| NightDragon83 said: Leia isn't really that strong of a character??? Somebody need to go back and re-watch A New Hope and Empire... At the beginning of ANH, she's established as not just your typical "damsel in distress" princess, but a political leader of the Rebellion who remains defiant against Vader and the Empire to the (would be) bitter end, refusing to give up the location of the rebel base even as they threaten her home planet with annihilation (something that "stronge male character" Po did when being interrogated by Kylo Ren to give up the location of the map to Luke in Episode VII); she helps Luke Han and Chewie out of a jam when they get cornered in the detention block; she then resumes her role as one of the leaders of the Rebel Alliance during the attack on the Death Star and later the battle on Hoth - recall her scene on Hoth laying out the battle plans to all the male speeder pilots and fighters... I'm sure alot of sexist fanboys were butthurt about all the men taking orders from a woman too /sarc; and then aiding in the attempted rescue of Han on Cloud City and later back at Jabba's palace, where she single handedly murdered the big slob himself. But yeah, she's completely helpless without a man by her side and is just there for the "amusement" of the male audience. Totally a minor character in the grand scheme of things. As for comparing Rey's actions in VII to that of 8 year old Anakin's in Episode I... you're not doing yourself any favors by comparing the latest SW film to arguably the worst in the series, one of the many reasons it earns the title being of course the "character" of Young Anakin and the ridiculousness of the plot itself. And Luke was already established as a decent pilot who could "bullseye womprats with his T-16" before joining the rebels' attack on the Death Star... it's not like he took the helm of the Millenum Falcon in ANH and within 5 minutes could basically replace the roles of Han and Chewie on the ship in terms of both piloting and maintaining / repairing it. |
She is a good character, but she is *literally* a damsel in distress in the first film (she is a princess who is held captive and needs to be rescued). Her character does not challenge or violate any "gender stereotype". She knows her role in the films right down to the metal bikini, she is a tertirary character. Sure she has a sassy attitude, but that isn't anything mind blowing. As such her character doesn't really challenge any type of pre-existing notion within the genre type.
Rey is different in that she assumes the role of the central character of this trilogy which is traditionally held by a man ... and sure, I think some people deep down have a problem with that.
Regarding Anakin in Episode I, I don't have any problem with him having some exceptional abilities when we first meet. Of the 1038383 problems The Phantom Menace has, that is about the least of them. I'm just point out the hypocrisy of being OK with that and not Rey.
Rey does have piloting experience by the way and she was working on the Falcon. I don't think all these things need to be explicitly spelt out in the film though. The Falcon is just a ship, it's not some magical propietary technology, it's like being amazed a person could drive a car in our universe.
