This post was written closer to March than January. They were both originally Facebook posts and this one is directed at one of the people I'm friended to that is really into The Force Awakens like it's the greatest thing ever. I've changed his screen name to 7Fan to protect his anonymity. If there's anyone called 7Fan on Facebook, it's not this guy so don't bother them, please. :D
Luke vs. Rey
First I'll start with a general contrast. Luke was unassuming, meaning he didn't think
of himself as anyone special and neither did anyone else. He was lead through the movie by a series of
events, had lots of help, and was never completely sure of himself even in the
end. Rey, on the other hand, went
through the movie standing alone with purpose, was in complete control of every
situation, had lots of confidence and the other characters were in awe of
her. Now think for a moment what this
contrast is describing. It's the
contrast between the hero of an epic tale vs. the super hero of a comic book or
graphic novel. Each is fine for its own
genre, but trying to blend them doesn't work for me. When I got to thinking
about it, my disapproval of the new film kind of boiled down to a distinction
like this. The new film is trying to
graft a graphic novel super hero into an epic tale format that already had
established characters and stories. I'll
expand on this topic.
There are formulas for epic tale heroes and comic book super
heroes that it's important to follow in order for stories to make sense. I'll use other heroes of these genres to aid
in the demonstration. I'll mainly stick
to two of the mechanisms of the formula.
The first is that of the epic hero having greatness thrust upon him vs. the comic super hero being elevated into greatness. Luke was just an ordinary person. He had big dreams, but he was also a good boy who just wanted to do right by his family. Had the storm troopers not destroyed his farm, he would not have left with Obi Wan and would've continued on a less exalted path through life even if he'd joined the resistance after the harvest. By comparison: Bilbo Baggins was pretty much press-ganged into his quest with the dwarves by Gandalf. Harry Potter was swept into a world that he never knew existed and the weight of that world was piled onto his shoulders against his innocent hopes and wishes. There was nothing presumptuous about Luke's actions. He wanted to be a Jedi but he didn't really know what it entailed and he spent much of the first movie being bullied around by Han and Leia who, although they saw his potential and were impressed with him, maintained a realistic image of him as a naive kid who had a lot to learn. He slowly, over the course of 3 movies, learned his trade and became a leader. By comparison: Poor Bilbo was just the dwarves' whipping boy and eventually his maturity and ingenuity helped to end the conflict at the end of the novel. Harry was targeted as special, but he had common failings and his friends still were very frustrated with him at times before he finally understood how master the challenges they faced.
By contrast: Comic
book and graphic novel super heroes usually don't start out great at first
either, but they're great when we meet them.
There was a triggering mechanism, usually in their past such as the
destruction of Krypton for Superman or the murder of Bruce Wayne's parents for
Batman. Sometimes they just appear in
our world, born of a mythology like Wonder Woman, for the protection of
humankind. (Honestly, I don't know much about her background.) At any rate these triggers are lightly
glossed over and perhaps revisited later on, but the reader or viewer is not
taken through the entire process of change from ordinary to extraordinary
which, in epic tales, usually involves long and painful inner growth. This inner growth and change takes up a large
portion of the story. In graphic novels
the growth is outward. The
transformation is evidenced by the hero becoming physically powerful and/or
skilled and that is where the bulk of their character lies. The story is focused on displaying the way
they wield their powers, not how they got them.
Rey was an abandoned child.
That's all the background you get.
How she learned how to fight, fly, scavenge, and all else is not detailed. All you see is her power. She is in charge of every situation taking
care of all the other characters that come into her path and compelling them to
follow her fancies by her personality alone.
Although she is chased from location to location by circumstances, she
is not chased into her destiny. At a
pivotal moment she's faced with the reality-check that her parents won't return
and then she chooses her destiny; to join the cause and become a Jedi. Batman chose to avenge his parents. Superman chose to be a spearhead for truth,
justice, and the American way. Because
of this, the stories have to be situational and episodic which is why it
clashes, in my opinion, with the long, broad-stroke story telling style of an
epic tale. Stay tuned for the continuing
adventures of Rey. Whose life wills she
touch next?
That brings me to the second mechanism and that is the need
of friends. In epic tales, the hero
absolutely cannot accomplish the goal alone.
Without Leia's quick thinking, Luke and Han would've perished on the
Death Star and if it weren't for Han's distraction he would've been just
another casualty in the final assault on the Death Star, even though he was actually
using the force. In Return of the Jedi,
when Luke was finally leading and calling the shots, everyone had a place and
part in Han's rescue from Jabba's palace and it couldn't have been done
otherwise. Frodo needed Sam and even
Gollum. He also needed the distraction
that the armies were giving to Sauron, though he didn't know it was going on.
Harry needed all of his friends and not just the main two that he was with all
the time and especially in the final battle even though he had the most
important job. However, I'm not talking
about the rigid teamwork structure that is represented in anime. Often, in epic tales, the team divides to
conquer. All through Empire Strikes Back
and Return of the Jedi, the main characters weren't yoked together. Luke went off to train while the others had
to deal with Cloud City. He also has to
separate to face Vader while the other defended Endor. But, it was all crucial to the underlying
plot. At any point in the Lord of the
Rings Trilogy, there were at least three different things going on, though
Tolkien's style was to tell them one at a time.
