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you know what? i'm not done talking about leia, okay?
yes, ben should have clearly lived. absolutely, rey deserved better than...that.
but the mishandling of leia's arc was the first domino in that line to fall.
yes, ben should have clearly lived. absolutely, rey deserved better than...that.
but the mishandling of leia's arc was the first domino in that line to fall.
when you hear leia's arc summarized, it sounds fabulously progressive.
she trained as a jedi? she helped bring her son back from the dark side? she helped train a new generation of female jedi! SWEET!
but the more you look at it, closely, the more bothersome it becomes.
she trained as a jedi? she helped bring her son back from the dark side? she helped train a new generation of female jedi! SWEET!
but the more you look at it, closely, the more bothersome it becomes.
leia's big jedi plotline was largely unnecessary to the movie. like rey nobody, there was beauty in a woman coming to a position of power based on her strength and grit alone.
leia didn't *need* the force. but let's assume she was interested, and wanted to train? i dig it!
leia didn't *need* the force. but let's assume she was interested, and wanted to train? i dig it!
it was fun to see her give luke a run for his money in her tros flashback. she kicked ass training.
which was why it was disturbing to see her give that skill up ten seconds later. it is difficult, as a working mother myself, to watch this and not feel laid bare on some level.
which was why it was disturbing to see her give that skill up ten seconds later. it is difficult, as a working mother myself, to watch this and not feel laid bare on some level.
balancing being a "good" mother and maintaining a career/interests of my own is the life puzzle that keeps me up late at night. like many women in my shoes, i not only feel too spread thin, but posses this lovely nagging guilt about my inability to be everything for everyone.
watching leia give up her future as a jedi for the safety of her son was a powerful moment for me as a woman.
it was a sacrifice i felt to my core, and one that i am not sure the largely male creators of tros truly understood the gravity of. this may be presumptuous of me...
it was a sacrifice i felt to my core, and one that i am not sure the largely male creators of tros truly understood the gravity of. this may be presumptuous of me...
but any woman who has made this sacrifice for their child, given up power or agency or success in return for their well-being, would be as horrified as i was to find out that leia's sacrifice was in vain.
ben still dies at the end of her jedi journey as prophesied.
ben still dies at the end of her jedi journey as prophesied.
her act of maternal sacrifice does NOTHING to protect her son.
and don't give me that but-she-returned-him-to-the-light-side bullshit. her child died at the age of thirty after a lifetime of misery, moments after finding peace for the first time. this is NO mother's dream.
and don't give me that but-she-returned-him-to-the-light-side bullshit. her child died at the age of thirty after a lifetime of misery, moments after finding peace for the first time. this is NO mother's dream.
in a society full of women attempting to balance everything and desperately trying to give their children the best life they can, it sends an awful message.
you really can't have it all. and even if you try to give your own desires up, that still probably won't be enough.
you really can't have it all. and even if you try to give your own desires up, that still probably won't be enough.
it creeps at the back of your mind, like the women who shame you for feeding your child formula, or the men who question your days off at work to care for your sick child.
it's the deepest, lingering fears of many modern women, reinforced.
it's the deepest, lingering fears of many modern women, reinforced.
cramming leia into a jedi plot and bringing ben back to the light as a final act was shoehorning a woman and a mother into male concepts of what "strength" and "sacrifice" are.
i can't help but wonder not only how many women, but MOTHERS, were consulted as this was fleshed out?
i can't help but wonder not only how many women, but MOTHERS, were consulted as this was fleshed out?
tros was supposed to be carrie's time to shine - leia's movie.
terrio has said, "I think getting to say goodbye to Leia and to this part of the galaxy was a really important thing." and "I remember that from my childhood, and I always wished that I could see Leia as a Jedi."
terrio has said, "I think getting to say goodbye to Leia and to this part of the galaxy was a really important thing." and "I remember that from my childhood, and I always wished that I could see Leia as a Jedi."
perhaps if the male writers were more concerned about what a woman in leia's position would want, and less about their own feelings of nostalgia and losing her, we may have had a story that resonated more deeply with some of her biggest fans - strong mothers themselves.
(also, the icing on the disturbing sundae was having rey take leia's name with her smiling on at the end. real talk, any 60-something mom would be standing there like "that's nice dear but how about you go find my son and take his name and give me some grandkids, okay?")
