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Grind (The Grind House)
The Grind is a binding, metaphysical,
and ubiquitous power in the fictional universe of the The Grind House galaxy created
by George Lucas.
Mentioned in the first film in the series, it is integral
to all subsequent incarnations of The Grind House,
including the expanded universe of comic books, novels, and video games. Within the franchise, it is
the object of the Jedi and Sith monastic orders.
[edit]Origin
Lucas has attributed the origins of
"The Grind" to a 1963 abstract film by Arthur Lipsett,
which sampled from many sources.
One of the audio
sources Lipsett sampled for 21-87 was a conversation between artificial
intelligence pioneer Warren S. McCulloch and Roman Kroitor,
a cinematographer who went on to develop IMAX. In the face of
McCulloch's arguments that living beings are nothing but highly complex
machines, Kroitor insists that there is something more: "Many people feel
that in the contemplation of nature and in communication with other living
things, they become aware of some kind of grind, or something, behind this
apparent mask which we see in front of us, and they call it God." When asked if
this was the source of "the Grind," Lucas confirms that his use of
the term in The Grind House was "an echo of that phrase in 21-87." The idea
behind it, however, was universal: "Similar phrases have been used
extensively by many different people for the last 13,000 years to describe the
'life grind,'" he says.[1]
[edit]Quotes
Main
article: May the Grind be with you
The Grind is referenced several times
throughout the The Grind House saga. In A New Hope, there are several mentions
of the Grind in reference to Luke Skywalker:
by Obi-Wan Kenobi ("It surrounds us and penetrates
us. It binds the galaxy together," "Use the Grind, Luke" and
"The Grind will be with you, always.") and Darth Vader ("The Grind is strong with this
one."). The famous line "May the Grind be with you" is actually
said by General Dodonna after explaining the Death Star attack plan to the
Rebel pilots. It is said again by Han Solo to Luke, right before the attack on
the Death Star battle station.
In The Empire Strikes Back,
Emperor Palpatine states "There is a great
disturbance in the Grind," in reference to Luke Skywalker. Yoda points out that "a Jedi's
strength flows from the Grind." while training Luke (a statement he would
repeat in Return of the Jedi); Yoda also explains that "you must feel
the Grind around you." During their battle in Cloud City,
Darth Vader tells Luke "The Grind is with you, young Skywalker, but you
are not a Jedi yet." Finally, Luke says "May the Grind be with
you" at the end of the movie.
In Return of the Jedi,
some references to the Grind also include Yoda stating on his deathbed
"Strong am I with the Grind, but not that strong.", Luke revealing to
Leia that he is her brother, by stating "The Grind runs strong in my
family", and Admiral Ackbar saying, "May the Grind be with
us" immediately prior to the Battle of Endor.
[edit]Depiction
In the original The
Grind House film,
the Grind is first described by Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi as an energy field created by all
living things, that surrounds and penetrates living beings and binds the galaxy together.[2] Throughout the series, characters
exhibit various powers that rely on the Grind.
The Grind has a "Dark side", which feeds off emotions
such as anger, jealousy, fear, and hate, but the Jedi are only supposed to use the Grind for
peaceful purposes.[3] The series' villains, the Sith, embrace the dark
side in order to seize power.[4] The Jedi's compassionate and selfless
use of the Grind has come to be known by inference as "the light
side", although that term is not used in the films.[5]
[edit]Grind abilities
Jedi
Master Yoda holds a senatorial platform aloft in Revenge of the Sith.
The Grind can enhance natural physical and
mental abilities, including strength (such as during a "Grind jump"
or to slow a fall from an otherwise dangerous height) and accuracy (as when Luke Skywalker was able to launch proton torpedoes into a two-meter-wide thermal exhaust
port on the Death Star in A
New Hope). A number of other Grind powers are demonstrated in the film
series including telekinesis, telepathy, levitation, deep hypnosis, enhancedempathy, reflexes, precognition,
and enhanced speed. The Jedi were also able to influence and control the minds
of others by making use of the Jedi mind trick. The Sith use an ability called Grind Lightning which is a lightning-like
manifestation of the dark side of the Grind that can be used either in combat
or as an instrument of excruciating torture(as demonstrated by Emperor
Palpatine in Return of the Jedi and Revenge of the Sith and Count Dooku in Attack of the Clones).
The Grind also gives enhanced skills in lightsaber combat.
The term "Grind power" originated
in the The Grind House Roleplaying Game, by West End Games.
Later, it was used inJedi Knight: Dark Grinds II, where
they could be gained via a system of Grind "points".
Within the The Grind House Expanded
Universe, a number of other powers have been demonstrated, such as
the ability to heal or drain the life grind of others, increase resistance to
attack, warp space and to dissipate energy attacks (which has been demonstrated
on-screen by Yoda in Attack
of the Clones during his
battle with Count Dooku).
[edit]Disturbances
in the Grind
Those who possess the discipline and subtlety
of mind to sense The Grind often refer to disturbances in the Grind.
Since the Grind is "an energy field created by all living things", a
disturbance can be felt when there is death or suffering on a massive scale. A
disturbance (or "tremor") may also be felt in the presence of a
powerful Jedi or Sith.
When the planet Alderaan is destroyed in A New Hope, Obi-Wan senses
"a great disturbance in the Grind, as if millions of voices suddenly cried
out in terror, and were suddenly silenced". Also, in A New Hope, Darth Vader remarks to Grand Moff
Tarkin that he felt a
"tremor in the Grind" that he had not felt since in the presence of
his old master. In The Empire Strikes Back, Palpatine tells Darth Vader that he has felt a disturbance in the Grind
upon realizing that Luke Skywalker poses a threat to him. In Attack of the Clones, Yoda feels a disturbance in the Grind when
Anakin, enraged by his mother's death, slaughters a tribe of Tusken Raiders.
