Okay, Star Wars fans, I've got a little challenge for you. I'd like you to think of as many different characters as you can from only the six films by George Lucas himself, so no expanded universe or Clone Wars series (either of them). Now I imagine a lot of you immediately think of lightsabers and thus make the association of Jedi or Sith (at least, those of you who don't think of Han Solo or Jar Jar Binks). Now, let's lower the range a bit, I want you to think of as many different Jedi as you can. There's plenty to choose from: Obi-Wan, Anakin, Mace Windu, Luke Skywalker, and Yoda. You starting to see a pattern here?
Now let's narrow the range even further: how many female characters can you think of? Okay, you might have several, but how many can you think of that even have so much as a single line? Furthermore, how many can you recall that actually play a part in the central narrative of any of the films? Not very many. Really with such a large cast across six films there's a grand total of two women who have central roles? (I'm not including Zam Wesell or Mon Mothma, who had minor contributions but little screen time)
You also ever notice how the prequel films introduce so many Jedi characters and yet most, if not all the ones who are actually relevant to the plot are men? Yes, we do see several female Jedi but how many of them even get so much as a single line. At best they're little more than a bit part or an extra in a battle scene.
Really, when you get down to it, the female Jedi characters we do see like Adi Gallia, Shaak Ti, Aayla Secura, or Yaddle (imagine Yoda with a ponytail) are little more than background roles and/or redshirts with no dialogue. The only reason we have any idea who these people are is because of supplemental material and the expanded universe taking the time to flesh them out.
It's a shame really, we have all these cool female Jedi we could develop, and instead the films opt to make the only significant female characters ones who rely on blasters (and before you say anything, yes I am aware that Leia became a Jedi eventually, that wasn't in the films), but it doesn't stop there. As I've said, across a series of six films there have been a grand total of two significant female characters in the form of Padme and Princess Leia.
Granted both were pretty tough but Leia spent most of A New Hope being held in a prison (even if she put up a fight before getting caught), but across the original trilogy we see almost no other women in the Rebel Alliance. The only other female character we get at all is Mon Mothma, who takes no part in the action and only serves to provide some exposition necessary to the climax of Return of the Jedi.
I mean the rebels are led by a woman, so why is it we never see a single female soldier other than Leia among them? Considering their circumstances you'd think they would be willing to take all the help they could get, and yet the rebel armies we do see in the opening of A New Hope, on Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back, and on Endor in Return of the Jedi were all composed entirely of men, outside of Leia of course.
And you know what the worst part is? They almost did have a woman among them. It turns out that for Return of the Jedi there were actually scenes shot of a female X-Wing pilot among the squadron attacking the Second Death Star. Don't remember them? Well, that's because they were all cut from the film and one line of dialogue spoken by a woman was dubbed over by a man. Yeah, that's right, George Lucas couldn't handle the idea of women fighter pilots and actually decided that maybe the film would be better with an all-male squadron. Really?
Now I can't say much about what's going to happen with the upcoming films, but I'm almost tempted to go out and say that, disregarding content of the expanded universe, the Star Wars franchise could in fact be considered to be sexist. Now, I can only speak on the six films that have already been made. Perhaps the three upcoming Disney films will do better on this issue, but as it stands, Star Wars really could benefit from having more well-written female characters.
While it is true that the SW franchise needs more characters, Leia alone is enough for me to cut Lucas a little slack. The reason I say that is because back in 1977, to have a character like her was actually a rather forward thinking move. Here is a woman that is not only taking a proactive role in things, but is the leader of the resistance. And remember, this is before Ellen Ripley, Sarah Connor, or any other of sci-fi's tough girls.
ReplyDeleteThat said, the franchise has struggled mightily with diversity. Take a look at all the humans in the series and add up all of the non-white male characters that have anything at all to do that could be construed as important and you're not getting off of one hand. And let's not forget about the Jar Jar Binks fiasco.
Therefore, I don't think SW's lack of females is as much a result of sexism and/or misogyny as it is neglect and laziness allowing a takeover by the writer's natural inclination to keep focusing on characters who look like him or her (not literally, but same race and gender). It takes a conscience effort to create characters different from ourselves. He poured that effort all into three people (Leia, Lando Calrissian, and Queen Amidala), and probably felt he'd done enough. He hasn't, but I don't think it was due to some malicious intent. Of course, I'm theorizing, but that's the way I've always read the situation.
Well, to be fair, Leia isn't a bad character. After all, even just going on A New Hope where she spends most of the film in prison, she does manage to send out valuable information that (indirectly) leads to her rescue, put up a fight before getting captured, and manages to avoid cracking under pressure when interrogated by the Empire, and of course that is followed by her taking a more active role in Return of the Jedi.
DeleteOf course, even then Leia spent a large portion of the first act chained to Jabba and forced to wear that bikini (although she did get to single-handedly strangle her own captor to death) and a portion of the Battle of Endor hanging out with the Ewoks while the boys were doing all the fighting (then again, if she hadn't spent time living among the Ewoks and befriending them the guys would probably have gotten eaten rather than getting them on their side). It still seems weird that we never see any female soldiers among the rebels, though, and I still don't think that excuses the way the female pilots were treated.
