American Jedi Documentry

MJ Hannigan wrote:

ReallyRiver wrote: I guess to me, not to disparage the effort, but the film is a low budget very limited release project. It might affect how a few thousand people see the Temple, but those were probably people who wouldn't join or support us anyway. It might effect how a few thousand people see some individuals, but those were probably people who wouldn't befriend or support then anyway.

All in all, I think it'll be interesting to watch, but won't change my life one bit.

Again the selfishness amazes me. No one will care about totjo one way or the other. Totjo is not and will never be the Jedi Realist community.

I think there was a misunderstanding there..

Also, as a side note, I don't think anyone ever said that TotJO was, or ever will be, the Jedi Realist community

You can't rule out thst totjo does not also have members within it who consider themselves Jedi realists either, you can't say it's a focal point, but you can't say there aren't members apart of it either.

The video may be more focused on thst minority but I don't think thst is going to be obvious at all to the random onlooker, this video will to the average uninformed person reflect everyone in the belief period.

Tellahane wrote: You can't rule out that totjo does not also have members within it who consider themselves Jedi realists either, you can't say it's a focal point, but you can't say there aren't members apart of it either.

The video may be more focused on thst minority but I don't think thst is going to be obvious at all to the random onlooker, this video will to the average uninformed person reflect everyone in the belief period.

Hey Tellahane! It's been a while since we've bumped into each other! How are you?

That's a very good point you made and I see how my comment could have been misinterpreted.

For clarity, I was not saying that TotJO doesn't have members who are part of the Jedi Realist Community, just that TotJO itself is not THE Jedi Realist Community. Much like we have Christian/Muslim/insert-any-label-you-want-here members, but we are not claiming to be THE Christian/Muslim/insert-any-label-you-want-here Community.

Since this thread had some life breathed into it:D

The guy on the video yelling "If you're getting [strike]murdered[/strike] knighted, get over here!" Did a reaction video with me yesterday ^^

https://youtu.be/nPx254RazVA

And Hannigan's doing a reaction episode Sunday at 8PM CST too!

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/jedi-realist-radio/2017/07/31/jedi-realist-radio-presents-american-jedi-part-2

We should definitely do our best to keep some perspective here. Jediism is very important to many of us, a focal point of our lives even, but that does not put it on some exalted pedestal. TOTJO, and the Jedi community as a whole including Realists, the religious, and even the cosplayers, is small. This documentary will be viewed with great interest within the community, but it will barely be glanced at with passing interest by the majority of people. This is not meant to disparage the documentary, the film maker, or the subjects of the film. It is simply a result of so many other options that people have to spend their time.

To compare, I have seen numerous documentaries about Scientology, which is huge by comparison, and still it is consider a fringe religion at best or a cult at worst. The average person could care less about them, despite the fact that Tom Cruise and John Travolta are their mouthpieces. These documentaries are compelling and well done, but they still only garner a certain amount of interest among the masses. If the marketing power of HBO isn't enough to drive a large viewership of their own documentary on Scientology, I really doubt an independent project about a few Jedi in only one country out of many will make a huge dent.

6. Jedi use their skills to the best of their ability. We do not use our knowledge and skill to boast or be prideful. We are mindful of the ego and mindful of our actions, exercising wisdom and humility.

Discipline: To let the self be sole master of the self.
A Jedi’s mind is structured, peaceful, unencumbered by emotions, physical state or external stimuli.

Let's not get carried away here, Jedi.

It is understandable that anyone might feel uncomfortable with someone else speaking on their behalf. Depending on if, or how, you know the individuals that were chosen to do the speaking, it is also understandable that your confidence would wax or wane.

There are Jedi I admire and Jedi I do not. True of us all. No one is going to be entirely happy with what comes out in the movie. Not even the people in the movie. Such is life. Perhaps all of us would have put together a different Jedi dream team for the perfect documentary, but that wouldn’t have been an honest depiction of us. Our best and brightest are not, in general, the loudest and easiest to see. That’s a truth about us that we could stand to confront as well.

And there will be a small group of people for whom this movie is a turning point. The right message will show up at the right time and, bam. Life changed. While this group might appear large when compared to our community as a whole, it won’t be a blip for the culture at large.

