Page 103 - Star Wars Insider (Special Edition 2019)

and math) careers for women. In storytelling,
SWI2019_098_103_Rey_part1.indd
SWI2019_098_103_Rey_part1.indd
Throughout The Force Awakens, Rey resists
particularly on television, the number of bullies: from Unkar Plutt and his thugs who
female characters shown to have STEM want to take BB-8 to Kylo Ren who wishes
specialisms is increasing. But often these to take things from her mind against her
roles are defined in relation to a male will. Her own experience gives her empathy
protagonist’s story arc, for example with others who are struggling against powerful
Felicity Smoak in Arrow or Amy Farrah forces—not only BB-8 and Finn, but also the
Fowler in The Big Bang Theory. In the largely absent Luke to whom she is inexorably
original trilogy, Leia participates in repairs drawn. Of course, such characters are not
on the Falcon but she isn’t intended to be unique to Star Wars; but this is by no means
a mechanically gifted character like Rey— the only heroic archetype, and for Rey to
who fixes a dangerous leak and prevents be molded along those lines shows a clear
the hyperdrive from blowing. Rey is a dramatic intent. It is surely no coincidence
STEM protagonist in the same way as Anakin that during production of The Force Awakens
in the prequel trilogy, but because she is front two of the guests who visited the set were Katie
and center as a STEM female, she offers a Goldman—the young girl whose schoolmates
more progressive role model for male and told her that Star Wars was “just for boys”—
female viewers alike. and Malala Yousafzai—the Nobel Prize-winning
activist for female education who grew up under
repressive Taliban rule in Pakistan.
“CLASSIFIED, REALLY?
ME TOO.”
One of the most exciting things about
our journey with Rey is that it is only just
beginning. Though we think we have a clear
idea of the major players by the end of The
Force Awakens, we also know that Star Wars
has a track record of defying our initial
expectations. We believed that Padmé was
a handmaiden and had no reason to doubt the
story that Obi-Wan told about the fate of Luke’s
father. We could not have imagined that Leia
would be revealed as Luke’s sister, either. But
clues are often hidden in plain sight, and when
it comes to Rey there are moments when she
is clearly less forthcoming than she might be.
After she saves Finn from the rathtar, she
brushes off the blast door closing as lucky.
Later, when Finn asks how she got away from
Kylo Ren on Starkiller Base, she answers:
“I can’t explain it. And you wouldn’t believe
it.” Just like Finn, the audience doesn’t know
everything about Rey, and probably won’t
for a few more years. In other words,
“This is where the fun begins!”
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