If you know me, then you know I am deeply into Star Wars. My first ever appearance on this blog was discussing the virtual Star Wars movie marathon that Mary Fan, Karissa Laurel and I watched during the pandemic.
So it will come as no surprise that I am a huge fan of the latest live action Star Wars show on Disney+, Andor. The show has been justly heralded as a thrilling look at how the average person in the Star Wars universe becomes radicalized against the Empire. It’s a ground level view of the birth of the rebellion. It follows Cassian Andor, one of the protagonists from the Rogue One movie, and his journey from aimless, small time criminal to becoming an active member of the resistance. It is the most mature work Star Wars has produced, something more akin to a political thriller than the space opera adventures we grew up loving.
There isn’t a single lightsaber or mention of the force or the Jedi, and it’s an absolutely amazing work.
(Warning: Some spoilers for Andor Season 1 will follow here)
One of the most rousing and inspiring moments in a series full of them (seriously, go take 12 hours and watch Andor if you haven’t already done so) happens in the finale. Cassian joins a group about to launch a raid on an Imperial garrison in order to steal the payroll and use it to fund the rebellion. Several of the party die in the effort, including the idealistic Nemik, who has been writing a manifesto for the cause. Before he dies, he gives his book to Cassian.
Andor is all about how far people can be pushed before they break and rebel. Cassian got sent to a prison for a few episodes, and most of the prisoners were reluctant to consider an escape attempt, at least until they found out that anyone who got “released” was merely transferred to a different facility. The people of Cassian’s planet, Ferrix, had an uneasy pact with the Empire and their corporate arms, but then the Empire occupied them and tightened down on their freedoms. And the series is pretty open about how many people are pretty enthusiastic about supporting the fascism of the Empire,so long as it means personal advancement. The Empire is shown to be omnipresent, with its Stasi-like Imperial Security Bureau spying on and interrogating citizens everywhere. As a result, the rebellion seems insignificant, hiding in shadows, striking in secret, and taking whatever small victories they can get before the boot of the Empire crushes any dissent.
All those issues are surely on Cassian’s mind as he reads Nemik’s book at the start of the final episode.
The passage, read aloud in the series by Nemik, reminds the reader that though things may seem overwhelming and the odds may seem impossible, it is important to carry on. Throughout the galaxy, people are fighting and resisting, unaware of each other’s actions, and one day it will become too much for the Empire to contain.
“And know this, the day will come when all these skirmishes and battles, these moments of defiance will have flooded the banks of the Empire's authority and then there will be one too many. One single thing will break the siege.
Remember this. Try.”
It’s a flashpoint for Cassian, and the people of Ferrix begin to fight back during the funeral of Cassian’s mother, Malva. It is an act of open defiance against the occupiers, with the everyday people fighting back against the Empire’s troops.
It is also a stark contrast to some of the other messages in Star Wars. You probably know that one of the most quotable lines in the original trilogy comes from Jedi Master Yoda. During their training session in the swamps of Dagobah, Yoda challenges Luke to use the Force to pull his X-Wing out of the muck. Luke balks, having never moved something that big before, but says he’ll try.
Yoda is not having it. “No. Try not. Do or do not. There is no try.”
This is an oft-quoted line, used as an example of the Jedi mentality. And I saw more than a few people contrast that with the hopeful message of Nerik’s manifesto. “See how out of touch the Jedi are? No concept of the real world. People have to try and try until they get results.” Now, Yoda has long been one of my favorite characters so I feel the need to defend my 900 year old friend from slanders.
The thing is, these two concepts - “Try” and “There is no try.” aren’t contradictory. They can be read as two halves of a whole.
In other words, trying is doing.
When Yoda tells Luke “Do or do not,” he does not mean “succeed or fail.” He means “You either use your powers and grow and improve, or you do nothing.” In this context, “try” does not mean “attempt success.” “Do” means do something, “do not” means do nothing. Even if the attempt is unsuccessful, it is an opportunity to learn and to grow. The only failure is not trying.
One of the most famous quotes in sports history comes from hockey legend Wayne Gretzky. (I grew up in Canada, so I am legally required to mention hockey every so often.) Namely, “you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” Each shot is a “do.” Each hesitation is a “do not.”
Likewise in Andor, “try” means do something, anything you can to fight the fascists. Each attempt is a shot on goal. Each attempt brings your X-Wing closer to the surface. The next brick thrown could be the one that breaks the line of stormtroopers. “Do or do not” does not mean “overthrow the Empire or you have failed.” “Do or do not” means participate or be a bystander. There is no try. You are either a part of the rebellion or you are tacitly endorsing the Empire.
Remember this: Do or do not.
And also remember this: watch Andor.
On a personal note, this post marks my one year anniversary of writing on this blog! It's been a lot of fun, and I'm glad that to have an audience that tolerates my musings on Stephen Sondheim, Star Wars, and my little doggy. Thanks for reading!
Victor Catano lives in New York City with his wonderful wife, Kim, and his adorable pughuaua, Danerys. When not writing, he works in live theater as a stage manager, production manager, and chaos coordinator. His hobbies include coffee, Broadway musicals, and complaining about the NY Mets and Philadelphia Eagles. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @vgcatano and find his books on Amazon.
Have you seen Encanto yet? If not, go see it. I'll wait.
No, just kidding.
Do go see it, if you haven't, but I'm not going to wait for you. This post will be here when you get back.
This post isn't really about Encanto, but it's inspired, in part, by the popularity of one of the characters: Luisa Madrigal. Without giving too much away, Luisa (who is not the main character, mind you) is a loveable, big, brawny, and beautiful girl who has amazing, super-human strength.
I also learned that apparently Luisa is so popular with girls that Disney is rushing to make more Luisa merchandise, something they totally hadn't anticipated. Girls love the big brawny female character? What gives?
