Stars Wars the feminist awakens

[Luke O]

So glad the last several posts on here have been positive, rather than certain guys whining about you know what. Keep up the good fight!

 

[jixmixfix]

So glad the last several posts on here have been positive, rather than certain guys whining about you know what. Keep up the good fight!

Fight for social justice!!!!!

 

[Riva]

Fight for social justice!!!!!

Yeah jix, don't listen to these losers. And please keep expressing yourself.

 

[Luke O]

Fight for social justice!!!!!

Talking of Justice and Justice League, are you ready for the new Wonder Woman?

 

[Kheledon]

My two girls are quite taken with Kylo Ren. I had to admit to them that, as a kid, I was very fond of the Sith (both Vader and Sidious). What I tell them now is that "my chick" (Rey) is going to kick "their guy's" butt in Episode 9. They don't care, and to them the gender of the characters seems mostly irrelevant.

 

[jixmixfix]

Yeah jix, don't listen to these losers. And please keep expressing yourself.

exactly

 

[Luke O]

exactly

It's one of my sources of entertainment.

 

[grey_beard]

Not so fast. In one of the earlier seasons, with David Tennant, toward the end of the episode the doctor and his companion saved the day by using the spell "expelliarmus". Crossover does happen, and not only in fanfic.

If it was not done tongue-in-cheek, then I just threw up in my mouth a little...

There are some, though their numbers will be fewer since female protagonists are still fewer in number. The girl with the dragon tattoo strikes me as one. I have seen more in literature, but perhaps I just read more than watch.

Ah, yes. However, the *trend* seems to be that "You go grrrrrl" is the order of the day, even if obvious absurdities must be shoehorned in. I am not of fan of watching matchstick girls kick the stuffing out of 4-6 220-lb men who tower over them. This does not happen in reality, but is the order of the day in mass entertainment, where it is presented as "so intuitively and obviously the natural and inevitable order of things that it need not be dwelt upon."

cf the Mad Magazine spoof of one of the Rocky movies, where one bystander asks another, "If Mohammed Ali and Joe Louis in their prime traded punches the way Rocky and his opponent are doing, how long would they last?" "About two rounds."

 

[Caoimhin]

She's a better at fixing the millennium falcon than Holo Solo, she pilots better than Han Solo. She picks up a light Sabor and just instantly learns force capabilities, which makes no sense since you have to train for years to learn force capabilities.

She did mention several issues/changes that had been made to the Millennium Falcon since it had changed owners,
so she was aware of them. Most of her life she has been scavenging electronics and high-tech equipment: she was
forced to adapt to survive and became proficient at tinkering. I do have to admit that her flying was a bit... over the top.
Nonetheless, may very well be that she had plenty of opportunities to learn how to fly on Jakku.

It was shown throughout the movie how proficient Rey was with the staff she carried around: another thing she was
forced to learn to survive. There is also the possibility that she was previously trained as a child, but repressed her
memories due to trauma or from someone using their force abilities on her as a child. Their success against Kylo Ren
towards the end of the movie is largely due to the massive wound and emotional pain that he suffers while still
fighting, and his training was incomplete.

She could have previous experience with using the force as a child, and she could also have been taught before being
dropped off. Though, the only force ability I saw her use was pulling the lightsaber towards her, which Luke did in Episode V
without much previous training or success with the force.

Too many variables that are unknown, and that we will most likely get to know in episode VIII and IX.

 

[jixmixfix]

She did mention several issues/changes that had been made to the Millennium Falcon since it had changed owners,
so she was aware of them. Most of her life she has been scavenging electronics and high-tech equipment: she was
forced to adapt to survive and became proficient at tinkering. I do have to admit that her flying was a bit... over the top.
Nonetheless, may very well be that she had plenty of opportunities to learn how to fly on Jakku.

It was shown throughout the movie how proficient Rey was with the staff she carried around: another thing she was
forced to learn to survive. There is also the possibility that she was previously trained as a child, but repressed her
memories due to trauma or from someone using their force abilities on her as a child. Their success against Kylo Ren
towards the end of the movie is largely due to the massive wound and emotional pain that he suffers while still
fighting, and his training was incomplete.

She could have previous experience with using the force as a child, and she could also have been taught before being
dropped off. Though, the only force ability I saw her use was pulling the lightsaber towards her, which Luke did in Episode V
without much previous training or success with the force.

Too many variables that are unknown, and that we will most likely get to know in episode VIII and IX.

until then this movie is still feminist as fuck.

 

[Luke O]

She did mention several issues/changes that had been made to the Millennium Falcon since it had changed owners,
so she was aware of them. Most of her life she has been scavenging electronics and high-tech equipment: she was
forced to adapt to survive and became proficient at tinkering. I do have to admit that her flying was a bit... over the top.
Nonetheless, may very well be that she had plenty of opportunities to learn how to fly on Jakku.

It was shown throughout the movie how proficient Rey was with the staff she carried around: another thing she was
forced to learn to survive. There is also the possibility that she was previously trained as a child, but repressed her
memories due to trauma or from someone using their force abilities on her as a child. Their success against Kylo Ren
towards the end of the movie is largely due to the massive wound and emotional pain that he suffers while still
fighting, and his training was incomplete.

She could have previous experience with using the force as a child, and she could also have been taught before being
dropped off. Though, the only force ability I saw her use was pulling the lightsaber towards her, which Luke did in Episode V
without much previous training or success with the force.

