Read on Twitter
1/ Alright, I’m diving into this Frog Lady discussion because I've got time right now. [puts hair in ponytail] When the Child first ate the Frog Lady’s eggs, I gasped, but chuckled. It reminded me of my 15 month old who is constantly trying to eat things she isn’t supposed to.
2/ I found the moment shocking & funny, but it also made me uneasy---if these eggs are the last eggs she’ll ever produce, then they're sacred and irreplaceable. I suddenly felt bad for Froggy, and her diminishing supply of unfertilized eggs. We had no idea how many she had left!
3/ Yes, it’s funny that Baby Yoda does what babies do, but the joke is at the expense of a character that the audience is supposed to empathize with. Shouldn’t we feel upset when her irreplaceable eggs are eaten? It feels mean to laugh at a character who is powerless & desperate.
4/ Froggy's body language is anxious. She clutches her hands close to her chest. (Props to Misty Rosas who gave the character humanity.) I identified with Froggy, not just because I've had to worry about my own eggs, but because we're *supposed* to feel empathy for the character.
5/ Look, I understand the eggs are like a chicken’s, but if you gave me a dozen and said they were the last ones that chicken would ever produce, I wouldn’t joke about scrambling up some huevos rancheros with the last of her family's lineage. Okay, maybe I would, but...
6/ Even as a carnivore, if that chicken desperately told me that she entrusted me to protect her eggs, it would be cruel and insensitive of me to crack one open for my breakfast. (Obviously vegetarians have strong feelings about eggs even though chickens don't speak.)
7/ So why am I nitpicking this joke? Because it’s an example of a larger issue. You better believe I am sensitive to how mothers have historically been treated in stories and movies. In storytelling, mothers are often either dead or helpless saps in need of a hero.
8/ Let's ditch the tropes. Give mothers onscreen more agency. Have motherhood propel the mom to action, instead of using her death to make another character embark on a journey. Where is the mom's epic adventure? Just because we have kids, doesn't mean we can't be heroes too.
9/ Anyways, I nitpick because I love The Mandalorian and I've enjoyed how they've balanced humor and action while keeping the galaxy weird. It's been refreshing & fun.
You know what else would be refreshing & fun? A mother/daughter Star Wars trilogy starring Gina Torres.
/end
You know what else would be refreshing & fun? A mother/daughter Star Wars trilogy starring Gina Torres.
/end
