All of New York is living on the dark side of the Force, if a series of signs posted around the city Thursday are to be believed.
A campaign calling itself Dark Side NYC — launching just as "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" opens in local theaters — is taking aim at expensive coffee, crowded subway stations, juice cleanses, drunken brunches, online dating and other stressors of New York City life with posters such as the one above and social media accounts featuring a Death Star avatar.
"We seek to bring balance to New York," said the enigmatic figures behind the campaign in an email to DNAinfo. "And with the Force fresh on everyone's minds, we feel it prudent to reveal how New York City truly is the Empire State," they added, referring to the oppressive Galactic Empire of George Lucas' cinematic sci-fi saga.
As any true Star Wars fan knows, the posters take their inspiration from the wisdom of Jedi master Yoda: "Fear is the path to the Dark Side. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering," he tells Luke Skywalker in "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back," admonishing him to steer clear of the path taken by his father, the evil Darth Vader.
Here's what you should avoid in New York City, if you want to stay on the light side of the Force:
Spotted- 2nd Ave & 9th St East Village, NYC. #darksidenyc #streetartnyc @evgrieve #starbucks pic.twitter.com/MiT1Ten2Z8
— Ian Archbold (@Iandarchbold) December 16, 2015
Dating in New York, as told by #DarkSideNYC pic.twitter.com/6PkzTALxWr
— Sam Richard (@Snugug) December 17, 2015
#DARKSIDENYC #MANSPREADING #SubwayProblems pic.twitter.com/K2wW9hfTym
— Dark Side NYC (@DarkSide_NYC) December 16, 2015It's not clear whether this campaign is officially connected with the "Star Wars" franchise, but we suspect its shadowy creators are more likely resistance fighters.
