If you can't hear it, you can't see it, and you can't speak to it, is it a character?

It's funny how we define and classify characters. We see characters as those beings that do things, make things happen, say things, live and die, have emotions, etc etc. Psh. I don't think that's enough. If you think about Star Wars, you'll eventually see what I mean.

We know about Han, Luke, Leia, Yoda, Obi-Wan, the Emperor, Darth Vader, Artoo, Theepio - they walk and talk and have those convenient corporeal realities that facilitate the marketing of action figures and costumes and whatnots. But have you considered that other character in the saga - the one that's been in the background, is the subject of much deliberation at times, but somehow never quite achieves the status of even a peripheral character, like Sebulba or Jerjerrod? This character has changed lives, emboldened evil, aided the righteous, forseen the rise and fall of Empires and their masters, and effected change at all levels of the saga. It speaks, it moves, it has a will, and a plan, and is as ambiguous and unabashed about it's morality as any god would be. It's just a little difficult to shove into a plastic box and display it on a Wal-Mart shelf.

You may have guessed by now the character I am describing is none other than, yes, "the Force".

No, really - The Force is a character in Star Wars.

Sure you can't dress up as the Force at conventions. You can't find it on a trading card, or as a posable action figure. There are no spoiler shots of the Force in action preceeding a comic or movie release. There are no screensavers, no t-shirts, no bookcovers graced with the grimacing visage of the Force. But the Force is there, nonetheless, thoughout the saga, working with or against the heros and villains we know so well. So what you can't touch it, feel it, smell it, kiss it madly or slice it in half with a lightsaber. I personally would have loved to see it given a little more personality, maybe some cool accessories like a grappling hook or a trident or something, but hey - it's the Force. I still would have bought an action figure if they sold it. Although it would have been a little odd to run home to mom with such an interesting new toy...

MOOSE MOM: What's that dear?

ME: Mom, it's so cool - look what Dad got me! It's the new Star Wars dol..I mean action figure!

MOOSE MOM: Goodness - What does it do?

ME: Well...it's an amorphous cloud of life energy that binds the galaxy together, comprised of the basic forces of the universe, including both evil destruction and benign preservation.

MOOSE MOM: Does it have a net? You know that GI Joe doll you had came with a net and you were always losing it.

ME: ..N-..noo...it's just this cloudy looking thing in the box.

MOOSE MOM: Well, alright then. But don't put it in your mouth.

But, what the hey - it was not meant to be. The Force is a little more difficult to define than that. It is both a tool, and a user. Look at it from Anakin's perspective. He could wield the Force with such power that he perhaps thought himself a god in his own right. But in the end, he was a slave to the Force, a pawn in it's Prophecy. That's not to say the Force is malevolent. No, the Force just ..."is", in the same manner that the nature of Nature is..well..natural. It just "is". Nature, like the Force (one could say that, in part, the Force is an avatar of Nature in the George's mind) is comprised of all those things that make up the universe, good and evil. It is an endless cycle of destructive and creative agendas, set apparently on auto-pilot, but then again, so imbued with life and the passions that go along with it, it very nearly seems to have a collective personality.

Think about Nature in our world. We name our hurricanes, give geisers anthropomorphic labels like "Old Faithful", name mountains after saints, and in our legends gave the very depths of the sea the power of unseen deities that played whimsically with the lives of seafairing men. If that's "Nature" here, what is the "Force", there? It has even more concentrated willpower, and clearly has a more organized plan laid out for the galaxy. And above all, it maintains Balance. Even at the cost of human life, and the outbreak of war, by doing so it will ironically correct itself into a state of harmony and pacific well-being.

And yet ... it's perceived as being just shy of a full-blown character lots of times. It's more like cosmic furniture that gets moved about and inadvertantly falls on folks. Would it make it easier if the Force had lines? And he/she/it just sort of hung out over people's shoulders, whispering in their ears? Something kinda like...

VADER: Send a scanning crew on board. I want every part of this ship checked.

OFFICER: Yes, sir.

FORCE: Whoah. Feel that? Yo dawg, straight up, get this - Obi-Wan is on the station. Word.

VADER: I sense something...a presence I haven't felt since...

FORCE: Since he kicked your dark side buttocks and left you to bake evenly until golden brown? Yeah, that's the guy.


Or..


FORCE: Holy Schnikes!! Ben! Obi-Wan! Dude! Those Imperial pinheads just blew up a PLANET, dude. I don't feel so good...whoah...little...woozy...

LUKE: Are you all right? What's wrong?

BEN: I felt a great disturbance in the Force...as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened.

FORCE: Ya think? Damn skippy something terrible has happened. And tell that kid to get back to his lessons and mind his own business. Man...a whole planet...you got any aspirin?

BEN: You'd better get on with your exercises.

FORCE: I think I'm gonna spew.


Or even..


TARKIN: The princess! Put all sections on alert!

FORCE: Yeah, I've been meaning to talk to you about this, DV..Anakin..whatever . You know we like you and all that stuff, and hey, you're still the "Chosen One", but you're really screwing up. We're going with Obi-Wan on this one. Sorry, it's just business.

VADER: Obi-Wan is here. The Force is with him.

TARKIN: If you're right, he must not be allowed to escape.

FORCE: Dude, honestly - these guys are such tools. Don't know why you hang out with these stiffs. Anyway, tell that windbag Obi-Wan didn't infiltrate your stupid Death Ball just so he could escape. And you're meeting him alone. No cops.

VADER: Escape is not his plan. I must face him alone.

FORCE: OK now hurry up - he's old, so he doesn't have all day for you to kill him, you know...


Or even...


ANAKIN: Master, sir...I've been wondering...what are midi-chlorians?

QUI-GON: Midi-chlorians are a microcopic lifeform that reside within all living cells and communicates with the Force.

FORCE: Hey kid, what's up.

ANAKIN: They live inside of me?

FORCE: More the other way around, but ok, whatever.

QUI-GON: In your cells. We are symbionts with the midi-chlorians.

ANAKIN: Symbionts?

FORCE: You ask a lotta questions for a kid, you know that?

QUI-GON: Life forms living together for mutual advantage. Without the midi-chlorians, life could not exist, and we would have no knowledge of the Force. They continually speak to you, telling you the will of the Force.

ANAKIN: They do??

FORCE: Maybe. If you're nice.

QUI-GON: When you learn to quiet your mind, you will hear them speaking to you.

FORCE: So zip it, geez.

ANAKIN: I don't understand.

QUI-GON: With time and training, Annie...you will.

FORCE: And then some.


Or even...


LEIA: Hey, are you awake?

FORCE: Wow man. You're ship is so toast. Say buh-hye.

HAN: (staring out viewport at Falcon) Yeah, I just got a funny feeling. Like I'm not gonna see her again.

FORCE: I love messin' with this guy.


Dunno...OK, maybe that doesn't quite work. But in the end, I say a character is any sentient entity that interacts with other characters and their environment to increase or remediate the drama in a plot. I have come to appreciate the Force as a vital, dynamic character just like Luke or Anakin or Leia. In fact, often times what they do is a reflection of what the Force wants so badly. To right what's wrong - to find Balance.

That broadens it a bit from the traditional view, but it works for me. Now if I could just find a dol...I mean action figure.

DM out