I don't want to excuse the lack of females. I just see it as a symptom of the franchise's overall lack of diversity in its characters of consequence which I feel is due to laziness on the part of the creator rather than sexism...or racism. Either way, I think we both agree there definitely needs to be a stronger female presence going forward.
ReplyDeleteI think I can see where you're coming from. I don't know that it makes the situation any better but understanding the source of the problem can help to solve it. After all, I haven't written very many black characters in my stories, that doesn't mean I'm a racist (though in the case of my short stories I have sometimes gotten around it by just not specifying the ethnicity of certain characters, that works great for literature but isn't so effective on film).
DeleteThere is still some hope in the form of the upcoming Disney films. At the moment Carrie Fisher is signed on to play Leia but there are a few other actresses in the cast list so maybe there's a chance we'll get a few more memorable female characters. Maybe this time we can finally get a well-written female Jedi as a major character in the film saga.
Granted, I'm also mainly going on the films themselves. If you do go into the expanded universe (which for personal reasons I'd rather not), which includes stuff not by George Lucas you can find a large abundance of female characters along with people of different ethnicity. Then again that's all more or less tossed out the window now due to the new movies.
Make that three major female character - you forgot Shmi Skywalker. Granted, she's only in the first couple but her role (and subsequent death) arguably triggers the whole series of events leading to Anakin's fall into the dark side.
ReplyDeleteBut yeah, three characters from six films? Not a great record is it? Then again, I can't think of many long-running influential film series' that have a huge amount of female characters (LOTR, Marvel, etc:) Great post John :)
Okay, you could argue that Shmi did have a major impact on the plot, though mainly in the form of her dying and giving Anakin something to get angry about. She still didn't exactly have much screen time and I can't really recall how much of an impact she had on the story while alive.
DeleteAlso, to be fair, Marvel has had quite a few female characters. There hasn't always been a large amount appearing at the same time, but across the whole franchise you have Black Widow, Jane Foster, Sif, Pepper Potts, Peggy Carter, Maria Hill, half the cast of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., not to mention that female superhero Scarlet Witch is set to appear in the upcoming Avengers sequel. That would be a franchise that has it pretty good.
You make a great point and it is something that has always plagued the Star Wars films. As others have pointed out, Leia was really a big deal when the first film came out in 77. Hell my wife counts Leia as one of her idols as a kid. She was take charge, kick ass and still had time to fall for Han. :)
ReplyDeleteI had heard the story about the removed pilots from Jedi, and that is a real shame. But one element that I think plays into this is that Lucas is obsessed with recreating his classic sci-fi serials from the 40s with the Star Wars franchise. In nearly all those old serials, women are pretty much relegated to the spunky sidekick role, or the damsel in distress (maybe a combination if you look at Dale from "Flash Gordon"). Women are few and far between in those serials. Lucas has stated time and again that these were his major influence on Star Wars, and I can see that maybe having an affect on the final casting... maybe. (stretching it in my opinion)
But I'm hopeful that we'll see some great female characters in the new trilogy. I don't think Abrams will be as "inspired" by those old serials, and most of his films contain strong female roles. I'm curious to see where it goes.
That's true. While you could make the case that Leia does have her share of periods in captivity you could also argue that the first time she managed to resist physical and psychological tortures and refused to turn against what she saw as right even if it meant her death and the second time she eventually managed to strangle her captor to death, not to mention in Return of the Jedi while she spent a fair bit of time out of the action she was also the one responsible for getting the Ewoks on the rebels' side and saving her (male) friends from being eaten by them. In that sense, Leia is a great character, but I think she might be something of an exception to the rule.
DeleteOne can only hope that J.J. Abrams will get a little better with the women in his films. We already know that Leia's back so that's a plus, but on IMDB there are three other actresses listed, including Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years a Slave) which suggests that somewhere in the film there will be a character who happens to be a black woman.
In the 2nd series, the 2nd movie, I hated the fact that the Queen, in the ring with Anakin and Obi Wan, get swiped by that cat (cat??) and what comes off? Her mid-riff is now bare and she now looks sexy. Really? How come the men are fully clothed when fighting but the women are in clingy little outfits except for princess Leia in the first and 2nd film. You make a good point and a strong one. Unfortunately, most men would never want the scene of Princess Leia with Jabba cut or, aghast, covered up. men loves that scene...ughh
ReplyDeleteThat's true, that never really occurred to me with regards to the prequels. Come to think of it, it also probably didn't help that by Revenge of the Sith Padme lost a lot of her tougher qualities and instead spent most of the film sitting around brushing her hair. She was presumably very late into her pregnancy by that point but it still probably could have been written better.
DeleteIn Leia's defense, the scene with Jabba was really just the first act, and later on she does wear less skimpy outfits like that camo she wears on Endor or even the dress she wore when she was with the Ewoks.