Star Wars and Racism.

[Bronzy]

If Star Wars is so inclusive, how come they've never cast an actual extraterrestrial lifeform to play an alien?

[greenman]

If Star Wars is so inclusive, how come they've never cast an actual extraterrestrial lifeform to play an alien?

Hayden Christensen seems like an alien trying to play a human though.

[Bronzy]

Hayden Christensen seems like an alien trying to play a human though.

It's called being Canadian

[Shit Good Nose]

It's called being Canadian

Nah, it's called being a shit actor(*). 

(*) "actor"

[Kelvin]

The supposedly forward looking sequels of course have a black actor playing a bubbling comic relief role as well next to a white person with a posh accent.

I think that's a bit cynical. They have a female lead and a black lead. If the roles were reversed, you could bemoan casting a woman in a bumbling role.

At some point you have to accept that if we want minorities to play high profile roles (and if course, any sane person would), often those charachters will have significant character flaws that are not related to that minority. In fact , Finn is not significantly more bumbling than Han Solo - which was clearly his biggest inspiration. If anything, the problem is that Rey, as written, is too able, rather than Finn being too crap.

[Mister Six]

Yeah it's not a problem of denigrating Finn, who's a well-fleshed-out, fallible (in a compelling way) yet heroic character. It's more of a problem of Rey being implausibly flawless. Perhaps an unconscious belief among its liberal Hollywood screenwriters that women have even fewer mainstream heroes than black men, and so need a bit more help in that regard.

Sadly it makes Rey utterly boring, one-dimensional and slightly patronising towards women audiences. Film Freak Central's usually impeccable Walter Chaw hates the claims that she's a Mary Sue even though she clearly fucking is.

[monolith]

Rey is shitter than Jar Jar. At least he was memorable.

[thecuriousorange]

Rey was good in The Force Awakens but terrible in The Last Jedi.

[Bronzy]

Nah, it's called being a shit actor(*). 

(*) "actor"

How dare you

[greenman]

I think that's a bit cynical. They have a female lead and a black lead. If the roles were reversed, you could bemoan casting a woman in a bumbling role.

At some point you have to accept that if we want minorities to play high profile roles (and if course, any sane person would), often those charachters will have significant character flaws that are not related to that minority. In fact , Finn is not significantly more bumbling than Han Solo - which was clearly his biggest inspiration. If anything, the problem is that Rey, as written, is too able, rather than Finn being too crap.

The roles being as they are though isn't any coincidence I'd say, its targeted for maximum appeal and yes I think Finn is vastly more bumbling than Han Solo and vastly less witty. Really the character is just your standard comedy sidekick who finds his courage ala say Rob Schneider in Judge Dread I'd say and in Rey's case you have a character largely free of any significant flaw rendering her pretty dull to the degree its actually characters like Han and Luke that end up driving the drama of the climaxs in both sequels.

[Kelvin]

But I don't believe that's consciously or unconsciously linked to Finn's race. I believe they wrote the charachter and cast a black man, and that the charachter would be unchanged with a white actor instead.

[Shit Good Nose]

How dare you

Sorry Hayden.

You are a shit actor, though.  Even in your best film as star - Shattered Glass - you're far and away the worst thing in it.

"Actor".

[popcorn]

Sadly it makes Rey utterly boring, one-dimensional and slightly patronising

Yes, completely agreed. Said this loads at this point already, so apologies for being a boring bastard, but: she's so fucking nicey-nice Oxbridge. She's an orphan scavenger. She should be scrappy and half-feral. There's no sense of danger to her whatsoever. You don't worry for a moment that she might go to the dark side.

[Bronzy]

Sorry Hayden.

You are a shit actor, though.  Even in your best film as star - Shattered Glass - you're far and away the worst thing in it.

"Actor".

Don't talk about my dad like that

[garnish]

Yes, completely agreed. Said this loads at this point already, so apologies for being a boring bastard, but: she's so fucking nicey-nice Oxbridge. She's an orphan scavenger. She should be scrappy and half-feral. There's no sense of danger to her whatsoever. You don't worry for a moment that she might go to the dark side.

When you look at her character and Natalie Portman's in the last series, makes you think how George Lucas ever managed to write a good one like Princess Leia.

"Makes you think"

[greenman]

Yes, completely agreed. Said this loads at this point already, so apologies for being a boring bastard, but: she's so fucking nicey-nice Oxbridge. She's an orphan scavenger. She should be scrappy and half-feral. There's no sense of danger to her whatsoever. You don't worry for a moment that she might go to the dark side.

The end result as well is that despite nominally being the lead characters the climax of both films isn't really about her as there's fuck all to work with.

[mobias]

A far more blatantly racist film is Lord of the Rings. Not only are all the bad guys black but they're also cockney.

[thecuriousorange]

Is James Bond racist?

[mothman]

He keeps refusing to be black.

[Mister Six]

Yes, completely agreed. Said this loads at this point already, so apologies for being a boring bastard, but: she's so fucking nicey-nice Oxbridge. She's an orphan scavenger. She should be scrappy and half-feral. There's no sense of danger to her whatsoever. You don't worry for a moment that she might go to the dark side.

I heartily agree.

[Pdine]

No one thought the Jawas were a little suspicious? Little space niblungen with Yiddische horn music accompaniment and an obsession with commerce?

[Huxleys Babkins]

Yes, completely agreed. Said this loads at this point already, so apologies for being a boring bastard, but: she's so fucking nicey-nice Oxbridge. She's an orphan scavenger. She should be scrappy and half-feral. There's no sense of danger to her whatsoever. You don't worry for a moment that she might go to the dark side.

I'm not sure we're really supposed to care that much. She's a good, force sensitive person, following that bland, safe Jedi road.

The real central character is Kylo Ren.

[popcorn]

I'm not sure we're really supposed to care that much. She's a good, force sensitive person, following that bland, safe Jedi road.

The real central character is Kylo Ren.

Kylo is absolutely the most interesting character in the new films. People knock TFA for being derivative, but I think Kylo alone made it fresh.

But there's no reason why Rey couldn't also be a complex, interesting character. Why not? Why would you ever want your characters to be bland?