I promised myself that I wouldn't do a follow-up to my most click-bait piece on The Whitly-Verse. It not only goes against my personal standards of not selling out, but the piece itself was also terribly argued. But I have to because this is ridiculous. So let’s talk Star Wars: Rogue One…again.
If you’ll recall, I mentioned the internet was getting pissy over a female lead in the newest Star Wars outing. The cast also includes a variety of minority characters as the group of rebels, a white-skinned henchman to Darth Vader and stormtroopers. It also looks and sounds amazing, true to the talents of director Gareth Edwards. It sounds about as awesome as it can get for a Star Wars prequel. What could possibly go wro-
Oh…yeah, this is…something.
I’m not sure how to say this without it sounding like a joke, but considering that the world has gotten crazy in the last few months you’ll have to believe it. In the eyes of many die-hard fans, having a diverse cast of characters in a Star Wars movie is bad. It’s “anti-white propaganda”, a “sure sign that Disney has ruined Star Wars”. Above all else, it’s a big no-no for…reasons.
Anyway, the situation came to a boil when the main writers spoke up on Twitter. One of them, Chris Weitz, stated, “Please note that the Empire is a white supremacist (human) organization.” The other, Gary Whitta, then added, “Opposed by a multi-cultural group led by brave women.” The two eventually deleted their Tweets, but they made it clear, albeit indirectly, that they were disgusted by the recent Trump win and had created a pin mocking his fans (supposedly.)
Make of that what you will. But the backlash was really strong, with Reddit and Twitter users calling for an active boycott of Star Wars: Rogue One under the Hashtag #DumpStarWars. Because if there’s anything the internet loves to do, it’s boycott. Regardless, the boycott became a breeding ground for complaining about “The SJW agenda”, something that’s become synonymous with any attempts at fair representation. And it’s ridiculous.
For as much as I try to remain distant from hard-politics on here, this remains the only exception, it’s hard not to mention that I can’t stand Donald Trump. I think he’s a narcissistic bully with the thinnest skin imaginable, as evidenced by his rants on Twitter, and that he’ll be handed the keys to the most-influential country in the West come January 20th scares me. So any critique of Trump, subtle or not, is welcome in my books.
I’m not alone; in fact, the arrival of Star Wars: Rogue One couldn’t be more timely, as it deals with a rag-tag group of individuals (and yes, they’re oppressed) fighting back against a regime that wants complete subjugation. To many, this almost is an on-the-nose critique of what they feel the Trump administration will become, something helped by his cabinet choices and their past histories. Regardless, that a Star Wars movie about fighting back against The Empire is upsetting the annals of the internet shows that it’s guaranteed to be a hit. After all, “There’s no bad press in art.”
So what’s caused such an extreme backlash? It’s complicated, but this largely stems from a greater male privilege. I know this is a sore-spot for many close-friends and family, but white, male privilege exists. It’s invisible to its target demographic, unless someone challenges it, but it’s there. Basically, for everyone who’s not the ideal, fair representation, especially in media, is a nightmare. Women in particular still struggle to make it big in Hollywood, and even when they get somewhere they have to work with unfair restrictions their male-counterparts never deal with. It’s partly why Edwards, a director whose most-prominent film prior was 2014’s Godzilla, was given this project despite not being exemplary, as opposed to a more talented auteur of the female persuasion who might be fantastic, yet’ll never get a chance to shine.
But anyway, privilege. The blowback over this film is a result of that, with long-time fans, mostly white men, upset because their beloved franchise is catering to someone else. Or, in other words, this:
Courtesy of Amanda Mariano Rozas. Original video courtesy of Scott Benson.
I know it’s forceful to use that video, but it accurately represents what’s going on: men, particularly white men, have had so much influence for such a long time that attempts to “shake it up” (read “cater to someone else”), even as a joke/experiment, have led to whining about “stolen ice cream”. It sounds completely ridiculous to outsiders, but when you think about it…yeah, how often have reactionaries sprung up because of oppressed groups campaigning for change? It might not be as it was in the days of the Suffragette movement, but that doesn’t mean people who aren’t white men don’t get flak from reactionaries for being “sensitive snowflakes”.
And Star Wars is reflective of that. After all, film is often a mirror into the status of society at any given time. It may not always be obvious, but, being a medium where many people have to compromise their ideas to make it work, it frequently reflects trends. It’s why both adaptations of The War of the Worlds took different approaches to the concept of an alien invasion: both were entrenched in what was “scary” at the time. Fortunately, Star Wars has managed to remain timeless by staying general in its fight between good and evil, but that doesn’t mean its decision to add diverse casting is bad…at least, to anyone that isn't a raging reactionary.
Here’s the secret: Star Wars has always been about social progress. The original films were a literal metaphor for the fight against fascism. The prequels showed how said fascism came into existence. That its main enemy’s military personnel are called “Stormtroopers”, a clear reference to the Nazi SS Officers, should be a dead giveaway. So for hard-right reactionaries to get mad that the new films paint the white guys as fascists, even though they’ve always been painted as fascists, makes me wonder if they’ve seen the original Star Wars films.
I’m not saying this as an “SJW” (even though that word lost its meaning a long time ago). Contrary to my social stances, I’m not a liberal. I voted Conservative in the last Canadian election, and I’d have probably rooted for the Republican Party pre-Trump had I been American. However, I’m not an idiot. I recognize the need for social change, something that’s been happening too slowly, and this includes Hollywood. Film has been dominated by white men for too long, so a little bit of diversity in casting is nice. It may not be to some people’s liking, but it’s still welcome.
Besides, boycotting Star Wars: Rogue One is ridiculous. It’s ridiculous because that’s what Star Wars has always been about, and it’s ridiculous because the movie’s still gonna make lots of money. After all, the last film grossed over $2 billion worldwide. Boycotting a well-established cash cow because it writes fascists like fascists isn’t only absurd, it’s reductive. Because, in the end, it won’t miss you at all.
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