Luisa's popularity does not surprise me AT ALL. The first thing I thought of when I read that article, and this has been on my mind a lot lately, is a pivotal moment from Season 2 of Jessica Jones, when Jessica's best friend, Trish Walker, breaks off her engagement to her fiancé. Trish is an ambitious radio journalist who dreams of a bigger career. Her fiancé has the kind of successful job she envies--he's like Anderson Cooper, perhaps--and she wants what he's got. In that scene she says, “I don’t want to be with Griffin—I want to be him. I
want to do what he does. And that’s not love, and it’s not fair to either one
of us.”
To that I say, girl... I feel you!
Trish Walker (From Marvel/Netflix's Jessica Jones) realizing she doesn't want to be Griffin's wife.
I've been thinking a lot about why I'm so drawn,
especially lately, to characters like Jack Reacher and even the Punisher. Inspired by the new series (Reacher) on Amazon Prime, I have been gobbling Jack Reacher books as fast as I can get my hands on them. My current manuscript work-in-progress is kind of a gender-flipped version of The Punisher. When
I was younger I would have thought my attraction was because I had romantic inclinations
toward Jack Reacher and Frank Castle. Now I know that's not really the case. I realize that it's
more like...envy. I don't want to be with them, I want to BE them. I don't mean literally so much as figuratively. Women want equity--the possibility and options of being able to achieve the same things as those guys. Sometimes it's careers. Sometimes it's social power. Sometimes it's muscles and physical strength. Sometimes it's a bit of all those things combined.
I do not fantasize about violence (to be clear!) but I do think
a lot about being that strong and that invincible. And I don't think media does
enough to acknowledge women have those tough-guy fantasies too, so it makes sense that
Luisa is so popular. She's the embodiment of an ideal so few of us ever get to
see!
This is not to say there has been a dearth of strong women in media, but that's not my point. I was talking about this with fellow ATB contributor, Mary Fan, and she brought up Gal Gadot's portrayal of Wonder Woman, and action stars like Scarlet Johansson (Black Widow). In the same vein I think of Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor, Charlize Theron as Imperator Furiosa; Andy in The Old Guard; and Lorraine in Atomic Blond. I think of Kate Beckinsale as Selene in Underworld. These women are tiny. Or even if they're tall like Gadot and Theron, they're slim. Like, runway supermodel slim.
Often magic, rather than muscle, accounts for their superior strength. I love many of these actresses and the characters they portray, but I'm not critiquing their plentiful existence so much as I'm critiquing the lack of representation of other types of physical shapes in media and culture. Comparatively speaking, male characters who are strong because of magic or because they are an action hero (Thor, Captain America, Geralt of Rivia, Superman, Reacher) get to have the accompanying brawn and muscle. Spiderman/Peter Parker is one of the few exceptions I can think of off the top of my head.
On that topic, Mary Fan says:
You know what’s interesting — early superhero looks were
based on circus strongmen… hence Superman’s red briefs. But there were also
strongwomen in those same circuses and they didn’t get superhero-ized.
Even the Terminator, who was all robot inside, got to have big muscles to power his frame. Compare him to a long list of sexy fem-bots who have superior strength but not much muscle and are clearly expected make people think of sex. It's all about the male gaze.
Number Six a Cylon (artificially-intelligent race of machines) from Battlestar Galactica
Luisa Madrigal was not drawn for the male gaze. Instead, she's the rare embodiment of how femme strength can look when freed from sexist constraints. It broke my heart when Gina Carano (a former professional MMA fighter) turned out to be an absolute buffoon and Disney/Star Wars parted ways with her because I adored her portrayal of Cara Dune. In every heist-type group, there's always one character who plays the muscle, the heavy, the bruiser. It's usually a man, and often one who is short on brains. But in The Mandalorian, Cara Dune was not only big, muscly, strong, and fierce, but she was clever too. And beautiful! When she landed a punch, and the bad guy fell, you believed it! You believed she was strong enough to break jaws and ribs and noses. Women are so rarely portrayed that way, and I realized I had been starving to see it!
Cara Dune played by Gina Carano on Disney's The Mandalorian
When I was a little girl, I was obsessed with Adora, She-Ra, the Princess of Power. I had her action figures, all of her friends, and her flying swan, Enchanta. It didn't bother me that she looked like Barbie. ALL female dolls and action figures looked like Barbie and that seemed normal to me. Again, magic explained her strength. Never mind how her cousin, Adam (He-Man), was super strong and had the muscles to go with it. That was just the norm in the early eighties, I suppose, and I wasn't self-aware enough back then to question it. Fast forward to the Twenty-Teens and, like so many other older properties, She-Ra announced she was getting a reboot AND a facelift. She was redrawn to look how a girl who fights and swings swords might look. And naturally a lot of dudes lost their minds about it.
I, an elementary-school aged girl, was the original target market for She-Ra, and I didn't care if she had lipstick and perky boobs or not. So, why was she ever drawn that way in the first place? Sell a Barbie to a little girl to get her to start thinking that's how she had to look when she grew up. Who does that benefit? Surely not the little girl. The answer to that one starts with a "P" and rhymes with hatriarchy. The new She-Ra might still not be as big and muscly as someone like Cara Dune, but when she wields a sword, now, it's believable. There's more than just magic there to explain her physicality.
I'm not ranting against looking femme or to argue that one cannot be both femme and strong and/or muscular. I'm actually arguing the opposite and highlighting the evolving shapes of women and femininity and spotlighting the fact that characters like Luisa are hopefully signs that the spectrum of gender representation in media is broadening to allow more variety and positivity about that variety.
2018 vs 1985
Women often live with a certain level of fear--we've somewhat come to accept that this is the way the world is. We often feel like prey, and why not? In real life, we're more likely to be the targets of violence rather than the purveyors of it. On top of that, over and over, we've been portrayed as victims in media and in history (The complicated and nuanced truth of women's roles in history is another entire blog post of it's own, but I'll save my time and simply refer you to the mandatory-reading essay by Kameron Hurley, "We Have Always Fought". I feel like an alternate title to that essay could be, "We Have Always Been Strong") . Who is
surprised when our fantasies are to be stronger, more able to hold our
own in a world historically dominated by the whims of men?
