WHAT STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI MEANT TO ME AS AN ASIAN WOMAN – SPOILER FREE
I write this having just seen Star Wars: The Last Jedi. As many people did, I grew up adoring Star Wars. I will always be grateful to my friend Rebecca for first showing me the glorious non-Special Edition versions on VHS and changing the course of my life forever.
However I never wanted to be Princess Leia, or even Luke Skywalker for that matter. I wanted to be roguish smuggler Han Solo. It didn’t hurt that we already had part of our names in common. Yet growing up the expectation was if you were a girl who loved Star Wars, you wanted to be Leia. Not that there was anything wrong with Leia, but I didn’t see myself represented in her at the time (more on that later).
Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia – 20th Century Fox
Also even though it takes place in a galaxy far far away, the other key element missing was I didn’t really see myself represented as an Asian person. Sure there was a vast diversity of alien life forms in the original series, but when it came to diversity of the humans of the original Star Wars trilogy, on screen, there was pretty much just Lando Calrissian, and, well, everyone else. While as a child I didn’t know how to articulate what was missing for me in terms of representation, I still felt a tiny bit of distance between me and my favorite films.
Billy Dee Williams as Lando Calrissian, the one person of color in the original Star Wars films – 20th Century Fox
So like most Star Wars fans, I was excited for the prequel films as they were to expand upon the stories I love. Unfortunately also like most Star Wars fans, I felt be betrayed. Putting aside the terrible stories, in terms of diversity advancement there was minimal progress. Sure we got the always badass Samuel L. Jackson as Mace Windu, and I suppose you could count Temuera Morrison (representing for Maoris) as Jango Fett. However once again there were 0 women of color, and once again the there was really only one female lead. Her entire destiny in the stories ended up being defined by her relationship to a man. In some ways, Padme Amidala became the most unfortunate part of the prequels for me. She went from being the ruler of an entire planet, to only being important because of her romantic entanglement with Anakin Skywalker.
Natalie Portman as the regal Queen Amidala – 20th Century Fox
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Natalie Portman as the whimpering Mrs. Anakin – 20th Century Fox
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Therefore after the breach of trust that were the prequels, I was beyond apprehensive going into The Force Awakens. Thankfully I was not disappointed, as Princess Leia had matured from a character I partially resented, into General Leia. The hardened badass leader of the Rebellion. Again, I think part of the reason I only had a begrudging like for Princess Leia when I was young is again the expectation that of course I she would be my favorite because I’m a girl. That sort of stereotyping regrettably bred a bit of bitterness in me.
Carrie Fisher as General Leia – Lucasfilm
The other thing I appreciated about The Force Awakens is it introduced us to Rey. Suddenly there were not one but TWO strong female characters. Rey wasn’t a princess, she didn’t dress in gold metal bikinis (even if it wasn’t by choice). She was scrappy and feisty. I was truly sold on Rey when she and Finn are running away from First Order fire, and he keeps grabbing her hand, and she was not having any of it.
Daisy Ridley as Rey – Lucasfilm
Rey was such a positive step forward, but she still didn’t solve the problem of having 0 Asian main characters in the Star Wars universe. Thankfully the next film out of Lucasfilm, Rogue One, took a step at solving that, with the additions of Donnie Yen as Chirrut Imwe, Jiang Wen as Baze Malbus, and depending on how widely you cast your definition of Asian, Riz Ahmed as Bodhi Rook. Rogue One was such a positive step forward, in addition to representing Asians, it had a strong female lead in Felicity Jones, a Latino lead in Diego Luna, and yes, even a Black character with Forest Whitaker. We finally saw the type of visual diversity that is more reflective of the world we actually live in. Yes Star Wars takes place in a galaxy far far away, but it also has a huge impact on the galaxy we live in, because generations of kids like me get obsessed with it. So to see ourselves reflected in it is a huge achievement.
The United Colors of Rogue One – Riz Ahmed, Diego Luna, Felicity Jones, Jiang Wen and Donnie Yen – Lucasfilm
So finally that brings us to The Last Jedi. The knots in my stomach formed once again in anticipation of the film. At this point purely because I am so invested in them and they mean so much to me, (and I certainly WANT to like them all) but we’ve been burned before.
I was not disappointed, and The Last Jedi may have just become my favorite Star Wars film. I think for many women and Asian women in particular it will as well. From the opening battle we see women in all sorts of roles, both on the First Order side and Rebellion. So when Kelly Marie Tran as Rose Tico popped on screen, tears of joy welled up in my eyes. Here was someone who looked like me. She wasn’t a background character, she had lines, and scenes with the fellow leads. Hell, she even got a last name which can be rare in the movies.
Kelly Marie Tran as Rose Tico – Lucasfilm
What I appreciate about the Star Wars universe is that race doesn’t really seem to exist. Sure species does, but race has never been overtly called out. Lando isn’t Han’s black friend, but Chewie is his Wookie buddy. However as much as you can go on and on about the fact that it takes place in a fictional universe, it’s made by people in our world, and until the last two years, hasn’t felt like it’s reflected that.
Gwendoline Christie as Captain Phasma – Lucasfilm
What The Last Jedi gives us that none of the other films have had before is a wide range of women. A new generation of Star Wars fans is going to grow up not having everyone assume they want to be just Leia. They get a choice, they get representation, and the thought of that makes my heart swell. They can want to be purple clad Vice Admiral Holdo (played by Laura Dern) who takes no shit, strong with the Force Rey, handy with her practical mechanical skills, Rose Tico, for those tempted by the dark side they can take a walk in Captain Phasma’s chrome armor (played by Gwendoline Christie, who holds her own in both Star Wars and Game of Thrones). They can even admire the saucy Maz Katana, who through her CG exterior holds the soul of the beyond talented Lupita Nyong’o.
Laura Dern as Vice Admiral Holdo – Lucasfilm
It took 40 years but Star Wars is finally seeking balance in the Force by diversifying representation, and is all the better for it. The best part is none of this comes at expense of the other characters, it just serves to enhance a story millions love. Bring your daughters, (bring your sons too because they will enjoy it just as much) and ask them who they identified with the most, because now, now they have options.
So I want to thank Carrie Fisher, Kelly Marie Tran, Daisy Ridley, Laura Dern, Gwendoline Christie, and Lupita Nyong’o for showing fans old and new that we all have a place in Star Wars. Also of course thank you to Kathleen Kennedy, Rian Johnson, and George Lucas.
P.S. I would be remiss if I didn’t make a plea to Kathleen Kennedy to hire a female director.