This morning we all delighted in the casting announcement for Star Wars VII . And then the reality coiffe in : There is only one new distaff character being added to what is arguably the reality ’s most beloved mythic series . It ’s as if 51 percent of the population cried out in pain , and was suddenly silenced .
allow me separate you aboutmy seven - year - quondam niece , Hannah . She ’s one of those girly girls who wears pinkish sparkly boots and does ballet . She also has a pink toy sword , a pink buckler , and does karate . And when she talks about princess , which bechance a lot , one of her manikin is the “ fighting princess ” Leia . Hannah is part of a generation of kids growing up in the Star Wars / Disney universe , and already the Star Wars part of that equivalence has changed the way she plays princess game and the direction she imagines herself in superheroic contour . Leia gives Hannah selection that Ariel does n’t . And vice - versa .
So when I looked atthat Star Wars cast list , Hannah was on my head . Surely in the 2nd decade of the twenty - first century , she ’d be given more awesome female characters to pick out from in this contemporary incarnation of Star Wars . Leia would still be there , as the fighting princess — but mayhap there would be a female fighter buffer whose swaggie could touch Han Solo ’s , or a female Sith strutting through some scenery - chewing pedigree . Nope . There ’s one distaff name other than Carrie Fisher ’s on that mould list : the relative unknown Daisy Ridley , whom fans are speculating might play the daughter of Han Solo and Princess Leia . Of course , more plaster bandage member will be denote , but this is in all likelihood our core stamp — the main characters .
Having Ridley is corking , but one new female spark advance in a cast of men ? That ’s how we launch ourselves into the future of this series , which cheer little girls with pink blade , as well as old girls like myself who graduated to sharp weapon long ago ? Are we severely still pretending that the universe is comprise almost entirely of men ( and mostly white men at that ) ? Mythic story are speculate to open up possibilities , not shut them down .
And do n’t give me any shit about how this is still essentially a boy ’s news report , and boys do n’t want to watch girls on screen door . First of all , Star Wars is as close to a universal story as you may find in pop culture . mass of all gender and racial backgrounds savour it , especially when they ’re Thomas Kid . 2nd of all , when I was growing up , I inserted myself into the Star Wars narrative by pretending to be R2D2 and Han Solo . Are you tell apart me that boys ca n’t do this too ? If you ARE telling me that , then you have obviously never taken a little male child to see Frozen — which my nephew Kei liked well than The Lego Movie . His gustatory sensation may be disputable , but his ability to distinguish with fictional distaff characters is n’t .
We already know that this movie wo n’t rive to the Star Wars Extended Universe , where there are a ton of awing distaff eccentric ranging from evil to superheroic . So I ’m not micturate off that JJ Abrams is n’t giving me a bouncy - legal action version of Mara Jade or Ahsoka or Asajj Ventress . Instead , I ’m stunned that Kasdan and Abrams ’ imaginations look to have fail where the many authors of the EU did n’t . Why not invent new distaff characters ? It ’s not as if having a gender - balanced EU aim fans away . Far from it . Indeed , many of the Star Wars creators today , like Clone Wars creator Dave Filoni , pull in their inspiration from EU strip and books .
exposure viaHer Universe
Star Wars is n’t just another cockamamie vitamin B - moving picture whose all - male person mold I can express joy off . It ’s an evolving cultural mythos for the twenty - first century , whose stories evoke a time to come for humanity even if they take plaza “ a recollective time ago . ” It ’s a story that all of us — young and old — look to for breathing in , for heroes , for nostalgia , and for shared gag when it function wrong . It ’s no exaggeration to say that Star Wars is an of import part of the collective resourcefulness game that we call culture .
So when Star Wars can not offer us anything remotely like a various cast of characters , at a time in story when we have a go at it better , it ’s not just a sorry casting decisiveness in a Hollywood spot . It ’s a move that will dead shape how kid think about themselves , and the opening that are capable to them . It ’s a decisiveness that sends a signal to adult about where they stand relative to each other .
myth are sinewy things , because we learn who we are by telling tarradiddle . When are we snuff it to let piddling girls and kids of diverse races have fantasies as potent as those open to white boys ? When ?
UPDATE : respond to these criticisms , JJ Abrams has said that he has a “ material role ” yet to make full in the cast , and that it will be a female part . We ca n’t wait to find out more .
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