This tough-guy fascination is something that I'm experiencing more and more as I age. Maybe I'm feeling my vulnerability (achy joints, lower endurance, biological systems going wonky). Like I said, I'd love to be less vulnerable and more physically capable. When I was younger, I probably felt stronger and more invincible. Perhaps it's also that I hadn't lived in the world long enough to be weary of sexism, or I was better at ignoring it. Now, I think the appeal of the tough-guy aesthetic has something to do with me being middle aged and having lost my patience and tolerance for the B.S. that comes with being being a woman.
What kind of B.S.? I'm talking about stuff like this:
I'm not including identifying information on these tweets because I don't want to bring more clicks or views to this jerk.
"That...pressure song she sings & [sic] is just stuff a guy would sing, too," he says. It's like he almost gets the whole point of the song, and Luisa's character, but then misses it by a mile. Instead of considering that women, on an even playing field, could have both equitable success and equitable problems to men, he dismisses Luisa femininity altogether and accuses her of "just being a dude in a dress." I find it highly unlikely that men in his fundamental and conservative social circle would sing a song like "Surface Pressure." In his world men can't be both physically strong and emotionally vulnerable. It's not allowed. But take away his argument of "God's plan" for what women and men are supposed to be, and all that's left is a bunch of artificial, man-made goop. By the way, dude, Proverbs 31:17 says, "She girds herself with strength, And strengthens her arms." You know how she strengthens her arms? She plants a whole damned vineyard! No matter how much he rails against it, gender evolution will eventually leave him behind. It already has.
William Moulton Marston, a Harvard educated, feminist psychologist and the creator of Wonder Woman predicted that a matriarchy was inevitable and
said, "The next 100 years will see the beginning of an American matriarchy—a
nation of amazons in the psychological rather than the physical sense.” I'm hopeful that Marston is right and that masculinity, in the toxic patriarchal sense, is on the decline. This sentiment isn't about wanting men to disappear or women wanting to take the place of men in the world, but about the world becoming a place where equality for the full spectrum of gender expression is more fully realized and respected.
So bring on the Luisas and the Cara Dunes and the Xenas. Give us some Jaqueline Reachers and Francine Castles. We would love them. We'd embrace them. We'd buy their merchandise!
Christian here ready to bring you another gem of a post for ATB Writers. I was told to do my first ever google search post. A time-old tradition here at ATB where we google search a topic of choice and then blog about the results.
Seeing as to how this post is due to come out the day after the end of the Book of Boba Fett, and the fact that I watch the show online with fellow writers Mary, Karissa, and Victor, I figured, why not have a bit of fun and answer these questions to the best of my ability as the group’s resident entertainment journalist who gets the scoop on things sometimes.
So here I am to answer the question we’ve all been dying to know regarding Where is Boba Fett:
Where is Boba Fett in The Timeline?
Somewhere between A Long Time Ago and A Galaxy Far Far Away.
Where is Boba Fett Filmed?
Tatooine, New Mexico, given that it’s Robert Rodriguez directing. The Latin guitar and biker gang was the dead giveaway. If not, then definitely, Texas, or wherever a sleeping Danny Trejo lay before his next Robert Rodriguez movie cameo.
Where is Boba Fett Actor From?
New Zealand? I believe given Temeura’s accent? I like to pretend Boba spent his youth working for a different evil one, claiming bounties for Sauron, on the isles of Hobbits and Kings.
Where is Boba Fett in The Force Awakens?
Force asleep, apparently. He’s no Chirrut. No ‘One with the force and the force is with me,’ over here. If force sensitivity was a thing -- Boba would be insensitive.
Where is Boba Fett’s Ship?
Filing paperwork to change its name from Slave One. Look, if the Millenium Falcon can get an unwarranted personality origins story in Solo, the ‘Firespray’ formerly known as Slave One, can get its own personality redemption story in The Book of Boba Fett.
Where is Boba Fett Going?
Off to the side to passively stand there and do anything else besides take part in his own story. Like the original trilogy, he's been standing there with barely any lines. But just when you forget about him and things come blasting? Pew, Pew, Pew.
Where is Boba Fett Now?
Asking the republic if Rancor King can indeed be considered a legitimate profession.
Where is Boba Fett Streaming?
On his Jetpack. Up in the air.
Where is Boba Fett Set?
Tatooine. Before Star Wars Episode 12: The Search For More Money (The Spaceballs Edition).
Well, that was fun! That said, I think buzzwords and hype for a story really generate a lot of fun related questions regarding an intellectual property, and if you can get people asking things like, ‘Where is Boba Fett?”, “What If Marvel…”, or “What's going on in WandaVision?” – you can generate a lot of organic search traffic. Including, for your story *hint hint*.
Hey everyone! Mary here, and I'm back with more Star Wars. You may remember that the other week, fellow ATB blogger Karissa posted about our #AStarWarADay marathon, which involved her, me, and fellow author and Star Wars fan Victor Catano watching one Star Wars movie a day from May 4 (aka Star Wars Day) onward until we got through all 11 live-action feature films (we took a few breaks for weekends). Lots of awesome people jumped in to comment on one movie or another, and a special shout-out goes to writer and podcaster Christian Angeles for joining in almost every episode.
Let me tell you, though, that was A LOT of Star Wars. It was wonderful, though, to get to hang out with my fellow fans and geeks online, especially since we've all been stuck at home with little chance to hang out for so long.
In fact, it was so much Star Wars, that when Karissa last posted, we hadn't even finished our marathon yet. We still had the last two Skywalker Saga movies to go: Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (TLJ) and Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (TROS). You know it's funny, but you can see the tug-of-war between JJ Abrams, director of Episode VII: The Force Awakens (TFA) and TROS and Rian Johnson, director of TLJ, right there in the titles. The Force Awakens... new Jedi. The Last Jedi... never mind they're ending. The Rise of Skywalker... never mind, not only are they back, but they're Skywalkers.
Karissa and Victor graciously agreed to gather again to unpack the ending of this mega saga, and we chatted about it over Facebook Messenger. The below is a transcript of our conversation (lightly edited for clarity in some places... okay, mostly my bits).