Luke was the hero but he wasn't the only person with a victory. Frodo was the hero, but he wasn't the king. Most of the kids in the Harry Potter books
had their own definite backgrounds and abilities that were crucial to the
underlying plot. In epic tales, several
characters are created and simultaneously nurtured by the writer. Instead of outward team work, it's more like
each character represents a different part of the reader's personality, good
and bad. They are designed to be
something a viewer or reader can become sincerely attached to. And there's usually a definite ending in
which all characters go back to being "normal" but forever changed by
the experience.
By contrast, a comic book or graphic novel super hero either
stands completely alone or has what amounts to a support staff and/or
admirers. Think Lois Lane or
Alfred. In the continuing adventures of
said super hero, the audience is given no other characters to become overly attached
to because it takes focus away from the hero.
Rey is a better fighter and flyer than a trained military man. She's more knowledgeable about the mechanics
of a spaceship than the guy who owns the spaceship. She is an expert with her newfound powers
instantly. She is superior to all the
other characters and they admire her for it.
There's no end in sight, just the promise of more adventures. Any sidekick is useful, but ultimately
inferior. Finn fits this role. See, if this universe she exists in was a
cousin to Star Wars, but not Star Wars itself, she would be fine. If the concepts and background stories were just
a little more original, it would've made a little more sense. If the writers felt like she should be more
of a graphic novel heroine type with all new characters subjugated to her
strength and awesomeness, it could've worked.
But they put her into an epic tale where concepts and
background stories had been well established and carefully thought out. Other strong and awesome characters existed
together and independently from each other.
All of this was sacrificed to advance the new super heroine. Her presence had a suffocating effect on
everything. The point where it stopped making sense for me is when they used
all of the established storylines to jump off to an alternate storyboard that
didn't fit in well with the anything previously written. (See my original detailed review of the new
film.) The point where it became
disrespectful, from my point of view, is when they chose to use the old
characters and then proceeded to mute and strip their personalities so that
they couldn't be seen as competition for the new super heroine. Luke suddenly became the type that abandoned
everyone over hurt feelings. Han had no
charisma left, was about as useless as Finn, and was not even given the honor
of a hero's death (in battle or sacrifice) because the focus would be taken off
Rey. And what's most surprising to me,
as passionate as you, 7Fan, and others have been about strong female characters
when extolling the virtues of Rey, is that you're perfectly okay with what Leia
had become. She was the woman who held
her own in a high speed speeder chase, mouthed off to Darth Vader at the point
where she was being taken away for torture and death, was not in the least bit
intimidated by Chewbacca, and killed Jabba the Hut with her bare hands. She
also had experience with doing repair work on the Falcon and other
vessels. A person like that would not
have grown into a wistful, sad, old woman pining away for dear brother. She would've aged with a lot more
dignity. Her wits would've been sharper
and her skills would've been perfected. Here
I remind you that ghost Obi Wan had told Luke to pass on he had learned to her
in the original series. Ergo, she
should've been a force user at this point.
(Another point convieniently forgotten by the new writers along with
Luke's lightsaber, the empathic connection of Luke and Leia, etc.) This tells me that the new team actually cares
nothing for strong female characters.
They only want the anorexic ideal in the front and center, and the super
hero singularity because that's what's popular now. Leia could've been a mentor to Rey. She could've provided the kind of guidance
that a woman can only get from another woman.
But Rey needs no elderly guide because she stands alone. She needs no equals to help her and keep her
in check because she is superior. Which begs the question, at least from me, -what was she even doing there? It wouldn't
matter if Rey was a boy or a girl, she's just out of place in an established
epic tale.
I can understand why writers would want to create a
character like this with the popularity of the Marvel and other super hero
movies of late, but I can't understand what they were thinking when trying to
update an epic tale into a graphic novel story.
I'm lead to understand that this new movie may have been based more on
the expanded universe. In that case, why
the sloppy attempt to connect it so intimately to the old saga, except as a
money grab? But that's another rant for
another day. Around October last year I
was considering writing a rant on how Hollywood hasn't had an original thought
in close to 20 years with all the remakes I'd been seeing. And now it would seem that it's also begun absorbing
other original material and bastardizing it to appease a generation who cares
nothing for quality now, but only for quantity.
More movies with more action and more special effects; less substance to
slow it down. And as you noted, 7Fan,
even the super hero genre is starting to lose credibility with the rush to get
more material out faster than ever. I
don't actually mind high octane action movies.
I like them too. I just want epic
tales like Star Wars to continue in originality and depth. I approved of the prequels for this
reason. They had their flaws, but it was
a story told from the heart, not a slap-dash attempt to capitalize on a gravy
train. But this is all just my
perspective. I can see that the new
movie is appealing in the same way a really cool roller-coaster is appealing to
those looking for the thrill. I'm just
overly picky.
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