divided physical and spiritual realms.

That's still the case. As Qui-gon said, everyone has midichlorians. Everyone could technically become a Jedi. It's just easier for those with more midichlorians. And the downside of having more midichlorians is that the dark side is more tempting, see Anakin Skywalker. But the idea of strength in the Force being genetic comes from Episode 6, if not earlier. Also, a person with a higher midichlorian count can still be beaten by someone with a lower midichlorian count, like when Obi-wan beat Anakin. Obi-wan was simply better trained.

 

Qui Gonn and Palpatine are the only ones who mention midis in the films(I guess Obi-wan too as he actually does the blood test on Anakin in TPM).Maybe there are two schools of thought about the essence of what the force is among force users. Qui-Gonn and Palps may fall into the force needs a scientific explanation but Yoda and Older Obi-wan may believe that while the midis are there the force is something much greater than a biological(and this view could have been brought to the fore with Obi-wans expriences in the Clone Wars Cartoon during the Mortis arc)

 

And yet, what does Yoda tell Luke. That he is not of his body. Not that these are symbiotic concepts. Not walking hand in hand as you, and in fact Lucas in TPM, suggest. He is clearly drawing the distincion. He does it when he makes the point about his own small stature, he does it even more directly when he tells Luke in no uncertain terms that you are not this crude matter.

You said we are still luminous beings, but you conveniently left out the second half of Yoda's quote. He isn't just talking about a luminious aspect to our reality, he is drawing a clear distinction. We are one, and not the other. That is his lesson. There is no way around it.