American Jedi Page #2

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Here's stuff in the fiction,

but they're presenting it as

if they're saying go live it.

And that's when

it kinda first...

Why can't I be a Jedi?

- Jedi is a code, it's

a system of honor,

it's protocols of behavior.

It's a way of

viewing the self, and

the universe, and others.

In what, to me, looks

like very beneficial ways.

- [Opie] This is it, I

found what I'm looking for.

- There is a moment

when it occurs to Luke

that he might become a Jedi,

he might seek that role in life,

he might go into the training

and it's very arduous

and would ask a lot, but

he begins to see that

as a possible option for himself

and to have at least enough

initial faith in himself

that he can see it could happen,

and this is an aha moment,

this is a real turning point.

- Film can expose the values

that we have as a culture.

And how we, as individuals,

also carry forth

our world view all the time.

(dramatic orchestral music)

- Joseph Campbell

worked with symbolism.

He was looking at the

mythic imagination,

how a picture is

worth 1,000 words

and movies are all pictures.

And so, we bring our

interest, our attention,

and we meditate on

a series of images

and walk away feeling like

more has been communicated

than just the storyline

of the film, and it has.

And so, the imagination is rich

in this particular art form

and that is part of why

Jediism is more powerful

and more compelling

and ultimately perhaps

more rewarding than some other

recent religious movements.

- I think that when people do...

When they create these,

you know, stories, movies,

whether it's a novel or a film,

that it's not meant to

be taken externally.

It's meant to be a story

for our own hearts.

- Most folks who go to

movies really love it

when I talk about... Star Wars,

Star Wars,

because they've had that

experience of sitting there.

And, really...

Were moved when

they saw the movie

and now they're

sitting in church,

and they get a chance to

connect that experience

in the movies with their faith.

And they say, "Ah, oh, wow."

- One of my best friends

in martial arts class,

he came up to me, he says,

"Did you know Jedi

is a real religion?"

And I told him, no,

you're lying, man.

So I looked it up and sure

enough, it was an actual thing,

people were doing it.

- All the stormtroopers

were lined up in one area

and they had to do

their buckets off shot.

So they took their helmets off

and there was this

one woman there,

her blond hair just cascaded

down and I was like,

oh, my God.

(chuckles)

I have to do that.

- Along the path

of enlightenment,

along the path of knighthood,

gender doesn't really

make a difference.

- My name is Perris

Cartwright and I'm a Jedi.

- [Opie] I met Perris in

the online Jedi community,

where she goes by

the name War Beauty.

We've been friends for

about three years now.

Perris is amazing, I've been

mentoring her for the past year.

I nominated her to

test for knighthood

at this year's Jedi gathering.

So, now Perris and

I will be going

through the trials together.

- Being nominated by Opie is,

in my opinion, a big deal,

because he's, arguably, the

longest active standing member

of the entire community

since the '90s.

He helped mold and

shape most of Jediism

into to what it is today.

To have him look

at you and be like,

"You're worthy to be knighted,

"I endorse you with my own

name," that's pretty awesome.

- At some point early

on, you meet a mentor.

There is a guide who is

willing to show you the ropes,

and they're around,

sometimes it takes

some work to find them,

but in mysterious ways,

sometimes the mentor and

apprentice find each other

just because it's

the right time.

- [Opie] Perris has known

of me for a long time.

Believe it or not,

this is the first time that

we're meeting in person.

I think it's always interesting.

Do you shake hands?

Do you wave?

Do you give a hug?

I don't...

I never know.

Parking lot of a Chili's.

The grand adventure continues.

There she is.

- My f***ing sandals are

melting to the asphalt,

it's so hot today.

- So, what's up?

- Nothing.

Playing World of Warcraft.

- Sounds exciting.

- [Perris] Yeah.

- As long as you can knock

out the academic stuff.

- I've been writing everything

on flashcards beforehand,

post-it notes, tattooing

it on my wrists like Mulan.

- And there's a lot

in it for the mentor.

The mentor went

through all this before

and values it greatly,

and has a big investment

in the newbies,

the next wave coming forward.

And, of course,

there's an enormous

amount in it for the initiate.

- This is gonna be heavy hitter.

This is the all-star team

that they're questioning.

These are gonna be the

big league questions.

These are gonna be

the questions that

you people would

get for Masters,

and they're gonna

grill us so hard.

- I mean, you go in

there, you be a Jedi.

That's all it is,

that's all it is.

- It might be hard.

I don't know.

- I don't know.

- Yeah, you just act like

you're doing everyday life.

- So, companions along

the way are crucial.

We have company, it

is not that lonely,

in fact, we need to be able

to work well in a team.

- She's a veteran of

one of our recent wars.

She married a military man and

he doesn't get the Jedi path,

he doesn't respect it,

so he has comments.

- Yes, my husband is the

biggest troll of Jediism ever.

Anytime I talk to any

of my friends on Skype

or I'm telling him about

Jediism, he'll just be like,

"Oh, where is Obi-Wan

and your lightsaber, ha."

Probably most people in society

would think that it's weird.

Ya' know it's got the, either

geek or dork or nerd...

Whichever Darth Sidious

or frikkin' Mr.Force Powers,

or whatever.

Ya' know, one's bad and

one's just annoying.

- She's out of the Marines

now and what she does now,

is she's a makeup artist.

She goes around on

different photo shoots

as well as walking

the Jedi path.

I've basically stated by

putting her name forward

that I view her

as a Jedi Knight.

So if she doesn't pass, that

reflects negatively on me

and my standards and my judgment

on what makes a Jedi Knight.

- I'm a veteran, I served

honorably for four years,

but it just wasn't for me.

And the transition from

Marine Corps to makeup artist

was a really fascinating one.

I felt like the Marine Corps

was such a masculine

environment, that I couldn't...

That femininity was

really discouraged,

even by the women there.

And there was a point where

the Commandant wanted to get rid

of skirts and like, pantyhose.

And I hate pantyhose, but

that was just such a...

It felt like such a

violation of being feminine

that I wanted to kind of help

restore some of

that to the world.

And that's why I'm

a makeup artist now.

It's because I like

making things beautiful,

I like making people

feel beautiful,

I like making women

feel beautiful.

To an extent I feel that

there's a lot of weight to pass.

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