Star Wars, the Golden Globes, and the Current State of Hollywood
There are a couple things I have been noticing in response to aspects of the film industry that seem reasonable and overdue.
First of all, Star Wars: The Last Jedi is being released tonight. The follow up to 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens, it is a hotly anticipated sequel that sees the return of many beloved characters, including Rey (Daisy Ridley). When TFA was released, I noticed a fairly instant backlash to the character of Rey, with many painting her as a “Mary Sue” character, which is a type of character that is viewed to perfect and infallible, despite evidence that suggests this should not be the case. I had never heard of this concept before people applied it to Rey with the claims that this makes her a character, for whom it is impossible to root. The criticism seems absent from many other male characters who exhibit the same qualities. With the new movie coming out soon, I have seen this criticism rise to the surface again. And I still don’t understand it.
It was also reported this morning that women in attendance for next year’s Golden Globe awards are planning to wear black to protest sexual harassment and assault in the industry, according to Us Weekly. This comes on the heels, of course, of many notable figures having been accused of sexual harassment and assault, including political figures like Donald Trump, Roy Moore, and Al Franken, athletes like Marshall Faulk and Donovan McNabb, and major Hollywood figures like Louis C.K., Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, Dustin Hoffman, Charlie Rose, Tavis Smiley, Matt Lauer, and many more.
One particular response to these allegations I have noticed is by no means the popular response, but still a disturbing one, nonetheless. Many have sought to slander or discredit the women who made these accusations and many made the claim that the tarnishing of shows like Louie and House of Cards was the most devastating consequence of this recent wave. Both of these responses are interesting positions to take.
Another award show that made headlines recently was the upcoming SAG awards, which will be hosted by Kristen Bell and will feature only women as presenters for the ceremony. I saw a comment that was spread widely that suggested if a ceremony only had men as presenters, people would cry out and proclaim it to be sexist.
These moments all represent a large issue to a varying degrees. But to the men who think Rey is a bad character because she’s “too perfect,” their favorite FX comedy is tarnished, that women are fabricating stories about powerful men for publicity, and that an awards ceremony having women presenting is sexist, you should keep one thing in mind before voicing those thoughts: please, for the love of god, just shut the fuck up.
