Unpopular Last Jedi Opinion I: The Last Jedi Wasn’t Written For People Of Color

So it seems that The Last Jedi is inspiring Gamergate behavior from dudebros who think they own the story. They started harassing a podcast host who mocked their tears over Star Wars having more than one black person in the lead.

I write my criticisms as someone who accepts that I don’t own the franchise. Star Wars is not mine to claim, and it never will be. The odds of my being asked to write an intellectual property story for the series is low, and it’s not something I want to pursue. My criticisms do not come from a sense of entitlement. Yes, I think the movie could have been better. But it’s not my movie. I don’t need to shoot a remake. And I’m not the only one who has these opinions as a woman of color.

In case you needed to hear it . . .

SPOILERS

I will say Last Jedi is a spectacular movie to watch. It draws you in from beginning to end. My brother and I were enthralled as we watched. We enjoyed ourselves greatly watching Luke train Rey, and Finn beating the tar out of Captain Phasma. It was only afterward that I started poking holes into the plot, the same holes that other people poked.

You cannot make a movie with POC characters and call it progressive when white women condescend to them. Even if one of those white women is Carrie FIsher, it is not cool. Having several major Asian characters and a black lead is progress. Having these characters getting shafted in story is not, while the villainous characters are given reasons for why they decided to murder children in the dead of night. Finn’s major victory is that he gets to beat his former boss in a baton fight. Rose’s major victories is in teaching Finn to shed his vengeance and kiss her hero.

Most of the movie is Poe, Rey and Finn learning how wrong they are, and how they need to correct their behavior. And even then, Rey gets the most sympathy for her ill-fated attempts to bring back Ben from the Dark Side, because Star Wars is about trying to redeem those beyond redemption and finding the good in people. Poe gets no sympathy for the fact that he’s fighting a war after suffering torture, mind extraction, nearly dying in the desert, and having to dive back into war.

Finn meanwhile has to point out that he didn’t join the Resistance yet, and his reason for leaving is to protect Rey, not save his skin. He’s not afraid to die anymore; he’s afraid of losing someone he loves, and someone for whom he will constantly sacrifice his life. His message ends up getting mixed: Finn is told to stop running and start fighting, but then he’s told that his living is worth more than his dying for a cause. And I am so annoyed because Finn didn’t need someone to tell him to change into a better person in the first movie; he took the initiative multiple times, because he found someone to protect.

Then we have Poe. Poe is described as an upstart young pilot, and it’s obvious Leia loves him as another son. She demotes him for defying orders and sacrificing pilots. Here is the thing, though: Poe made those terrible decisions while facing exhaustion. If anything, he should have been sent to sick bay after the end of the first movie. And later on, while he dislikes that Holdo is chosen to replace Leia after her son renders her comatose, he is willing to trust her if she would tell him that she has a plan. She acts condescendingly to him, and as a result he mutinies. You can’t blame him for reacting as his friends die one by one, and Holdo doesn’t seem to care.

Rey’s arc gives her more sympathy and leeway for her mistakes. Rey wants to learn how to be a Jedi, and maybe seek answers to why her parents left, and if she has a great destiny. Luke disavows her of these notions; being a Jedi doesn’t mean learning to fight, but learning to communicate with the force; he wasn’t great because of his legacy because his father was one of the worst Sith lord zombies; and you don’t need a destiny to become a chosen one. Rey ultimately has to conclude she isn’t a chosen one, that she can’t sit around waiting for people who won’t come back. Also while her attempt to redeem Kylo Ren backfired, it ended up aiding the Resistance unwittingly by causing a minor coup. She also inspires Luke to battle one last time.

So yes, I am annoyed that The Last Jedi gave Rey the most leeway with her mistakes, while Poe and Finn got dozens of people killed. With that said, it’s not as bad as how a certain Sith Lord is treated . . .