MARY: The last time we all gathered, we were almost done with #AStarWarADay and only had the last two movies, The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker left to watch. Both of these movies, of course, were super controversial when they came out, and are arguably the most controversial films in the series. How has this rewatch reinforced or changed your perceptions of TLJ and TROS, and has that colored your views of any of the other 9 films that came before them?
KARISSA: I was dreading watching TLJ and maybe I should have tried to go in more open minded but... I was just as disappointed as I was expecting to be. Maybe more so because the parts I knew I didn't like hadn't been softened by time or by watching the other movies first.
I dreaded being angry again at seeing so many threads from TFA purposefully changed or ignored. I didn't feel like Johnson was cleverly subverting tropes. I felt like he was giving a giant F You! To not just JJ but to over 40 years of story telling.
I dreaded the budding "romance" between Rey and Kylo. I dreaded seeing Finn's potential get side-lines. I dreaded Poe going from a strong-willed rebel to tantrum throwing brat. And don't get me started on the totally pointless casino side-mission. About the only nice thing I could say is that there were some visually stunning scenes. And even though I don't ship Kylo and Rey and I think Johnson utterly wasted Snoke's character, I really liked Rey and Kylo's fight scene together.
I was kind of dreading TROS too because while I disliked so many of the choices made in TLJ, I disliked how much of TROS was spent trying to "fix" those changes. It made for a totally non-cohesive, incoherent trilogy.
VICTOR: Well, as the token “The Last Jedi is good, actually” member of the group...
I hadn’t seen TLJ since it came out in theatres, but I liked it quite a lot. I was a little trepidatious, since I thought Rian’s last SF movie, Looper, was overrated. But I thought TLJ was absolutely gorgeous- the rich reds, the salt planet Crait, the throne room battle - all stunning.
And I liked cranky Luke! I loved the light saber being tossed away. I adored the revelation that Rey’s parents were nobodies who traded her for drink money.
I didn’t care about side quest: Canto Bight. Even then, it felt like it was there only to give Finn something to do.
Now, seeing it again, immediately after Force Awakens... I see the flaws. Canto Bight really does not make sense at all. The slow speed chase that makes up a lot of the movie is... eh. The dark side cave on Acht-To doesn’t add anything (even though it looks cool)
I still like it! Just less than I remembered. Also, it’s great to discuss it with people who aren’t toxic fanboys, since so much of the TLJ SUCKS crowd were salty at there being too many gurls in their Star Wars. (Like the asshats who made an edit that took out all the women. Like for real?)
But your complaints are rooted entirely in plot and character. I think most of that worked, you obviously did not!
I applaud the ambition, but a good chunk of it doesn’t quite land. I am ok with the Rey-Ren stuff. I read it entirely as them trying to lure the other to the dark/light side.
MARY: I thought I'd like TLJ more this time around since I knew what was coming and couldn't be disappointed, but instead it just became more transparent how preach-y it really was, lecturing the audience about believing too much in their Star Wars heroes. Luke is a jerk. Rey is a fool. Finn is sidelined. Leia is put on ice. Poe turns into an entitled brat. The bright spot is the new character Rose, but it's annoying how in some places she seems to exist not to be her own character, but to be a vehicle for the filmmaker to lecture the audience even more.
TROS I actually liked more this time around because at least it was fun to watch, and I got over my hang-ups with the makes-no-sense plot.
It was really frustrating to see the disagreements between Rian and JJ as filmmakers play out in the films themselves, which TLJ trying to undo TFA, and TROS trying to undo TLJ. One aspect of Star Wars that I always found interesting was its views on redemption. In the originals, we had Vader going from Dark Lord to the guy who brings balance to the Force. The prequels introduced us to Vader as the kid Anakin and portrayed the good guy he was before. Even Rogue One depicted a scrappy bunch of not-so-good guys, some of whom had done terrible things in the name of the Rebellion, sacrificing themselves for the greater good. And then there's Kylo Ren's redemption in TROS after turning down his chances in TLJ and TFA. Now, I have a lot of thoughts on this, but I'm curious about what you have to say about redemption arcs in Star Wars. What do you think?
VICTOR: I agree with you about the great JJ-Rian battles! It’s very frustrating!!! Anyone can be a Jedi! NOPE! It’s all about bloodlines! Rose Tico is a great new character! PSYCH! She gets 2 min of screen time now! Your parents were nobodies! LOLOLOL YOUR GRANDAD WAS PALPATINE!!!
As for redemption arcs, it’s interesting to see them play out in the proper order. We see Anakin as a child, become a Jedi, and then get warped and corrupted by Palpatine, to the point where he unquestioningly murders children. Then you see Vader in his full power in Rogue One, where he’s effectively a horror movie villain - an unstoppable killing machine that the rebel soldiers are powerless against.
Then you see him in the original trilogy - as an evil figure who tries to convert Luke to the Dark Side. But Luke convinces him to embrace the good inside him. Vader redeems decades of foul deeds by killing the emperor.
Now, there’s Kylo Ren. He is introduced in TFA by capturing Poe and then slaughtering a village. He kills his father, Han Solo (which made my mom EXTREMELY upset, thanks JJ). So there’s a lot he needs to redeem!!!
(Oh yeah - and helping the First Order blow up a planet with hyperspace lasers. Hyperspace lasers are still a bridge too far for me.)
He kills Snoke in TLJ BUT! Not to redeem himself! It’s to gain power and become supreme leader!
So all the redemption comes in TROS. It comes down to Ren being contacted by Leia during his duel with Rey on Endor. This pause gives Rey the opening she needs to stab him. Rey then force heals him to save his life. Then Ren has a vision of his father. This convinces him to change sides and he flies off to Exegol to help Rey fight Zombie Palpatine.
Now maybe if Carrie Fischer hadn’t died unexpectedly after TLJ, this might have played out differently. But as it is, it doesn’t really seem like Ren earns the redemption. Maybe if there was a scene where Leia tells Ren that she knows the good inside him, or asks Rey to save him... but right now, they hang a lot on Han having a heart to heart. And Ren is never shown wavering in his resolve. He’s whole goal is to triumph over the Jedi and attain power.
