Why do jedi carry lightsabers?

[coldsun22]

Why do jedi carry lightsabers? Who thought it up? I mean, its awesome but why????

[acdcfanbill]

cause they wanna see the whites of the eyes of the people they kill...

[Spidey]

Because that's the weapon of choice before they invented blasters and guns.

 

I don't know if they had light-axes and light-arrows though.

[smwScott]

Because audience's enjoy watching people get chopped up.

[SpanRah]

to keep there trousers up, of course

[sunsetrider]

Because anyone can shoot with guns.

[SpaceMonkey1315]

Originally posted by SpanRah

to keep there trousers up, of course

 

no...bad...baaaaddddd...we dont say trousers on this forum...

[eziz]

My wild guess would be that Georce Lucas thought them up.

[Jedi_Monk]

Because blasters are clumsy and random and the Lightsaber is an extention of the weilder. I'm guessing ancient (waaaaaay ancient, before the Tales of books) Jedi used metal swords, then when laser technology became the norm, they adopted the lightsaber.

[godless_hordes]

The Bounty Hunters' Guild lobbied the Galactic Senate to force the Jedi to use lightsabers so that the scum and villany would have a fighting chance.

[Digital_Ronin]

Lucas always freely admitted that the SW universe and especially the jedi were 'inspired' by old japanese samurai movies.

 

Hence the "philosopher-warrior-mystic-good-guys" needed to have swords.

 

Now, since it seemed pretty pointless to let someone run around with a steel rapier in a SF environment where he's shot at with blasters, he changed the blades of those future samurai into a cone of light so it would be explainable why they deflected energy shots.

 

Congratulations, he had just invented the lightsaber.

 

Digital_Ronin

[Robbiesan]

because light sabres are so cool... I'd love ot have one for real but if we had these imagine the damage most of us would cause.. bad days indeed...

[Chiori]

"Because blasters are clumsy and random and the Lightsaber is an extention of the weilder. I'm guessing ancient (waaaaaay ancient, before the Tales of books) Jedi used metal swords, then when laser technology became the norm, they adopted the lightsaber."

 

No because Jedis only came into existence after they developed interstellar travel so no...

 

 

Chiori

[GreyJedi]

Originally posted by Digital_Ronin

Lucas always freely admitted that the SW universe and especially the jedi were 'inspired' by old japanese samurai movies.

 

Hence the "philosopher-warrior-mystic-good-guys" needed to have swords.

 

Now, since it seemed pretty pointless to let someone run around with a steel rapier in a SF environment where he's shot at with blasters, he changed the blades of those future samurai into a cone of light so it would be explainable why they deflected energy shots.

 

Congratulations, he had just invented the lightsaber.

 

Digital_Ronin

 

Exactly. An extension of that is:

 

The sword, in many cultures, has a mystical place in warfare. Many cultures attribute living characteristics to swords. Think of the sword Nothung in German culture, or Excalibur in Anglo culture, or swords in Japanese culture.

 

On a conscious level it makes sense to have a "futuristic sci-fi" sword be the weapon of the Jedi. On a sub-conscious level, it just feels right for the same reasons.

[NewBJedi]

Originally posted by coldsun22

Why do jedi carry lightsabers? Who thought it up? I mean, its awesome but why????

 

Because . . .

 

[godless_hordes]

Because Jedi do a LOT of sublimating.... :rolleyess:

[Reverse]

Lightsabers were the first "laser" technology in the SW universe. If anyone has the Essential guide to chronology of the star wars universe, on the front cover it shows two jedi both weilding lightsabers, but there is a cord running from the hilt to their belt. So lightsabers are very very ancient (SW time anyways). but they ahve always been a symbol of the jedi. they were used when every non jedi weilded either a vibro blade or a slug shooter(basically a regular gun by our standards)

[igor]

Lightsabers were the first "laser" technology in the SW universe.

 

That doesn't make since, sorry I am pushing the SW universe and ours together.

A standard laser would be infinitely more easy to create because a laser by nature extendes at far as the light can go. A lightsaber only extends as far as the handle will allow it to.

This is all theory.

[BlackMagic]

To quote Obi-won, "Not as clumsy or random as a blaster, an elegant weapon of a more civilized day." From episode IV.

[GreenGriffon]

Well you know the old saying.....

 

"Speak softly, and carry a big light-stick."

 

GG

[Pedantic]

A lightsaber doesn't just involve lasers--there are other wonderful things like plasma and containment fields.

[Mr. White]

Well, why not?

[Mandamus]

Some of the original concept art included lightsabers for the stormtroopers and rebel soldiers as well as the jedi... there were "light-shields" too!

[Kurgan]

Well a Jedi in theory could wield a blaster in as deadly a fashion as a saber.

 

He could direct the shots so he'd never miss, for example. ; )

 

 

Heck, if you want to get down to it, if you were REALLY powerful in the force, you could fight without any weapon (just whatever came to hand, using your foes' weight against him like in Judo).

[digl]

Swamped!