Why We Hate Kylo Ren
It’s been almost 10 days since the release of the new Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens, and of course, as expected theatres are swarmed with every single type of fan imaginable — from the hardcore to the casual, reliving their childhood or coming in fresh.
Before we go on with this article, I would need to warn you that this post will contain spoilers, so approach it at your own risk. Or actually if you haven’t watched it and planning to soon, just close this tab and be on your merry way.
The first Star Wars film came out 10 years before I was born. I was exposed to the toys as a child growing up and I watched the first trilogy before I even started school. I liked the movies, but I am by no means a hardcore fan. So while Star Wars was — like many things in the past — a part of my childhood, I would still consider myself a casual fan.
If you actually don’t like reading what a casual fan has to say, I would suggest closing this tab too.
Darth Vader has always been a scary figure. I always thought there wouldn’t be a scarier villain. He was just unrelenting, unforgiving, terrifying and just downright horrible. He strikes fear in the hearts of the inhabitants of the galaxy and the viewers. Even those who have never watched any of the Star Wars film — my nephews and nieces included — knew exactly who Darth Vader was.
And then you have Kylo Ren. This young, clean-faced, no scars, pretty boy for a villain in TFA.
We all have those friends who are straight up hardcore Star Wars fans. And my group of hardcore fans all said something similar: Kylo Ren is a shit villain.
From the first viewing of TFA, I disagreed. First, we don’t really know much about him yet. And second, put aside the fact that Adam Driver is oddly attractive to me, Kylo Ren had a lot more layers to his character than what is perceived by many people. But that’s not the point of this post though (yeah I know it’s a bit far down to get to the point). Let’s go back to the initial question: why do people hate Kylo Ren?
While this could just be me projecting because I’m trying not to claim that this applies to everyone (it is most likely projection I’m not gonna lie), but my guess on why people hate on Kylo Ren more than they should is not because he’s not Vader. No (and come on, we all know he can NEVER be Vader 2.0). We hate Kylo Ren because he reminds us of ourselves.
Now, stay with me on this.
Kylo Ren — or “Darth Millennial” as some may call him) — personally reminded me of myself. When I first saw him on screen — tantrum and all — I gravitated towards him because he is essentially me with a lightsaber (or light-broad sword). And a mask. And that black ensemble (well I wear black most of the time still anyway).
He is brash, uncontrollable, dysfunctional, torn, unstable, puts too much pressure on himself, gets frustrated when something doesn’t go his way, impatient and vying for someone’s — anyone’s — attention.
Sounds familiar?
Before Han Solo left to destroy the Star Killer and find Rey, Leia told him “I should have never sent him away” because she believed that was when they lost him — when they lost their son. Kylo/Ben showed signs of a child who is constantly left alone. Yes, while he had trained with Luke for some time, Luke’s not his father.
You know all those stories about neglected kids who fell into the wrong crowd because they weren’t getting enough attention at home? Yep. That was Ben.
And this whole business about finishing what his grandfather started? It’s his way to have someone — dead or alive — be “proud” of him. Part of the reason why I worked so hard in grad school (and struggled, mind you) was because my Dad never made it to university. I was essentially doing something for someone else.
And his whiny little shit tantrums? Come on, fess up: Haven’t we all been in a position where we got frustrated when things don’t go the way we wanted? Sure, we may not end up cutting up a console with metal-cutting plasma, but it’s a familiar anger.
We hate Kylo Ren not because he’s not Vader, we hate him because we hated every irrational and uncontrollable and unstable and non-levelheaded actions we’ve done in our lives. We were once that young, hot-blooded, impatient young adult who just want to achieve something great and do amazing things with our lives.
Adam Driver is an amazing casting choice for this role. Apparently you can draw parallels with his character Adam Sackler from GIRLS (but I haven’t really watched that series because I can’t bring myself to watch it), but you can clearly see the emotions and struggles in his eyes, face and voice when faced with the various “obstacles” in the film. He is torn, confused, sad and alone and I believe Driver conveyed that extremely well.
Kylo Ren is the villain of THIS generation — the millennials. I don’t think JJ Abrams intended him to be Darth Vader because no one can. I believe there is more depth and dimension to his character that can be further explored in the next two films. He won’t be able to be scarier than Vader, but he’s a different kind of scary. He is us. He is Darth Millennial.