So it’s not really earned, even at the end when he saved Rey, drained of energy from channeling the Jedi.
I will leave discussion of ReyLo to you guys. I’m not a fan, but y’all have VERY strong feelings about it!
KARISSA: Well, since watching the final trilogy the first time and especially since watching them the second time, it's like I've had a heightened awareness of Kylo Ren sympathizers and apologists. There are a lot of them. And I just don't get it.
One thing that was funny about watching the movies again was Mary and I remembering that it was our mutual thirsting for Adam Driver that really cinched our friendship in the early days. In TFA, the first time when Kylo takes off his mask, Mary and I both gushed over how striking he is in that moment. The hair, the eyes, that wide sensual mouth! Then we had to explain to Victor, who was quite distressed to witness us gushing over this character that we both claimed to loathe as a romantic interest, that our admiration was for Adam Driver alone.
Not for Kylo!
And that we could maintain that separation, appreciating Adam while refusing to find Kylo romantic in any shape or form.
But it seems a lot of people are willing to give Kylo a pass despite his manipulative, murderous, hateful ways. And I'm not quite sure why. I would say it's because of his sex appeal and good looks. If Kylo had taken off that mask to reveal something mundane or less attractive, or downright ugly, would people have been so quick to forgive him (he destroyed entire planets full of people, y'all! Never mind kidnapping, torturing, gaslighting, and manipulating Rey)? I would say no, but...Hayden Christiansen, the actor who played Anakin, was arguably as pretty as Adam Driver. Maybe prettier, even! And people aren't rushing to romanticize Darth Vader neé Anakin Skywalker. But why?
VICTOR: Adam Driver is a better actor? Who didn’t have dialogue about sand?
KARISSA: Shhh Victor, I'm not done. In the end, Vader chose his son over the Emperor. Not because he wanted Luke's power or because he hoped to gain anything from it.
In fact, he was risking everything to save Luke.
Even if he could have survived Palpatine's lighting, Vader was choosing an action that brought an immediate and swift end to the Empire, without which, he could hope to be nothing more than a war criminal
Even wearing a mask, you could see Vader weighing those choices and consequences, and then making the decision to save Luke at Vader's own peril.
But as far as I can really remember, that was the only time Vader was offered a chance at redemption.
And he took it.
Kylo however... He was offered redemption over and over, by Han, by Leia, by Luke even (kinda) and by Rey. He never took those many opportunities. He pursued his own agenda. He only defeated evil because doing so brought him more power.
He never took steps to end the First Order himself. It was only after the rebel army had soundly defeated the First Order and Palpatine's armada that Kylo was like: Well, nothing's left now, so I guess I'll die to save Rey.
And that is enough to redeem every horror he's committed for the past 3 movies? Hell no
His death might slightly make up for bringing Rey to face her death in the first place (but he doesn't deserve her kiss for that. Ugh!) but it doesn't begin to make up for the horrible stuff he did to an entire universe.
And the difference between Kylo and Vader is that Vader did the right thing in the end but he has gone down in cinematic history as a villain, and rightly so. No one romanticizes him (other than Kylo, LOL).
Kylo, however, puts on a boyfriend sweater and takes off his mask before he dies, and we're supposed to call him a hero?
No thanks.
MARY: YES THANK YOU!! I've been thinking a lot about redemption arcs lately (I also just started Avatar: The Last Airbender, which arguably has the best redemption arc depicted in genre TV). One key to it seems to be that there has to be a true effort to atone. Vader only gets one move, but it's a helluva move. He kills the all-power Emperor, destabilizing the Empire and giving the New Republic a chance to rise and destroying the Sith (shh all you "I believe in a more Eastern approach where good and evil must be equal" folks... George Lucas himself said that Anakin brought balance to the Force by destroying the Sith, and there's a difference between balance between opposing forces and the existence of true evil, which is what the Sith are depicted as). He can't undo ALL the damage he's done, of course, but that's a pretty good start! And of course he saves his son, enabling a new generation of Jedi to rise (at least for 5 minutes before Kylo Ren kills them or turns them).
Kylo Ren, on the other hand... okay, let's say Leia just magically turned on the "light side" in him with her Force death. He does very little with the new chance he gets. He's still the Supreme Leader! He could have at least tried to call off the First Order forces. Instead, he goes running after Rey and turns on his Knights of Ren... who'd he converted to the Dark Side in the first place? What? Not even a "hey, guys, maybe take a second chance" too? And ultimately, he's totally useless in the battle against Palpatine. The one actually useful thing he does is revive Rey (though that kiss, EW), which I guess will allow a new generation of Jedi to rise, but he could have done so much more.
Well I could go on about Star Wars all night, especially since we're talking the two most controversial films in the movie canon here, but I think we've all had our fill of Star Wars for the time being. Any closing thoughts you have, about TLJ/TROS or the #AStarWarADay experience as a whole?
VICTOR: NEVER ENOUGH STAR WARS!!!
Just a couple things. I think I enjoyed the sequels more than you guys, but I know we agree that Finn was ill used. He starts off as a trooper who rebels, and doesn’t take part in a massacre. He then became a hero of the resistance, helping to destroy Starkiller Base.
And then in the next two... nothing. He runs around yelling REY! a lot. We were just talking about redemption arcs... well he is a much more compelling one than Kylo Ren’s
KARISSA: Absolutely agree. Finn is an example of a redemption arc done right. But he's shoved to the back burner way too often.
All this talk out there in the fandom of how much Rian Johnson subverted (or ruined, depending on who you ask) things by trying to make Rey a nobody, but meanwhile...
he had this force -sensitive character who was a nobody, right there all along, and he utterly wasted Finn!
