How Changing Societal Ideals About Gender Have Influenced the Next Generation of Star Wars Movies
Ideals about gender remain a constantly debated topic throughout modern day society. Our society’s beliefs about fundamental values such as this are constantly changing, and these changes can often be interpreted as shifts in the ideologies of the people those societies come out of. That being said, few other mediums can both impact and reflect a culture’s viewpoints on fundamental values like gender as the film-making industry can. One of the most anticipated and consumed aspects of present-day society for the average American person would have to be movies. Because of this, it is important for us to analyze the changes we see in movies across the decades, how those changes can either support or refute our societies’ beliefs, and what can be gained through an understanding of these ideas. I’d like to apply these concepts all to one extremely popular franchise that resonates with generations both old and new, which makes it the perfect subject for this particular topic: Star Wars. What can be gained from looking at the characters and themes of Star Wars and focusing on how changing societal ideals about gender may have influenced the sequel trilogy? I believe that through an understanding of this idea, we can get a better grasp of today’s political climate and its effect on moviemaking.
Now that I’ve stated the overall premise for this essay, I would like to discuss some of the specifics of what I’ll be talking about. One of the primary focuses will be analyzing certain main characters from films both in the original trilogy and the sequel trilogy, and trying to discern what messages can be understood relating to gender and changing gender dynamics in society from their actions and dialogue. One of the main premises of my argument revolves around the treatment of the prominent protagonist across the films of the different trilogies. Luke, the protagonist of the original trilogy, goes through a journey accentuated by failures and shortcomings, which eventually lead to a downfall in the second movie, and in the third movie, a redemption. While, as of now, the story of Rey is incomplete, pending the final movie in the trilogy releasing in December this year, Rey’s journey is a completely different one, one I would argue is primarily influenced by our current society’s ideals about the necessary treatment of women in film. Additionally, understanding some of the characters in the new films from a metaphorical perspective leads one to believe the film is subtly promoting a message about a change in societal views through what happens to each of them and the ideas they represent. Kylo Ren, the oppressive male antagonist whose views and ideals are in stark opposition to Rey’s, contains many flaws and negative character traits and is defeated by Rey numerous times. A message through the treatment of characters such as Kylo Ren can be understood that provides more evidence to the idea of how the change in gender dynamics in society has affected the new Star Wars trilogy.
For some, it will come as no surprise that the beginning of the 21st century has led to a large shift in the representation of gender in movies compared to previous decades. For many years, women played a more passive role in society that carried over to film and other media (Benshoff and Griffin 4). With the rise of feminism and a heightened awareness and support for equal rights, women began to play a larger role in moviemaking and other facets of modern life. This has led us to where we are today, a time where although women are still slightly underrepresented when it comes to their portrayal in movies, they play a much larger role and can be included in big box office films such as Star Wars movies (Murphy 8). The impact of this change is multiplied when the effects of it spreads to a lens as popular and recognizable as Star Wars. For this reason, it is important to see how changing views about gender and the role of women in film may have influenced the new Star Wars movies.
The idea that the new trilogy has been influenced by changing societal ideals is perhaps best exemplified by the treatment of its main protagonist, Rey. From the beginning of The Force Awakens, the films highlights her ability to perform all tasks asked of her exceptionally well and defeat everyone and everything that stands in her way. For one, Rey is immediately capable of flying the Millenium Falcon with precision and expertise, which is surprising given she has never seen the ship before and has also never flown any other type of ship. In fact, she is so inept at flying in the beginning of The Force Awakens that she lines up a cannon stuck in a locked position under the Millenium Falcon through a perfect maneuver to blast a pursuing enemy within minutes of flying the ship for the first time. Later in the film, Rey shows she is capable of manipulating the Force (an idea she thought was only a legend in the beginning of the movie) more effectively than a trained user, Kylo Ren, when he tries to use the power to extract information out of her. Additionally, at the end of the film, Rey is pitted against Kylo Ren in a final battle of light and dark. Despite never wielding a lightsaber before, along with facing an enemy who was trained in the ways of the Force and has practiced lightsaber combat for years, she defeats Kylo Ren and they both survive.
This constant success and inability to be defeated juxtaposes strongly with the manner in which Luke is portrayed in the original trilogy. As mentioned before, Luke’s journey through the original trilogy is often highlighted by his flaws that lead to successive failures. Beginning in the first movie of the original trilogy, the audience is given a character who is impetuous, rash, and overconfident, often requiring help to get out of the situations he puts himself in. We see examples of this playing out in the Mos Eisley Cantina scene, where Obi-Wan has to help Luke out of an altercation he has with two people in the cantina. We also see these same themes showing up in The Empire Strikes Back. In that movie, Luke leaves his Jedi training prematurely because of his overconfidence, and his arrogance leads him to disregard the advice of Obi-Wan and Yoda when they warn him he is not ready. These flaws end up costing Luke dearly, as he suffers a humiliating defeat at the hands of Darth Vader which causes him to lose his hand and leave his best friend, Han Solo, frozen in carbonite to be taken to Jabba the Hutt. It is at this point that Luke is at his lowest point in the trilogy, and it is because of these failures that his ascension in the third movie and victory over Darth Vader become that much more meaningful.