There will be a brief swell of interest, people will show up here and there in what will appear at the time to be droves, and most of them will never return because they lose interest or sought us out under some misconception. It will be similar, in some respects, to what happened when Episode VII came out.

The film was a snapshot: one moment from a specific angle. Anyone who expects it to tell the whole story is being silly. But it will tell a story. And that story will speak to your experience or it won’t. Many stories played out that weekend. I’m quite certain not all of it was even filmed, let alone made the final cut.

And, in pretty short order, new folk will meet the people in the movie and see if they measure up to their portrayals. And, shortly after that, things will settle into the new normal, which will probably resemble the old normal in many ways.

We are a community given to a certain amount of drama. Many things feel like tidal shifts to us, despite our best efforts as individuals. In a year or so, this will just be another thing that happened.

To be clear, I’m looking forward to the movie. I suspect there will be both cheering and jeering at what comes up. Part of me hopes that the only part of me in the movie was the part that showed up in the trailer. But it doesn’t matter much. There is nothing to be done and no reason to invest energy in things that can’t be changed. We’ll just deal with it when it comes. No amount of gnashing of teeth will make anything easier. You’re entitled to your feelings, but you should consider whether or not they are helping. Argument doesn’t seem to be getting us anywhere.

Better to practice equanimity.

To Clarify

The Documentry isn't about "Jediism" or "Jedi Realism" or......whatever divisive term members within the community like to use to differentiate there greatness from someone elses proclaimed greatness ((yes. Im being a bit snide get over it. I still love you guys))

We must not forget that the people who filmed, edited and strung the film together ARE NOT JEDI and DO NOT UNDERSTAND our Drama.

What the Documentary IS about. Is the "Idea"of Jedi as a "Religion" and following a very very very.....very.....small corner of the whole.

It's meant only to say "Hey. This is a thing. Here are some stories that took place within that thing. And here are what others have to say about it."


Don't get wrong. I am looking forward to see it, and I really hope for the best. We all put our heart and soul into sharing our small slice of cheese to Laurent and trust him to be fair for better or worse with the slice he got. From what I have seen in Bronies, I don't think he will disappoint us too terribly much.


It is simply important that we remember to keep our own personal baggage and drama out of it. Our titles, our differences, our drama, our division........ Because that's not important here. What is important is the spirit of the IDEA that Jedi can be practiced as a Religious and/or Spiritual thing.

Excellent job guys! I just want to say that I thought the preview was great. I think it's easy to be critical. Critics will look for things to criticize, but a whole host of people will look at it and just think "this is cool". As long as the documentary answers questions like "are people required to dress up in costumes?" then I think it's good. I don't think most people would even mind dressing in Jedi robes for an annual event, but that's an issue with a whole other thread attached. I just think that if the documentary follows the real lives of these Jedi it's going to make the whole thing look good because it's going to remove a lot of the false notions and silent prejudice about what it is.

People tend to fear what they don't know. If you give them the opportunity to know it and even understand it, you'll get a lot more acceptance even if people don't choose it for themselves. So from that perspective I think it's already a winner and I think everyone who was in it did a good job. I think Cabur is right about what to expect, but I think those who watch the full documentary will be less likely to quit than those who come after just seeing the preview. Knowing what to expect is a very powerful and often underestimated thing.

Big kudos to everyone who worked on the Jedi trials. I loved that part. Seeing that makes me wish there were more Jedi so that we could have more of these gatherings. Hopefully, I'll get to attend too. But yeah, may reaction was very positive and I do think it will be well received and I look forward to seeing the full documentary.

ZealotX wrote: Big kudos to everyone who worked on the Jedi trials. I loved that part. Seeing that makes me wish there were more Jedi so that we could have more of these gatherings. Hopefully, I'll get to attend too.

These gatherings have been going on every single year since 2002

ZealotX wrote: Big kudos to everyone who worked on the Jedi trials. I loved that part. Seeing that makes me wish there were more Jedi so that we could have more of these gatherings. Hopefully, I'll get to attend too.

I'm hoping one day we'll be able to have a few more a year, the annual being one that exposes you to a number of different types of workshops, and then some smaller ones that focus on a particular theme. Like a Martial Arts gathering would focus on physical aspects and philosophy related to physical defense. Or a Energy Healing weekend would expose you to a couple of energy healing techniques, and ethics on energy healing. You get the point