MARY: YES FINN! Y’all know I’m a major Finn fan. I felt cheated because all those early TFA ads showed him with the lightsaber, and then he was such a great character, and I was really hoping he’d get to be a Jedi too, but... NOTHING!! At least not onscreen (offscreen, apparently Finn was trying to tell Rey he’s a force adept in TROS). It also annoys me how people never talk about how TFA is his redemption story. He was a friggin' Stormtrooper, and no one had to make a special effort to turn him good. He realized it all on his own and took action on it by leaving the First Order, which is part of what really makes for a satisfying redemption arc: when the former baddie has a true change of heart from within. And yes, he backslides a bit when he decides he's out to save his own skin and tries to abandon Rey and Han, but when push comes to shove, he shows up for what's right.
VICTOR: Also, speaking of Rian... It’s pretty clear that there wasn’t a singular vision for the sequels, no matter what Kathleen Kennedy and JJ et al say.
KARISSA: Yes. That's very obvious
VICTOR: No matter what you thought of the prequels, it was clearly Lucas’ vision
MARY: Yes, exactly! Whatever the issues with the prequels, at least they, as a trilogy, were trying to say something. The new movies weren’t, other than “give us money.”
KARISSA: I'm just saying...if [Rian] wanted to make a statement about who could be a Jedi (anyone regardless of lineage) he had Finn RIGHT THERE
VICTOR: There needs to be a Kevin Feige like figure one charge of the franchise. The MCU isn’t retconning Captain America every film
MARY: Exactly
VICTOR: And hopefully they have it in Dave Feloni. If you watch the Mandalorian Gallery Show, you can see how much he loves and respects Star Wars.
KARISSA: And what a dynamic that would have been! Have Rey as a Skywalker with Finn-the-nobody both learning the ways of the force. Sigh.
VICTOR: That sounds great!
KARISSA: I agree with y'all about inconsistency
VICTOR: Watch that Gallery show, though. Dave gives literally the best explanation of the prequels I’ve ever heard.
KARISSA: The final trilogy was frustratingly unorganized
VICTOR: Indeed. And I can only imagine what would’ve happened if Colin trevorrow got to direct part IX
MARY: I’d be morbidly curious to see what that script looked like.
VICTOR: I think there was a description of it on a podcast, maybe? Hey if the terrible Justice League is getting the Snyder Cut maybe we can get an animated storyboard of the treverrow script
MARY: Hah that would be something. Anyway, I’d say the Force is strong with us since we’re still fans after this mess!
VICTOR: Nothing can turn me against Star Wars. Not Emo Anakin in the sand. Not Maury Povich level paternity reveals. Nothing.
KARISSA: I agree. Despite recent disappointments, I'm still a fan. If they announced an episode 10 tomorrow, I'd be there for it. I'm very much looking forward to new Mandalorian (especially if Timothy Olyphant is in it, squeee!!!!!) and I'm very curious about new stories in the Star Wars universe.
MARY: Thank you both so much!! This was awesome! May the Force be with us.
If you follow my posts with any regularity, you know I'm a Star Wars fan, and so is fellow ATB blogger, Mary Fan. We've regularly posted reviews of the latest releases of movies in the Star Wars universe here on the Across the Board Blog.
To commemorate this most recent Star Wars Day (May the Fourth Be With You!) Mary and I were invited by our fellow friend, author, and Star Wars geek, Victor Catano, to participate in a marathon viewing session of all nine movies (plus Solo and Rogue One) in the Skywalker Saga.
Even though a lot of us have been furloughed or have been reassigned to work from home, even on the most uneventful day, we would not wish to attempt watching ELEVEN movies in one day. In fact, the three of us have been struggling to fit more than one movie a day into our schedules. I don't know about you, but I'm actually busier now than I was before the quarantine. So, as a strategy, Victor proposed we watch "A Star War A Day" together, all at the same time (using the catalog on Disney+ for consistency). We started with Episode One (The Phantom Menace) and have gone in order based on the Star Wars universe timeline (as opposed to order of release), and we've live-tweeted as we watched, expressing our thoughts, opinions, fan appreciations, and critiques.
We're delighted that others have participated with us. Shout out to writer and podcaster, Christian
Angeles, who has joined in our viewing and live tweeting for almost every episode. As of last night, we'd finished all the movies except for The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker. We're taking a break for the weekend to mentally prepare ourselves for the last two movies. We know there will be much division (and possibly derision) in the ranks when it comes to our opinions on the conclusion to this beloved saga.
Today I'm inviting Mary and Victor to join me here at ATB to rehash our thoughts on the Skywalker Saga, so far. Welcome, Mary and Victor! Instead of going over every episode in detail, I thought we should instead focus on the bigger picture. I mean, we have, what? Like, 20+ hours of content on Twitter on this subject? Yeah...no one wants to read that here, so I'll refrain. You're welcome.
Karissa: So, Victor, why did you want to do this “A Star War
a Day” project?
Victor: I’ve been stuck at home since March 13, when New
York State issued their shelter in place orders. And I was furloughed as of
April 1st, so I had a lot of time on my hands! As May the Fourth approached, I
thought it’d be fun to watch these movies I love. And because of everything
going on, it’d be a great chance to virtually hang out with the two biggest
Star Wars fanatics I know.
Karissa: Mary, what did you think when Victor proposed this
grand scheme. Personally I was a bit overwhelmed by the idea. I thought it
would be a big commitment, and I have a shorter attention span for watching
movies and sitting still than I used to. LOL.
Mary: I was excited! Though a little intimidated by the
sheer quantity of movies haha. I've never watched the whole series all the way
through in order before, and it had been a while since I rewatched Star Wars at
all (I meant to before the release of TROS but was too busy... y'know, back in
the days when plans were a thing). So when Victor proposed the whole thing, I
was like "ooooo!!"
Karissa: It was honestly your enthusiasm, Mary, that
convinced me to go with it. I’m glad you did because it’s been such an
insightful (and FUN) experience. Watching with two fans who know the
intricacies of the movies and lots of specialized fan knowledge has been a valuable
experience. For example, Victor, you seem to have encyclopedic knowledge of the
characters, especially the smaller characters and bit parts. You seem to know a
lot of their back stories or behind the scenes information on the character
and/or the actor that played them. Mary is a musical expert and has made me so
much more aware of how music is used throughout this Saga.