With Rey, on the other hand, there is no fall, no defeats, no flaws, and therefore no character development. I believe this contrast in storytelling decisions by the people choosing to make each set of movies is partly the result of shifting ideals about gender and the heightened support for equal representation relating to gender in cinema that came to prominence in the modern era, which has resulted in a main protagonist that has minimal flaws and essentially never loses.
Relating to this idea, certain themes and dialogue from the films in the new trilogy can be interpreted as sending a message that the patriarchal ideas of previous societies where women may have not been represented as well are now killed off. The films subtly promote this message through certain characters’ beliefs and the subsequent belief systems they can be understood as metaphorically representing. The character who can be used to show this most clearly is the prominent male antagonist, Kylo Ren. The films primarily portray Kylo as stubborn, arrogant, over-confident, short-tempered, and a loose cannon, a man desperately clinging to previous ideals of patriarchy and male dominance, which is highlighted by his obsession with Darth Vader and his intent to become just like him. Kylo Ren’s representation of previous patriarchal societies is perhaps best exemplified as he is speaking to the deformed mask of Darth Vader in The Force Awakens, as he declares, “I will finish what you started.” Additionally, when Rey tells Kylo in that movie, “you’re afraid that you will never be as strong as Darth Vader,” this can be interpreted as additional evidence that the film is trying to send a message that the patriarchal ideas of societies past are being replaced by some in whose qualities more closely resemble the character of Rey and what she represents. Kylo Ren’s subsequent defeat at the hands of Rey near the end of The Force Awakens is made that much more resounding through an understanding of the characters from a metaphorical and societal view.
One other scene that I would like to bring attention to that perhaps highlights these same ideals in The Force Awakens is the scene in which Han Solo is killed by Kylo Ren. When looking at what each of these characters represent and the stylistic choices used when filming the scene, a similar message can be found. Han Solo is the male character who is given the most respect in this film. He contains all of his charm and slight malevolence that made him loved by the people viewing him for the first time in the original trilogy. This is why his death through the hands of Kylo Ren can also be seen through the lens of the film’s desire to destroy the patriarchal ideals of societies in the past. Han Solo can be symbolic of a martyr in this situation; the last good guy has now been killed, and it is now time for a redemption of society. Additionally, choices in the way the scene was shot can also be interpreted as evidence the movie is trying to send a message about these ideas. In the scene, Rey is shown looking down on what is taking place while a light ray highlights her cone of vision-perhaps emphasizing how Rey’s vision for society (or the society her character represents) is one much brighter than that of the two men fighting below her.
While there is evidence that the new Star Wars trilogy has been largely affected by changing political views, some argue the change in the movies does not mean that the publishers are attempting to inject political messages into their movies, but rather they are simply wanting to go in a new direction. This is a reasonable claim because as they point out, the Star Wars films that came out in the 1970’s and 1980’s were themselves “progressive in terms of representation and ideals” (Miller). This claim is substantiated by the fact that we can see in the original trilogy various instances of progressive themes playing out in the narrative, such as the commanding presence of Leia, particularly in A New Hope, who takes a leadership role in the Death Star over Han and Luke, and is the main person responsible for figuring out the escape plan that ended up saving the trio. Additionally, the time of the original trilogy saw other prominent female leaders, such as Mon Mothma, taking charge along with many other women on both the side of the Rebellion and the Empire. While this is entirely valid, there is still reason to believe that the messages in the new trilogy, particularly in the form of the character Rey and what she represents, were at least minimally influenced by today’s political climate and the state of the connection between modern day politics and media.
Whether the idea of the movies has changed a lot over the years, it is nonetheless also important to look at the effects that the new trilogy has had on our society and modern media. The reception of the new movies in the Star Wars saga has been largely mixed and divisive. This is exemplified most starkly with the audience reaction to The Last Jedi, the second film in the new trilogy, which, at the moment, has an extremely high critic score of 91%, but an audience score of 41%. This is currently the highest disparity between the scores of the critics and audience in the entire franchise (Miller). Audience reaction to the new movies often goes one of two ways. Some praise the moviemakers for being brave enough to go in a new direction and take a risk on an unorthodox protagonist, while others strongly disagree with the route the franchise has taken and believe it is not truly Star Wars. Perhaps the most positive effect that has come out of the new Star Wars movies is the message that is spread through Rey, who acts as a role model for many women and positive reinforcement of the idea that women are being better represented in modern day media. As Litherland, Wood, and Reed describe in their essay, Rey “represents a new kind of popular feminist hero and role model for girls,” one that supports the idea women can accomplish anything, even if they come from nothing, and are no longer refrained by the societal restraints that have been placed on them in American history. On the other hand, there are also those people who criticize heavily the substance of the films and what messages they seemingly promote. The worst of these cases of fans have been placed into the group of the “toxic fandom”- the group of people so associated with the series that they are willing to go to inexcusable extremes to condemn the movies and what they represent. This group of people has led to the presence of large amounts of hate being directed, often through social media, at the actors and directors of the new movies. Daisy Ridley, the actress who plays Rey, gave up on social media in 2015 due to fan backlash from the release of The Force Awakens. A similar story played out in the form of Kelly Marie Trans, the actress who plays Rose Tico, being forced off social media as well. It is in this aspect that the messages being discussed in this paper are of significant importance, mainly due to the fact that aspects of media have a larger impact on modern day culture than ever before. Coupling this with the rise and heightened importance of social media in modern culture, the effect of movies like Star Wars can be very impactful, and as the new releases have shown, can also be very negative.
