I had come to the workshop to get a better understanding of the historical events behind this autumn’s comedy, The Men Who Stare at Goats, which is based on a true story about the US military. The film is inspired by the events laid out in journalist Jon Ronson’s extensively researched book by the same name about a group of soldiers, who allegedly called themselves ‘The Jedi’, and who were trained to be able to fight wars in esoteric and “non-violent” ways. According to the book, their methods and objectives included learning to live off nuts, learning to be invisible, deterring the enemy with ‘sparkly eyes’, walking through walls and, ultimately, killing goats by staring at them. At least two veteran soldiers claim to have accomplished this sophisticated final stage of the training.