Jedi mind trick
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- Jedi Mind Tricks is also a rap group from Philadelphia, PA.
In the Star Wars universe, the Jedi mind trick is a Force power. Jedi who know the power can, by using the Force, influence the actions of other "weak-minded" sentient beings.
Jedi typically perform this ability with a wave of the hand and a verbal suggestion (for example, "These aren't the droids you're looking for"). If the trick is successful, the victim will reply by restating the suggestion ("These aren't the droids we're looking for") and will immediately think or do whatever the Jedi suggested. The hand wave may not be required to use the power; in the films, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn both perform the wave first when using the trick, while Luke Skywalker does not.
Some residents of the Star Wars galaxy can resist the ability. Species who can resist include Hutts and Toydarians, as demonstrated in Return of the Jedi and The Phantom Menace, respectively. The precise reason is unknown but it is possibly due to different thought patterns than the humans who were performing it[citation needed]. Especially strong-willed individuals are also able to resist the ability. Anakin Skywalker confirms this in a conversation with Padmé Amidala during Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, after she jokingly asks him if he will use the trick on her. Droids are also immune to mind tricks, because these tricks can only be used on something with a mind.
While the power is never called the "mind trick" by Jedi — or even named by any Jedi, the term "mind trick" is often used to refer to it by those who are aware of its existence, often disparagingly. The first use of the term was in Return of the Jedi, when Jabba the Hutt criticizes an underling for his susceptibility to "an old Jedi mind trick." The term is used in many of the Star Wars-related games in which the ability appears. When Obi-Wan Kenobi famously demonstrates the ability for the first time in the films, he states afterward only that, "The Force can have a strong influence on the weak-minded. You will find it a powerful ally."
The Jedi mind trick has been compared to similar real-world tricks performed using Mentalism. This is a broad term used for creating illusions in the mind and has been performed many times by the famous British mentalist Derren Brown.
[edit] Appearances in Star Wars films
- Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace - Qui-Gon Jinn uses it to persuade Boss Nass, head of the Gungans, to help him and Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi to "speed through" Naboo's planet core. He also attempts to influence Watto to accept Republic credits as a means of purchasing a new hyperdrive, but as Watto is a Toydarian, he successfully resists the trick.
- Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones - Elan Sleazebaggano attempts to sell Obi-Wan Kenobi a death stick. Obi-Wan replies with the suggestion, "You don't want to sell me death sticks. You want to go home and rethink your life." Sleazebaggano leaves at that point in the film and is assumed to have followed up on this suggestion - a testament to the power of the mind trick.
- Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith - Obi-Wan Kenobi convinces a dragonmount seller to lend him one of his beasts. He repeats the trick later when he and Yoda are captured by clone troopers. Both of these appearances were in the novelization of the film, and not the film itself.
- Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope - In the first, and most famous, appearance of the trick, Obi-Wan Kenobi persuades a squad of Imperial stormtroopers to let himself and Luke Skywalker pass a checkpoint despite carrying C-3PO and R2-D2, then targets of an Imperial search, as passengers on their speeder. He also uses a variant of the trick to distract Stormtroopers aboard the Death Star while on his mission to disable the tractor beam.
- Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back - Yoda may have used it to persuade Luke Skywalker not to shoot him with his blaster ("Away put your weapon! I mean you no harm," following which Luke "wondered why he was compelled to obey this strange creature."). However, this seems unlikely as the target usually repeats the command.
- Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi - Luke Skywalker persuades Bib Fortuna to grant him entry to the palace of, and an audience with, Jabba the Hutt. Luke then attempts to persuade Jabba to free Han Solo and Chewbacca from captivity, but fails, since Jabba is a Hutt. It is Jabba who first refers to the technique as "an old Jedi mind trick".