It seems evident that the new trilogy of Star Wars films provides substantial means for interpretation about not only the messages within the films, but also the implications we can draw about societal and cultural views relating to themes that can be found within the movies. It seems hard to disagree that few series are as influential and resonate with as many people as the Star Wars franchise does. Because of this fact, it is imperative that we continue to look at how the messages change across generations of Star Wars movies and how those changes may be reflective of a changing society. Additionally, the impact of this change has shown to have the potential to act upon a very large amount of people, from the fans, to the actors, to the directors. It is for this reason that studies such as these are important, so that we as humans can learn more about ourselves through the pieces of art we create and the impacts they have on us and other people. We can also look at messages such as this in regards to their effect they have on contemporary society. What impact will seeing the different main protagonists of Star Wars being portrayed in completely contrasting ways across trilogies have on future generations? These are additional avenues of inquiry that come as a result of topics such as these, and may be fundamental for deciding the true impact movies have on our society, along with, more importantly, our younger generations. Through an understanding of the ways movies can be representative of changing societal ideals, we can become more aware of how to best enjoy not only Star Wars, but also all of our other favorite franchises for many years to come.
Works Cited:
Benshoff, Harry, and Sean Griffin. America on Film: Representing Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality at the Movies. John Wiley and Sons, 2011.
Miller, Matt. “The Year Star Wars Fans Finally Ruined Star Wars” Esquire. (2018).
Murphy, Jocelyn Nichole, “The role of women in film: Supporting the men — An analysis of how culture influences the changing discourse on gender representations in film” (2015). Journalism Undergraduate Honors Theses. 2. http://scholarworks.uark.edu/jouruht/2
Rachel Wood, Litherland, B., & Elizabeth Reed. Girls being Rey: ethical cultural consumption, families and popular feminism. Cultural Studies, (2019). https://doi.org/10.1080/09502386.2019.1656759
Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Directed by J.J. Abrams, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, 2015.
The existence of a female protagonist in contemporary film is not indicative of our evolving political climate. Female protagonists have been a part of media for centuries, and while once indicitive of an increasingly feminist society because of their infrequency, have been long since non-political in their normalizing frequency. “Much gothic fiction, however, was produced by women, some earning a degree of economic independence, and the focus on heroines able to be physically and romantically active outside domestic spheres hints at different cultural horizons for women” (Botling, 2014). In times where the oppression of women was institutionalized, female protagonists were political because they supported an institutional change in the treatment of women. To imply that the existence of a contemporary female protagonist is political is to imply that their existence is for the purpose of governmental change. It also validates the view that males are the “default” sex as a political opinion. Sexist ignorance is not a political opinion, it’s sexist ignorance, and treating it as a political opinion gives it validity.
Because the view that the representation of women is political is so common, I believe the Star Wars sequels do have connotations for our current political climate, but not about the rise of feminism as claimed in your essay. I think the films and society’s reaction to them indicate the success of sexists in convincing society that the mere existence of women in media is a political agenda and is therefore something that one can reasonably oppose. While calling the presence of a modern female protagonist political is not in direct support of these sexist notions, it does treat the existence of female protagonists as a debatable issue in which there are pros and cons to each viewpoint. This is obviously false, and is harmful to a feminist society because it gives agency to indefensible opinions defined by ignorance and oppression.
Carter’s essay on the importance of patience and the acceptance of imperfection within the feminist movement is quite relevant. “we have no right to allow the shortcomings of imperfect representations to completely eradicate the characters we know and love.“ (Mucha, 2014) While this quote focuses on the evolving views of feminism no longer being entirely representative of previous feminist role models, it’s still applicable because it focuses on the damage of invalidating feminist role models. Labeling female representation as political doesn’t invalidate these role models, but it does validate their invalidation as something politically defensible. We need to be careful not to give agency to oppressive and ignorant beliefs, or some positive feminist role models could be eradicated under false pretenses.
The sequel trilogy is also extremely similar in plot to the original trilogy. The death stars are replaced by starkiller, a bigger death star, and the antagonists are the First Order, essentially the Empire with a rebrand. Because of how similar their plots are, any political messages conveyed in one are likely conveyed through the other. The only main difference is the sex of the protagonist. To claim that this small difference indicates the sequels as political while the originals are not is both absurd and harmful.