Dear Star Wars: The Last Jedi,
Firstly, you should know that I have never been a Star Wars fan- I never read the comics nor watched the films in chronological order. My knowledge is limited to Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, R2-D2 and spaceships shooting spaceships. I even watched Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which quite honestly, I thought was alright.
Yesterday, I decided to watch The Last Jedi- since I promised my cousin and it received 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, so why not? After the film, I wanted to scream ‘YAAAAAASSSSSSS, I SEE YOU AND YOU FINALLY SEE MY PEOPLE!’ I was in a state of absolute rapture.
Do you have any idea, what you have done?
Do you even know what you have created?
Are you even aware of the impact that has been made?
Of course, you have, you’ve spent way too many billions not to realise the footprint that has been left behind. This has most definitely would have met with many conflicts especially when Hollywood can be more regressive than some of my uncles!
Now, let me tell you what I saw:
I saw a protagonist.
I saw a young female.
I saw a warrior.
I saw a Jedi.
I saw a female struggling with identity and belonging.
I saw a female finding her inner peace.
I saw a woman whose storyline was not reduced to a romantic plot.
I saw a woman who was not objectified.
She is Rey.
Her action sequence and inner conflicts were celebrated in the theatre- when Rey and Ben battle together, people began clapping! Then, when I learnt of Rey’s parents, I was so proud of her. She overcame and survived beyond her circumstances! Do you have any idea, how powerful this message is for girls who have gone through sexual harassment and discrimination? These choices were not made by us- I rose above my sexual harassment because I was able to accept that it wasn’t my fault similarly, despite Rey’s parents and upbringing she still achieved more than Ben Solo who was still immersing himself in the past eventually engulfing him in hatred.
I saw another protagonist.
I saw a male person of colour.
I saw a male person of colour who chose to be good.
I saw a male who wasn’t leading the ladies.
I saw a male who was supporting his female friends.
I saw a male who didn’t make the first move.
I saw a male person of colour who wasn’t another comic relief- he had dialogues and decisions that shaped his characters’ arc.
He is Finn.
Usually, the male leads in the film are the most assertive and assured about their decisions, however Finn was like the baby. He was impulsive with a kind heart- he values friendship over romance. He had to be exposed to the injustices for him to acknowledge what was going on. Once it was revealed, he was determined to make things better. These flaws and processes of development are hardly represented in people of colour. That is because they are either being saved or they just don’t exist- as everyone knows that the black guy always die first but not Finn!
I saw a kick ass protagonist.
I saw a young female of colour.
I saw a loyal, educated engineer.
I saw a woman who struggled to be where she is.
I saw a woman who was leading the male.
I saw kindness and intelligence in this woman.
I saw a woman who saw beyond the superficial prettiness.
I saw a woman willing to sacrifice herself for the freedom of others.
She is Rose.
Growing up my favourite Disney character was Mulan. She had a culture like mine, she sliced her long hair (usually associated with beauty in Oriental cultures), joined the army and had a pet dragon! A warrior woman that I greatly admired but sadly, only a cartoon. Since watching Rose, my eleven year old cousin now has someone she can look up to and it’s not animation. Rose is a real person. Rose is an inspiration to so many young Vietnamese girls and girls of colour. She is portrayed as a woman who is different and that difference makes her even cooler, never is this aspect of her shamed upon. I cannot respect her enough nor can my cousin, whom will finally have people like her on screen. My cousin won’t need to be afraid or ashamed of her upbringing like I was.
She has been seen.
She has been heard.
She has been depicted.
In addition to this, there were many other people of colour and females whom were in the supporting casts even if it were for a fleeting moment- it is still a step forward. I’d like to insert a paragraph that a great friend of mine suggested and my paraphrasing would not do justice to her words.
Vice Admiral Holdo is portrayed as an unfeeling bitch for planning an escape route for people. Everyone called her a coward and said she was an idiot. But in the end her act of self-sacrifice saves them all and she truly was the hero. She never said a word as she was not in it for glory. Like women all around the world in positions of power get called bitches and are told they are incapable but slowly but surely, we show ourselves to be amazing.
Star Wars, you are a multi-million-dollar franchise and you have just proved to the other casting couches that if STAR WARS can include more diversity and still do exceptionally well, then why can’t the rest!
It seems so perfectly fitted that later I found out that guests from the Golden Globes were all wearing black as a stance against harassment.
Then Oprah Winfrey becomes the first black woman to win a Cecil B. Demille Award and Sterling K. Brown is the first black man to win Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series. To top that off- Aziz Ansari becomes the first Asian-American to win for the Best Actor in a Television Series Musical or Comedy!
I write this in urgency as I KNOW the impact the media can leave on young minds and as a teacher I WANT to show films to my students whom will feel like their stories are also being told. I WANT them to know that their ancestors are not barriers for them rather they are THE FORCE WITHIN THEM, ALWAYS! My wish for the future is that more females, people of colour, LGBTQ community and people of disability can be represented as openly and equally in our media.
The Future is Today.
TimesUp.
Thank you for listening to the voice of OUR people.
Yours Sincerely,
My under represented 5 year old self.
*Obviously the film has flaws and I’m not trying to idolise or exclude other themes, I am simply appreciating the positive steps this film has taken to create an inclusive cast/story.
reshma ravi 