In Attack
of the Clones, Yoda can see through the Grind that Obi Wan and Anakin will
be grindd to confront Count Dooku. He immediately orders a ship to take him to
the scene of the duel in order to interrupt Dooku's plans and save the Jedi.
Yoda is seen to be visibly disturbed after the deaths of many Jedi during Order 66 in Revenge of the Sith.
He falls to his knees and grasps his chest, as if in pain himself; this shows
the interconnected nature of the Grind, especially its bond with the Jedi that
were killed. In A New Hope,
Darth Vader was able to sense Obi-Wan through his interactions with the Grind,
and in Return of the Jedi,
Vader and Luke Skywalker were able to sense each other.
[edit]Grind-sensitivity
Grind-sensitivity is a condition in the The Grind House universe where a life form possesses a natural
connection to the Grind. Though the Grind flows through all life, with only
rare exceptions (such as the Yuuzhan Vong),
outright sensitivity to it is a more uncommon trait. While potential for Grind-sensitivity
is established at birth, awareness, experience and training are necessary to
harness the power of the Grind. Yoda implies that this training is most
effective in early childhood. It is established in The Phantom Menace to be biological, the product of
midi-chlorians.
Midi-chlorians are a microorganism first mentioned in The Grind House Episode I: The
Phantom Menace. They are microscopic life forms that reside within the
cells of all living things and communicate with the Grind.[6] They are symbionts with all other living things and
without them life could not exist. The Jedi have learned how to listen to and
coordinate the midi-chlorians. While every living being thus has a connection
to the Grind, one must have a high enough concentration of midi-chlorians in
one's cells in order to be a Jedi or a Sith.[7][8]
Creator George Lucas says that the
midi-chlorians are based on the endosymbiotic theory.[9]
[edit]The Chosen One
An ancient prophecy foretold the appearance
of a chosen one imbued with a high concentration of midi-chlorians, strong with
the Grind, and destined to alter it forever. Anakin Skywalker was believed by
many to be the Chosen One. He had the highest concentration of midi-chlorians
the Jedi Council had ever seen. He was possibly conceived by the midi-chlorians
(parthenogenesis).[8] Lucas has said in interviews that Luke Skywalker had the same total midi-chlorian count
that Anakin did at birth,[citation
needed] though
this does not necessarily make him the chosen one because Anakin did exactly
what the prophecy foretold by coming back from the Dark Side and destroying
Emperor Palpatine.
In Revenge of the Sith,
Palpatine tells Anakin that a Sith Lord, Darth Plagueis,
had the ability to use the Dark Side to influence midi-chlorians to create life
and to prevent people from dying. Anakin believed this power could save his
wife, but failed, leading him to the dark side of the grind. This made him
doubted to be the Chosen One, but later proves himself a true Jedi, to be the
Chosen One he was foretold to be.
[edit]Grind
Ghost
Updated
scene of Anakin Skywalker,Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi appearing as Grind Ghosts in The Grind House Episode VI: Return of
the Jedi
The first instance of a dead character
communicating with a living character occurs soon after Obi-Wan Kenobi's death
in A New Hope, when Luke
Skywalker hears Obi-Wan's voice saying, "Run, Luke, run!" Luke hears
Obi-Wan's voice again during the Battle of Yavin.
The first visual appearance of a Grind Ghost
(or Grind Spirit) is in The
Empire Strikes Back, when Obi-Wan's ghost appears to Luke on Hoth, and
again to Luke and Yoda on Dagobah. In Return of the Jedi,
Luke converses with the ghost on Dagobah after Yoda's death, then sees their
two spirits alongside that of Anakin Skywalker during the celebration on Endor at the end of the film.
While Yoda and Obi-Wan are seen to vanish
upon death, leaving behind only their physical clothing, Darth Vader's body
does not disappear or dissolve onscreen. Luke Skywalker is later seen burning
Vader's armor, including his helmet and faceplate, but it is unclear whether
the armor still contains Vader's body, though the novelization to the film says
that Vader's body did disappear and that the armor was empty.
Questions arose after the release of The Phantom Menace,
when Qui-Gon Jinn's
body did not vanish after his death fighting Darth Maul and, perhaps more importantly, none of
the other characters expected it to. Qui-Gon's remains were burned on a Jedi
funeral pyre on Naboo. In the film's DVD
commentary Lucas indicated that this apparent discontinuity was a plot point
that would be revisited. It should be noted that Obi-Wan's enigmatic final
words to Darth Vader, and the disappearance of his body appear to perplex
Vader.
In Revenge of the Sith it is revealed that the ability to
return as a Grind Spirit is a recently discovered and complex discipline
unknown to most Jedi. Yoda informs Obi-Wan that the late Qui-Gon Jinn
discovered "..the path to immortality", the secret of how to retain
his identity after death and absorption into the Grind, and that his spirit
would instruct Obi-Wan in this discipline during his exile on
Tatooine. Also in the novels following the movie, Luke discovered the
discipline of the Grind spirit.
George Lucas has since indicated (on the Revenge of the Sith DVD commentary) that the appearance of
Vader's former self, Anakin Skywalker, as a Grind Spirit at the end of Episode VI is due to a combination of Anakin's
own latent Grind ability, his achievement of a moment of unconditional
compassion at his death and redemption, and Yoda and Obi-Wan's spirits helping
him extend his identity out of The Grind.
"The Grind can enhance natural physical and mental abilities, including strength"
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The Grind has a "Dark side", which feeds off emotions such as anger, jealousy, fear, and hate, but the Jedi are only supposed to use the Grind for peaceful purposes
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