Jaicee said:
In my observation, the term "Mary Sue" is a misogynist term that functionally just means "strong female character, and that intimidates me and therefore deserves stigma because she should be a damsel in distress, preferably without pants, or else not present at all so that I don't feel emasculated and cry 'male tears' all the way home from the theater". Disprove me. Seriously, THERE IS NO MALE ANALOGY TO THAT TERM!! Nobody stigmatizes male fiction characters simply for being strong, even in ways that are 100% superficial and arbitrary (e.g. Superman). Why is personal competence and strength only intrinsically bad when it's female? Why do women have to always be crying in a corner somewhere to be sympathetic or semi-nude or better yet both to be worth seeing? Sorry for going off on that, it just pisses me off. Speaking of Rey, I do feel that her being drawn to the Dark Side was something that merited fleshing out fully in the Rise of Skywalker for sure. But I definitely don't feel that the explanation should have been that she's Palpatine's granddaughter somehow (and RoS notably does not explain how she is, so full of it is the suggestion). I feel that way for the sort of reasons that L.D. Nolan laid out in his article for CRB negatively comparing the story in The Rise of Skywalker to that in The Last Jedi. Among other things, he makes this point: Being powerful in the Force simply because she was born in the lineage of Palpatine completely undermines that whole message, which I liked a lot better. Much of the reason I liked it better that way is...well, to be frank, there are whooooooooooooooooole lot of people in this world who "come from nothing" in one sense or another, and in the financial and social senses, I'm one of those people myself. I related to Rey as a character like that who struggled with darkness seemingly as a result. That her background and struggles didn't make her a weak or evil person was, I felt, a more uplifting a suggestion. It's much tougher for me to relate to her as instead a royal of sorts who is apparently only strong and important because she's a kind of princess. Anyway, I don't really agree with much else that you wrote above except in the case of Finn's character, who I do agree was reduced in significance in The Last Jedi in a way that was unfair to the character. For example, I always perceived Kylo as something of an overgrown baby who was intended to be that way, even in The Force Awakens. If one hasn't noticed, the more authoritarian tyrannical figures of history and world are quite often sort of that way. They're disproportionately composed of big babies with fragile egos. (I could cite a certain American president that you appear to admire as an example, but the examples are really endless.) The important thing about that for Kylo is that he's not portrayed in a one-dimensional fashion as a result. He's not simply a punch line, but an often legitimately sympathetic character who resists doing the wrong thing because it's too hard on him, who really is bullied and mistreated (which is why he's as touchy as he is). This was true before his portrayal in The Rise of Skywalker, wherein his conversion to the Light Side feels what I'd call less than fully developed. I felt that he deserved a more convincing and heartfelt transition. I could offer a much longer response running through the movie in some detail, but honestly I simply don't feel like it. I feel like any old crack against The Last Jedi will get lots of up-votes and any defense will just get me even more isolated and despised than I already am. |
You're feelings on the name are more over defensive than anything. One reason you dont hear the term used for guys is because writers are clueless on how to write a strong female character. Usually, males have a back story that explains their ability. James bond is a spy who has been trained and has a license to kill. Bam, back story that explains his ability. Anakin has a higher concentration of Midichlorians than Yoda. Even though this is true he NEVER uses a force ability before training. BOOM, back story that explains his ability. Luke is the son of the guy, and again, despite that he never uses a force ability before training. Wam, backstory that explains his ability. Yoda is a few hundred year old jedi master who was studied ancient texts and has far greater knowledge of the force than anyone.
Showing up and being able to wield a lightsaber before ever touching one (even luke needed to be trained to use it) and being able to take on one of the strongest force users we ever see on screen (he freezes a blaster mid air and keeps it there until he leaves). Being able to use force techniques because she saw it is idiotic (ben should have just used force lightening to fuck up the knights of ren because he saw it). Everyone accepting her (and apparently knowing she's a Palpatine) while they are at war is beyond ridiculous.
PS both anakin and Luke needed to be saved by stronger allies before they defeat the threat... which, luke never does. He just convinces his dad to turn again
Last edited by DarthJarvis - on 25 December 2019