Too many variables that are unknown, and that we will most likely get to know in episode VIII and IX.

I think this nails it more or less, and it makes sense.

 

[Riva]

until then this movie is still feminist as fuck.

What is feminist about it? Having a female in the lead role is feminist? Or is it because the lead role which was a woman learned the ways of the force with much less effort than Luke Skywalker? That is no reason to see it as feminist. This has been explained to you in this same thread before - seeing young heroes who are brilliant and skillful without much training is quite common in movies.

This has also been explained to you in this thread before - it is widely speculated that Rey is a reincarnation of Darth Vader which is why she is so good at using the force and was quick to learn it; it's not because she has vagina. Just google it.

 

[Luke O]

There isn't much dialogue at all between female characters at all. There's brief dialogue between Maz Kanata and Rey, which focuses on Luke and his lightsaber. The only thing which gets the film to pass the Bechdel Test is this:

EXT. D'QAR - DAY

Chewie does last minute checks of the Falcon. Rey stands with Leia a beat and then turns to head to the Falcon. As Rey walks off, she hears Leia call out:

LEIA
Rey.

Rey turns around.

LEIA (CONT'D)
May the Force be with you.

This fills Rey up. She smiles gratefully. Rey crosses to the Falcon.

 

[Caoimhin]

What is feminist about it? Having a female in the lead role is feminist? Or is it because the lead role which was a woman learned the ways of the force with much less effort than Luke Skywalker? That is no reason to see it as feminist. This has been explained to you in this same thread before - seeing young heroes who are brilliant and skillful without much training is quite common in movies.

This has also been explained to you in this thread before - it is widely speculated that Rey is a reincarnation of Darth Vader which is why she is so good at using the force and was quick to learn it; it's not because she has vagina. Just google it.

Some people think the whole "I don't need you to hold my hand" thing was a bit... over the top (am I allowed to use this expression more than once?).
I tend to disagree with that statement though, which is mostly due to the fact that Rey have had to fend for herself most of her life, and due to the fact
that she was abandoned: she has to be strong to survive, independent, cautious, and can't rely upon anyone else. True, the movie had its flaws, but most
of them originates from the fact that we don't have episode VIII and IX yet.

 

[erm]

So is this a right-wing or left-wing story?

I can see people saying either for various reasons (pro-war, anti-family, trauma doesn't seem to exist etc.), but I think the underlying destiny narrative, good & evil as well as people being born one way or the other pushes it over into a right-wing story.

 

[draon9]

There is no balance in the use; f the force

 

[Coriolis]

Ah, yes. However, the *trend* seems to be that "You go grrrrrl" is the order of the day, even if obvious absurdities must be shoehorned in. I am not of fan of watching matchstick girls kick the stuffing out of 4-6 220-lb men who tower over them. This does not happen in reality, but is the order of the day in mass entertainment, where it is presented as "so intuitively and obviously the natural and inevitable order of things that it need not be dwelt upon."

cf the Mad Magazine spoof of one of the Rocky movies, where one bystander asks another, "If Mohammed Ali and Joe Louis in their prime traded punches the way Rocky and his opponent are doing, how long would they last?" "About two rounds."

Staged film fights have long been unrealistic, regardless of the combatants. Rarely would so many strikes, kicks, throws be either needed or sustainable. It all betrays a desire for flashy hyperbole, rather than more sophisticated realism. If you have a smaller, less physically powerful opponent defeating a larger, muscular hulk one, sure - we need to see how that happens. Secret weapon, special training, deception/mind tricks, unrevealed weakness of opponent, etc. There are plenty of ways to make it work, if the writers are bothering to avoid two-dimensionality and to be marginally creative. (Remember the Brave Little Tailor?)

 

[Galaxy Gazer]

Do you ever stop to question whether change is always good?

If a large corporation brought up all the land around your town and decided to build large, stinking factories, ruining your view and polluting the countryside, I am sure that you would be pretty pissed off. But hey, hope and change! Sounds great, even if it kills people.

The example you gave has harmful effects that can be seen by pretty much anyone. It's a negative change, and it's not up for debate.
Women in action movies, and feminism in general, does not have negative effects backed by facts. If your beliefs say that society is better off if women stick to their traditional gender roles, you could say you feel that the change is harmful, but that doesn't make it fact. Feminism and the example you gave can't really be compared.

 

[jixmixfix]

What is feminist about it? Having a female in the lead role is feminist? Or is it because the lead role which was a woman learned the ways of the force with much less effort than Luke Skywalker? That is no reason to see it as feminist. This has been explained to you in this same thread before - seeing young heroes who are brilliant and skillful without much training is quite common in movies.

This has also been explained to you in this thread before - it is widely speculated that Rey is a reincarnation of Darth Vader which is why she is so good at using the force and was quick to learn it; it's not because she has vagina. Just google it.

I also explained already why I think it's a feminist movie with an agenda.Big companies like Disney know what they are doing.

 

[Kullervo]

This has also been explained to you in this thread before - it is widely speculated that Rey is a reincarnation of Darth Vader which is why she is so good at using the force and was quick to learn it; it's not because she has vagina. Just google it.

Which is nonsense.

People who know how the Star Wars universe operates would understand why.

If this arc turns out to be true I am literally going to bash my head against a wall out of frustration...