Around the StarStack: Geeky Stoics

A chat with Stephen Kent

Since joining Substack, I’ve come across other writers, creatives, and thinkers around the Star Wars-space. One of the first newsletters I came across was entitled This Is The Way by Stephen Kent.

In some ways, it’s a newsletter that engages with Star Wars in a way I do, focusing on themes instead of recaps and reviews. It is, though, from a decidedly different political perspective than my own (I’m a progressive here in the US), and that’s interesting to me. Finding common ground has real value in an increasingly polarized world. So, maybe Stephen and I wouldn’t endorse each other’s politics, but that doesn’t mean we can’t both celebrate stories we both love, together.

This Is The Way was recently rebranded as Geeky Stoics, so it seemed like a good time to reach out to a fellow traveler, learn about what inspired the broader focus, and ask a few questions about Stoicism, which I wasn’t terribly familiar with. So, interview-style, here’s a few questions I had for Stephen Kent, author, previously of This Is The Way, now of Geeky Stoics, and his thoughtful answers.

First of all, I came across your Substack when it was called This Is The Way, and you've recently rebranded your content as Geeky Stoics. Why the change?

Geeky Stoics is a much more clear and precise summation of what our Substack, YouTube and Podcast are all about. Finding wisdom, life advice and specifically connections to the Stoic philosophy within nerd culture. Star Wars will always be our number one love, but the new name gives us a little more latitude to cover movies and shows beyond the galaxy far, far away. Just the other night I was watching The Hobbit (2012) and that scene at the end where Bilbo Baggins reflects on why he wanted to help the dwarves on their quest, really moved me. I'll have a new article up about that on Thanksgiving to teach folks a little about the philosophy of gratitude and connect the dots to some of the writings of C.S. Lewis on how to be more grateful and charitable in daily life. 

When did you first self-identify as a geek?

Probably by the time I was 15 and standing outside the theater for the Episode III: Revenge of the Sith debut in 2005, fully costumed in DIY Jedi robes and choreographing duels with strangers in the line. I just love this stuff. From making fan films to overanalyzing every facet of fictional lore, I'm happiest around stories and deep fictional characters. Still today in my professional life, I have formed almost all of my most valuable workplace friendships by planting an Ashoka Funko! figure on my desk and waiting to see who wants to talk about it. And there is always someone. 

I'm not familiar with stoicism. Can you tell me more about it?

Stoicism is an ancient school of philosophy born in Athens, Greece around 300 BC, founded by this guy named Zeno of Citium. Zeno was famously shipwrecked near Athens and lost everything he had. Then he started reading and rebuilt his life as a philosopher in the city. What Zeno could have despaired over he used as the springboard for a new life with a clean slate. His perspective was to frame incredible loss as an opportunity. Stoicism has survived the test of thousands of years by inspiring countless people, the powerful and the powerless alike, to consider that you always have power over how you interpret events that happen in your life. Qui-Gon Jinn is a notably stoic-influenced Jedi Master. His quote, "Your focus determines your reality" in Episode I: The Phantom Menace could be a bumper sticker for what Stoicism is truly about. It's often misunderstood as being a philosophy about dispensing with emotion, but in reality, the great Stoic works are about processing pain, fear, and anxiety, not pretending they don't exist or aren't powerful forces. You have kings such as Marcus Aurelius of the late Roman Empire, and enslaved men like Epictetus in Rome who both contributed to the Stoic tradition. I've been hugely inspired by these writings and once you read them, you see their legacy all over Star Wars most of all. It's all so simply written and fascinating. Stoicism has deepened my obsession with Anakin Skywalker's fall and the decline of the Jedi Order in so many ways. George Lucas was interested in it too while studying at the University of Southern California, in addition to the other great religions and philosophies of the ancient world he layered into Star Wars. 

Tell me about your book, How The Force Can Fix The World. What inspired you to write it?

Most of my favorite authors have said that when you have a book in you, it's something that just has to come out or you'll go mad. How The Force Can Fix The World was that kind of book for me. It's like I wrote it in my head when I was 15 and spent all my time watching the Star Wars prequels and original trilogy on repeat between hours of playing Star Wars Galaxies, a really cool old Star Wars MMO. Star Wars taught me so much about the virtues of Humility, Empathy, Redemption, Balance, and Courage. I know I'm not alone in that as a Star Wars fan. When I started working in politics I noticed that my friends and colleagues on the opposite end of the political spectrum believed the same things about Star Wars' moral lessons, but held different views in the real world. I found that divide really interesting. We (Star Wars fans) all tend to see something shared and morally common in Star Wars, but then enact those lessons IRL in completely different ways. So this book was me speaking to every Star Wars fan, no matter their political priors, and attempting to share what I think 99% of us see and cherish in these stories that can be applied to real life. 

Reading through your background, it's clear you've spent time in conservative circles. I'm coming from the opposite political perspective.  Do you think pop culture is a path to bridge political divides that seem ubiquitous? To increase empathy for one another and find common ground?

Absolutely. Stories are what glue human beings together when they might otherwise have nothing in common. There are the creation stories of religion, there are the founding stories of nations, both serve a useful purpose in giving people a narrative to understand why they're on this rock here together...and might be best served by working out their differences. When the stories lose touch with the society, things start to come unglued. I think we're seeing that happen in slow motion in the United States. So I am grabbing onto Star Wars for dear life as a 20th century modern myth that has the potential to help us all understand one another better. To me, Star Wars' primary message is that we're all a few bad choices away from being Darth Vader or the Empire. Star Wars is constantly reminding us to let go of the desire to control others and the chaos of the universe and to consider that our inner darkness has the potential to take over our lives...especially when we think our reasons for using the darkness are good and righteous. That's the Skywalker saga. People who want to do good, and like with Lord of the Rings and the Ring of Power, are faced with the reality of how power and control corrupts very quickly. Talking about Star Wars in this way has filled my life with so many new friends ranging from socialists to anarcho-libertarians, to neoliberals to conservatives, who all profess to understand this message. So you could say we're building a small army of political opposites who are all helping one another not become the Darth Vader's of their movements. Because we all can fall into that darkness if we're not careful.  

What will people find on the Geeky Stoics channels?

They'll find perspectives on how Star Wars and other great stories relate to real life. I understand the desire for escapism and "consooming" entertainment for the sake of tuning out the world, but Geeky Stoics is about taking these stories seriously. So we look for connections between Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Marvel etc, and timeless wisdom you can find in any Philosophy 101 book. The podcast is very chill and meditative, the YouTube channel is a little more energetic and analytical, and the Substack is where we work out all the ideas and build the community of GEEKY STOICS. 

Thanks for sharing your thoughts Stephen!

You can learn more about Stephen here and check out his book, How The Force Can Fix The World: Lessons on Life, Liberty and Happiness from a Galaxy Far, Far Away here.