The day Obi-Wan Kenobi became" problematic"

A Star Wars political controversy in a major magazine + important book updates

Hello friends, and welcome to another edition of Politicize Me - where pop culture politics reigns supreme and it’s a 90% chance that the topic is the Star War. Two things for you this week….1) a funny-sad-crazy Star Wars controversy 2) an IMPORTANT update on my book.

Over the weekend there was a…well…bizarre article written for one of America’s oldest and most well-respected science magazines: The Scientific American. In this piece, five academics took 2000+ words to make the case for why Star Wars and the (yes) Jedi Order, is problematic. Too much so to be associated in good faith with the work of social justice activists, particularly those focused on DEI initiatives (that’s diversity, equity and inclusion)

Because I know who I am and what makes me tick, and I believe I have a book coming out this Fall on this very intersection of topics….I wrote a formal response to the take that Star Wars and Jedi is riddled top to bottom with white supremacy, patriarchal themes and discriminatory messaging. It’s a brazenly revisionist history kind of argument, and one beneath the caliber of the Scientific American. But the reason it was published goes way deeper than Star Wars lore, it’s about how the Left of 2021 relates to political institutions that are less than perfect. It’s about history and how we understand moral failings of those who came before us. It’s about the same kind of roiling tension we see playing out regarding monuments, statues, campus names and our Founding documents. It’s way bigger than Star Wars.

My response is published in The Federalist, and I’d love if you’d go read it.

Here’s an excerpt————————————————————————————-

Jedi are special in the pop culture zeitgeist, and everyone in their right mind views them as heroes warding off the forces of darkness. They are protectors of the weak. Helpers of the needy.  Dragon slayers. They sacrifice and toil for others, often at their own peril. Look no further than Disney+’s new  Japanese anime anthology series, Star Wars: Visions, for a sense of how admiration of the Jedi calling has crossed oceans and united seven continents with a shared mythological luminary.

So why do the authors of the piece in Scientific American (J. W. Hammond, Sara E. Brownell, Nita A. Kedharnath, Susan J. Cheng, W. Carson Byrd) dub this joyful Star Wars spin on “diversity, equity and inclusion” work to be “problematic”? In their words, the Jedi are “prone to (white) saviorism and toxically masculine approaches to conflict resolution and toxically masculine approaches to conflict resolution (violent duels with phallic lightsabers, gaslighting by means of “Jedi mind tricks,” etc.)” They go on to lazily recycle social commentary about the Jedi which you can get from any tipsy young professional at a happy hour who noticed you have X-Wings on your tie or Baby Yoda earrings, and thought you might like to talk about the philosophical questions of Star Wars. 

“Exclusionary cult”, “dynastic”, “eugenic!”  You name it, the Jedi are part of the problem that social justice aims to solve. The (mostly white) authors posturing as defenders of marginalized people would prefer DEI work not be connected to heroes with such black marks on their record. Complexity could make people feel unsafe.

Skipping ahead: The Jedi are known heroes for what they represent, not what they became in the twilight of their existence. They were beacons of hope in a galaxy where evil was ascendant, so feared by the wicked that their enemies had to bury Jedi statues and teachings for fear they’d inspire revolution. And in the end they did just that. The Jedi-way and the Jedi Order are not one in the same. This where you can see plain as day, how the prudes authoring the article in question, are only capable of identifying institutional imperfection (an easy task) but never grappling with the ideas that galvanized them. 

I hope you survived the pain of learning about this little activism & Star Wars dust up.

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In other news….my book, How The Force Can Fix The World, has been delayed two weeks…to November 9th. On my drive home from work today the radio was talking about disruptions to global supply chains, warehouse slowdowns and how everything from office chairs to tables to computer chips are in low supply. Also…books being printed…and ink needed to do it.

So my book printing hit a little snag. No matter! Just two extra weeks till the Force begins fixing this world of ours. Thank you to everyone who has gone ahead and ordered a copy. If you haven’t yet….would you?! Pre-orders are lagging a bit, and it’d mean a lot if you’d go grab that now & tweet, Instagram or post on Facebook about it…maybe tag me and let me know so I can share and love on you.

One neat endorsement of the book came from longtime ABC News reporter, Clayton Sandell. He covered Star Wars and Lucasfilm at ABC for 20 years and made numerous documentaries behind the scenes of the films. He had this to say after reading the book earlier this year.