Victor, what is it about those minor characters that attracts
your interest?
Victor: Probably because I had all the action figures as a
child. So that meant I not only had Luke and Han, but I also had Hammerhead and
Snaggletooth - two characters who had five seconds of screen time in the
cantina. I had IG-88 and Bossk, two bounty hunters Vader hires that are blink-and-you’ll-miss-them
cameos.
And also, I was in high school and college during the fallow
period of Star Wars - the time between Return of the Jedi and the ramp up to
Phantom Menace that started with the 20th anniversary re-releases. There wasn’t
a lot of “official” Star Wars content then, so I remember devouring all the
books and stories. Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn trilogy was the best by far.
But I read alllll of them. There were 2 cool short story
collections- tales of the bounty hunters and tales from Jabba’s palace - that
got into the back stories of Assassin droids and rancor keepers.
Also the worst Star Wars media I ever consumed is from this
period. If anyone ever says The Last Jedi is the WORST STAR WAR EVAR I point
them to Vonda McIntyre’s Crystal Star - where Han & Leia’s twins get
kidnapped and rescued by centaurs.
So George Lucas created a vast and engaging universe. Kenner
and Del Rey books exploited my love of it.
Karissa: Centaurs?!? For real? OMG! But don’t answer that. I’ll
Google it later. You’ve mentioned the Thrawn books during our live viewing and it’s
made me very intrigued. I’ve read a few Star Wars novels, but never got into
them the way I did with the movies, which is funny considering how much I love
to read. But, I’ve definitely added the Thrawn books to my TBR pile thanks to
you. Or maybe I shouldn’t say “thanks” because my TBR pile is already big
enough.
Mary, this is probably a difficult request, but if you could summarize
your thoughts on how music is used in the saga, particularly for continuity (or
the lack of it in some places), what would you say?
Mary: Oh boy, I could have done a whole tweet-along just talking
about the music! At a high level, John Williams is an expert at creating
memorable themes and using them to subtly cue the viewer in the Saga films
(Rogue One and Solo had different composers).
In the original trilogy, what's known as the main theme
(which plays over the opening crawl) is, as far as I recall, associated only
with Luke Skywalker during the films. It plays softly over his introduction on
Tattooine, loudly and heroically over his attack on Jabba's goons,
contemplatively (and in a minor variation) over various quieter scenes in
Empire Strikes Back. Which is why I would argue that in the original trilogy,
it's not just the Star Wars theme, it's specifically Luke's theme. In the
prequels and sequels, though (and also, I think, for a moment in Solo), it
expands to become a general heroic theme -- probably because you still need to
repeat the title theme in the movies where Luke isn't present. So Williams used
the Force theme instead to cue Luke's presence - such as when you see him as an
infant at the end of ROTS, or when Han mentions him after he's gone missing in
TFA.
Leia's theme, on the other hand, is very much hers. It plays
over her introduction in ANH and is used only to indicate either her presence
on the screen or in other characters' minds (such as when Luke realizes that
she's his sister). Most viewers probably aren't listening closely enough to be
like "Oo, there's such-and-such's theme!" But these background cues
definitely help shape the whole experience. I could go on but I've already
written a dissertation here, so I'll stop now haha
Karissa: I knew that wouldn’t be a simple question for
someone as passionate about music AND Star Wars as you are, Mary. But I
appreciate that you’ve made me more aware. It has enriched my viewing
experience and I’m not saying that ironically.
Another thing I’ve noticed consistently throughout our
viewing and tweeting is that you’ve both mentioned adjusting your previous perceptions
of the movies based on this re-watching project, and like most fans, you’ve made
a list of the movies in the order of your most favorite to least favorite. But the
movies have changed position on that list after this exercise. Would you both
comment on how this marathon viewing has changed your perceptions and
preferences?
Mary: Some of my perceptions changed with time/age before
this viewing, and this viewing confirmed it. For instance, for years I tried to
convince myself that ROTS was the best prequel even though I personally didn't
like it because that's what all the critics were saying. But finally a few
years back, I was like "NO. It's TERRIBLE and I don't care what the pros
say!" Rewatching it again last week reminded me why. It's visually
gorgeous but the script is all over the place, and what should have been a compelling
and emotional tragedy instead just felt like an overstuffed mess.
Contrast that with the much shorter sequence where Luke is
tempted by the Dark Side in ROTJ. This rewatch, so soon after ROTS, really made
me appreciate ROTJ more (despite the Ewoks, which I used to think were cute but
now realize are quite racist). ROTJ was always my least favorite of the
originals, and I very nearly ranked TFA above it when TFA came out. But having
seen the mess that was ROTS, I realize just how big a job the ROTJ crew had in
concluding three storylines: rescuing Han, completing Luke's transformation
into a Jedi, and taking down the Empire once and for all (well... sort of). Not
only did ROTJ achieve that, but it did so without feeling overstuffed or
rushed.
Then there are the anthology films.
Alden Ehrenreich as Han Solo
I didn't like Solo when
it was first released because I just couldn't get over how Not Harrison Ford
the new kid is. Watching it in timeline order, though, makes me mind it less,
since now it feels like he's being introduced as a new character, and that
Harrison Ford takes over the role later. Like, instead of the real-world fact
of Harrison Ford getting recast as the new kid (whose name I can never spell),
watching the movies in this order FEELS like the new kid gets recast as
Harrison Ford, which makes it much more acceptable. There are also little
throwaway references in the originals (such as 3PO fretting about the
"spice mines of Kessel") that have more weight now that they've been
developed in the prequels and anthology movies.
And Rogue One definitely adds weight to ANH, since now you
know what's at stake and how much was sacrificed to get to this point. Some
have complained that Jyn's father purposely building a weakness into the Death
Star cheapens Luke's triumph, but I disagree. It just makes the rebel analysis
make more sense (it's still a near-impossible shot!). So overall, I liked the
anthology films better this time around.
