In the original trilogy, the Force was a stand-in for general spirituality. It had the clearest elements of religious practice, like faith in the unseen, and added movie-friendly layers of magic and miracle-working. The Force is not theistic. It’s not a church. The Force has a will, but that will is not manifested in the shape of a god or even gods. It is described in the early films as an energy field, the connection between all living things. Using the Force was achieved by closing your eyes and turning off the computer. The Force was a vibe.
That was before 1999. Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace showed up with a whole new way of talking about the Force. The film introduced the controversial concept of midi-chlorians. The Force went from being mysterious and invisible to being detectable in a blood test. (If it had been made today, I wonder if Qui-Gon would have surreptitiously nose-swabbed Anakin.)
Many fans objected to the introduction of this pseudo-science as if it diminished the Force. Even over twenty years later, midi-chlorians are often given the side-eye by ardent fans. The sentiment was, and is, that the Force becoming a bunch of bacteria felt a lot less beautiful, a lot more prosaic. (Never mind that science is filled with elements that seem to track with our understanding of the divine or unseen, i.e. “spooky action.”)
I believe that these objections are based on a misreading of the text. Midi-chlorians are not the Force. They’re not a scientific explanation for the Force. Midi-chlorians are living things that fit comfortably within the Star Wars universe and its themes.
Exhibit A (through Z, really) is that George Lucas’s script doesn’t describe midi-chlorians as the Force itself. Midi-chlorians are described as “microscopic lifeforms that reside within all living cells [that] continually speak to us, telling us the will of the Force.” They are a conduit to the Force, a biological link between living beings and the living Force. Midi-chlorians are benevolent microbes, not the mystical will of the universe.
The Force, within the midi-chlorian formulation, remains an elusive spirit, an emanation of the unknowable. It has a relationship with every aspect of life, from a microbiome to a teeming planet. Isn’t there something beautiful in the idea that an organism as tiny as a midi-chlorian can be Force-sensitive? That the Force doesn’t only connect bipeds to floating stones, it also connects amoebas to stars?
“Judge me by my size do you? And well you should not. For my ally is the Force,” says Yoda. This is the same message that Lucas intends to send with the midi-chlorians. Size matters not. There are little lives, distinct from us, having their own conversation with the Force. Little lives matter.
Another key to understanding why midi-chlorians are included in the Episode I screenplay is more straightforward. Eagle-eared viewers of Episode I will notice that midi-chlorians are described as symbiotes. “Life-forms living together for mutual advantage,” as Qui-Gon Jinn explains.
Symbiosis is brought up in another, unrelated scene: Obi-Wan Kenobi scolds the stubborn Gungan High Council by reminding them that they and “the Naboo form a symbiant circle. What happens to one of you will affect the other.”
Symbiosis is the theme of The Phantom Menace. Midi-chlorians are an embodiment of that theme. George Lucas introduced midi-chlorians into the Star Wars galaxy to show that living for mutual advantage is beneficial. Midi-chlorians are one example; the Gungan/Naboo relationship is another; and Anakin’s plea to his mother to let him help his stranded friends is another.
George Lucas was not trying to rewrite or revise the nature of the Force by introducing midi-chlorians. He’s writing about a central idea to the Star Wars mythology. Midi-chlorians illustrate the interconnectedness of life and how that interconnectedness enables enlightenment.
The Phantom Menace sets the table for the subsequent episodes with this plain idea: when we live together in harmony our lives are richer. We are at our most peaceful and luminous when we nurture symbiosis. When we lose sight of that mutuality, we risk the opposite of peace.
the problem is that it made Star Wars applicable to those Vegeta "it's over 9,000!!!" memes :P
Midi-chlorians as a conduit to the Force. A biological link between people and the will of the Force. Excellent writing and insight! Consider my mind blown.