Why So Blu?

Force Out Hate – A Star Wars Battle Beyond the Films

There will always be a debate as to who likes which Star Wars film more, why their opinion should be validated and what we all would have changed in whichever film. We all have different tastes and varying points of view on the movies. Honestly, I no longer feel the need to tell anyone why I love Attack of the Clones or Return of the Jedi. I’ve found such discussions often go nowhere, especially when someone says they dislike The Last Jedi because of porgs or the fact that Laura Dern’s Holdo character is in a gown. If that’s how you judge a film, I’d stay away from movies in general. However, as time has gone on, the criticism tossed around Star Wars content has gone outside of the realm of scenes or character actions. Rather, it has become nothing short of vile as some so called “fans” have verbally attacked anyone associated with the films on a grand scale.

My first exposure to this came after The Last Jedi came out.  The backlash against director Rian Johnson was pretty intense to say the least.  Hey, I’m not trying to make anyone love the film if that’s not how they felt after leaving the theater.  What I would love to do is get people to intelligently discuss why they didn’t care for it.  You know, on an educated level.  While this certainly has taken place, social media has become both a launchpad and an arsenal for angry individuals to hide behind a computer or phone and deliver their tirades, which unfortunately, tend to eclipse those more eloquent discussions.  Some of the comments I had read on Twitter against Rian Johnson were intense to say the least.  Thank God the guy has a thick skin, because he handled himself quite well, even replying directly to some of the tweets.

The criticisms and name-calling thrown at Johnson, while still inappropriate, weren’t directed toward who he his, but rather what his artistic choices were.  While many of these tweets and Facebook posts were unprofessional, they didn’t nearly cross the line that others did.  What really hit me hard recently was when I saw some of these posts directed toward Kelly Marie Tran who played the character Rose in The Last Jedi.  First, let it be known that beautiful actress couldn’t have done a better job on screen in her Star Wars debut.  Still, the haters came out and did so in small, but loud pockets.  They attacked Tran on three fronts, her gender, her ethnicity and her body.

She is a woman in Star Wars.  I fail to see an issue there.  For those who just left the womb, let me educate you in that both society and nature there are males and females.  I know, who would’ve thought, right?!  So even though Star Wars is fake, it truly is appropriate to show both genders with each holding important roles both onscreen and off.  Still, reality escapes many and the social media comments began to grow.  There were people criticizing her for being a woman in Star Wars.  There were people criticizing her for being Asian.  If the racism wasn’t enough, the barrage of insults soon grew into attacking her for her weight.  Many of these things said were nothing short of heinous.  The old adage “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” is not entirely true for everyone.  This became rather evident when Tran eventually shut down her social media accounts such as Instagram.

As I began to dig a little deeper, I noticed Tran wasn’t the only one catching foul comments for who they are.  There were inappropriate posts aimed at John Boyega for being of African descent.  There were volleys of tweets directed at Lucasfilm chief Kathleen Kennedy for being a woman in a role of leadership.  One thing I find absolutely confounding in all of this is how this has all manifested itself in such large outbursts in such a short time.  I do not recall anyone critiquing Lando for being black.  No one ever said get rid of Leia because she’s a woman.  Isn’t that how it should be?  Shouldn’t we just enjoy the diversity and the films?  What changed to bring us to this point of hate on such a grand scale?  Social media is one factor, obviously.  What’s the other?  Perhaps portions of society are devolving before our very eyes.  Isn’t it ironic that someone doesn’t have a problem with a three-eyed alien being a senator, but they’ll complain until the sun goes down about a human who doesn’t look like them?

I look back at some of the things said to me as an undersized kid growing up.  To this day I have not forgotten the insults or the bullying.  Words carry weight, and while some folks are able to let the negative dialogue roll off their back like water on a duck, others carry the taunts and cut-downs like excessive baggage.  I feel horrible for Tran.  Here’s a woman who probably experienced complete elation the day she discovered she was cast in a Star Wars film.  Yet that same positive brought with it the immature jabs of the negative few who were sure to make their voices heard.  However, with every negative action comes a positive reaction.

Enter the real fans of Star Wars.  People came out in droves online supporting Johnson, Boyega, Kennedy and especially Tran.  While it is unfortunate to see the ugly side of humans, it was reassuring and heart-warming to see the tsunami of love and support come crashing down on the overly aggressive comments.  One of the best and most professional retorts I had seen was from John Boyega himself.  On June 12, 2018, the actor posted the following on Twitter, “If you don’t like Star Wars or the characters, understand that there are decision makers and harassing the actors/actresses will do nothing. You’re not entitled to politeness when your approach is rude.  Even if you paid for a ticket!”  Amen.

What I found to be the most poignant reply to all of this hate, was from none other than my dear friend Dale Hopkins.  Not only is the title of this article borrowed from his hashtag (I don’t think he’ll mind), but his recent posting hit the nail on the head in regard to all this putrid dispersing of hate over the past several months.  Rather than go into some flourishing intro of what he said, I’ll just post it right here…

“Dear toxic Star Wars fan, I get it.  You’re upset because things didn’t play out the way you wanted them to and you didn’t like The Last Jedi. Some of you don’t like being called a racist, a bigot, a misogynist or even nasty and hateful.

That’s fair enough.

However, if you are making racist, bigoted or misogynistic comments or are acting in a nasty or hateful manner, you’re probably going to be called out on it.

Also, if you’re trying to prove that you’re a decent person, making threats against, harassing or trolling someone isn’t doing anything to actually help you, so you might want to knock that off.

Just talking to you, one fan to another ‘cos I care about the community to which we belong.  So please consider your actions before you put them into play.  Is that really how you wish to portray yourself to the world?

Thanks!

A fellow Star Wars fan.  #ForceOutHate”

I couldn’t have written a better reply to the simply idiotic comments against race or gender if I tried.  If there is a lesson to be learned from this, it occurs on a number of levels.  First, the pen is mightier than the sword.  Words can have a damning effect.  Be careful how you use them.  Second, there are strength in numbers.  A few hundred people can cause an innocent actress to shut down her connection to fans.  That does not make them right.  It makes them obnoxious.  Third, I suspect there is a lot more love out there than hate.  Don’t be afraid to show it and force out hate.  Why some people hold back the floodgates on the positive but open them for the negative is beyond me.  After all, it takes more muscles to frown than it does to smile.