Some lines in the original trilogy referencing the past feel
weirder because it's so clear how much they retconned... and it makes Obi-Wan
look like the biggest liar in the galaxy. But I guess, after seeing all the
trauma he went through in the prequels, you could forgive him for rewriting
history. Knowing how the new movies end, though, has tainted TFA for me. There
were so many things teased and hinted at, but knowing they're all going to come
to nothing is just frustrating. Overall, I don't think my rankings have changed
(so far, it's still ESB, ANH, ROTJ, TFA, R1, AOTC, TPM, ROTS, Solo), but some
things are closer than others. For instance, I'm considering moving R1 above
TFA... and Solo above ROTS...
Victor: I will say that I enjoy the prequels much more now.
It’s hard to appreciate just how insane the hype around The Phantom Menace was back
in 1999. There was so much anticipation! The first new film in 16 years! My
brother spent HOURS downloading the trailer over dial up internet! People were
lining up for weeks!! And... it just wasn’t what I expected. It was pitched
much more squarely at kids than A New Hope ever was. (I was 4 1/2 when I saw
the first movie in ‘77) Jar Jar was terrible. Anakin was a cute little moppet
with no hint of the Vader inside him. I remember thinking at the time that it
was a bit underwhelming and went back to my VHS copies of the original
trilogies.
But over the years, the internet bestowed the prequels with
WORSTEST FILMS EVAR status, and that’s just not accurate.
I hadn’t seen the prequels start to finish in at least a
decade - even though I own them all on DVD. And removed from the weight of a
generation of expectations and internet snark... they’re not bad! My bottom
three were always the prequels - ROTS, then TPM, then AOTC in last. But, after
this massive viewing, I’m moving Phantom up to be my favorite prequel and past
Solo (which did NOT hold up as well.)
Clones is still my least favorite prequel. Sorry Emo Ani! At
least you’ll have the fields of Naboo.
Now I only hope you two will approach The Last Jedi and TROS
with the same open mind...
Karissa: I will try my best to keep an open mind, especially about TROS, but The Last Jedi is going to be hard for me. Really hard. But I'm glad you mention those two movies because that makes a great segue into my last questions.
Any hopes or expectations going into these next two movies that
you haven’t mentioned already? And even though we haven’t officially finished
our marathon viewing exercise, what do you think your overall takeaway will
be from the experience?
Mary: I'm hoping that now that I'm not breathlessly waiting for
answers to TFA, I'll be able to see TLJ and TROS more as just fun space movies
without the weight of expectations. That's already happened with TLJ a bit
since it came out, and I'm hoping the same will be true for TROS (can't be
disappointed if you're not expecting anything!). Overall, this whole thing has
reminded me of just why we all love this franchise so much. Even when it's
terrible (and it can get really, REALLY terrible), it's just so fun and
imaginative (and pretty!). Also, at a certain point, it's become more about the
fandom than the franchise itself. Even when the movies disappoint, there's this
colorful, vibrant culture around it that transcends what the creators made, and
that's something I love being part of. Because even when the movies suck, the
community is still there.
Victor: It’ll be interesting to see chapters 7-9 in close
succession. Part of the fun of the wait for each chapter was 2 years of
theories about who Rey’s father was, would Kylo Ren find your light side, would
Finn & Poe make out, and so on. And most of that came to naught.
(I remember teasing Mary on the Twitter by saying MEESA
REY’S DADDY! In retrospect...)
So knowing where they end up, will the threads be clearer
this time? Already, having watched TFA again, it’s clear how much General Hux
dislikes Ren so his betrayal in TROS seems clearer.
It’ll also be fun to count how many times Rian and JJ
reverse course on each other.
Watching 11 movies/24 hrs of content makes it clear just how
vast and sprawling this galaxy is, yet also how small it can be. We’ve traveled
the far reaches of space, but there’s only like 8 people who influence the
course of events and they’re all related.
This whole experience has reminded me of what I love about
these movies. The adventure, the humor, the sense of optimism (these are some
of the least cynical movies I know), the music... The best of these (still ANH
and ESB) have such a feeling of joy in them.
And I’ve never been unhappy with a Star Wars movie. Even the
least among them have good moments or cool scenes and characters. Attack of the
Clones has the Yoda duel! ROTS has Order 66! And I liked TROS more than most,
I’m sure. But I’m glad this nonolagy/eleven-ology has come to an end. I’m
excited to bravely explore new worlds (wrong franchise, I know) with new
characters that aren’t named Skywalker and have new adventures. I like where
The Mandalorian is going. (I just got my baby Yoda action figure in the mail
yesterday!) I like that we’re getting new creators to explore different areas
of the galaxy. And maybe soon we can live tweet a new trilogy of movies!
And just to touch on Mary’s comment on community, the two to
three hours a day we’ve spent watching these and joking on twitter and defending
the parts only one of us likes and ragging on some of the bad dialogue has been
a real high point of these quarantine days. It’s been so much fun to watch some
of our favorite movies together, so much so that we may continue on after this
is done. Mary suggested Legend, and I prompted Karissa for some
Bollywood recommendations.
And we’ll have to do the Star Wars Holiday Special at Thanksgiving!
Karissa: Ugh, but okay. I really should watch it. Just
promise me that no one is going to start crying, okay? And I agree with you both. Watching
the movies has been fun. Watching them with you two has been the best part of
the experience, though. Geeking out with people who understand your enthusiasm
and share it is the best part of being a fan. It also helps that I trust you
both so much. I’m glad we can argue and disagree and still walk away without
hurt feelings. Actually, I quite respect you all even more because you’re
passionate and smart and both have tremendous senses of humor. Thanks, Victor,
for coming up with the idea and thanks to Mary for talking me into it.
Also thanks to you both for joining me today. If you've read this far and are still here, then please accept our invitation to join us on Monday night to watch and live-tweet The Last Jedi. Check out Victor Catano's twitter feed (https://twitter.com/VGCatano) or the hashtag #AStarWarADay for more details.
We're a diverse group of writers, ranging from kidlit to adult. What is the one thing we all have in common? The love of a good story. Welcome, and thanks for stopping by. We'll see you on Mondays & Thursdays!
