The Star Wars franchise is ingrained in American pop culture as is evident from its mainstay status in homes and movie theaters since 1977. The saga started with Star Wars (later titled A New Hope) and since has spawned many more movies, TV shows, comics, novels, board games, and video games. The most recent iteration of Star Wars is titled The Force Awakens (TFA). The movie follows a woman named Rey who, after being orphaned on a desert planet at a young age, awaits the return of her family. Meanwhile, she finds belonging in the galaxy within the Rebel Alliance who are fighting an evil organization called The First Order. Along with Rey, TFA tracks the progression of Finn, who is a storm trooper, the would-be henchmen of The First Order, turned …show more content…
Lando Calrissian and Mace Windu were both prominent black characters in previous Star Wars movies. They were also impassive and without clear development. In TFA Finn is the antithesis of his predecessors. Specifically, he demonstrates striking emotional fortitude as well as dramatic growth during his first appearance on screen. He is one of the many ruthless storm troopers set upon villagers at the direction of the villain Kylo Ren. After having done his business in the village, Ren orders the troopers to, “Kill them all,” in an irreverent tone. Having previously seen a fellow trooper die, Finn decides that he cannot participate in senseless killing, a hallmark of storm troopers. As his comrades lay waste to the huddled villagers, Finn looks dejected and slowly lowers his blaster. His display of emotion is disparate from storm troopers. He also exhibits a change that is unique among his Star Wars brethren; the young, black, storm trooper grows to become more than an emotionless killer. This is striking on a broader level because of the stereotypical emotional representation of black men in Star Wars. Michael Omi witnesses similar instances noting that, “Racial minority actors have continually bemoaned the fact that the roles assigned them on stage and screen are often one-dimensional and imbued with stereotypic assumptions” (546). Finn is a storm trooper. For Star Wars that means he is faceless, remorseless, and unforgiving. But when he pulls off his helmet, he is breathing heavy and obviously traumatized. Pulling off his helmet is the final step in Finn’s transformation from storm trooper to real human. Star Wars represents Finn as a rounded and compelling character to portray black men in a more realistic way. His character and Star Wars have challenged the tradition of emotionally stunted black
My reasons for this opinion are all because of the Disney movie Star Wars: The Force Awakens. First, the two movies The Force Awakens and the New Hope have the exact same plots. In all The other movies of Star Wars each plot is very different. In The Phantom Menace, the first movie in the Star Wars saga, the plot is that
The “Star Wars” franchise is familiar to most, and may be the easiest in which to discover the hero’s journey. In “Star Wars,” we find young Luke Skywalker, a rebellious youth, living on a farm on the isolated planet of Tatooine, taken in by his aunt and uncle following the death of his mother and father. Luke grows up with dreams of flying through the stars, only dreams until his chance meeting with Ben Kenobi. Kenobi informs Luke of his real past: that his father was a Jedi knight and that Luke was destined to become great. Though Kenobi’s guidance and Luke own adventurous spirit, he finds himself pushed into an intergalactic quest to become a valiant Jedi in a galaxy controlled by the evil Empire.
The famous Star Wars is a movie from the epic space film series directed by George Lucas premiered in 1977. Since there are multiple Star Wars movies in the series, this paper will be focusing on the first movie of the series called Star Wars: A New Hope.
Although animated cartoons have long been associated with children’s entertainment, the content of many cartoons suggest they are for adults as well. From character portrayal to perceived gender roles, cartoons such as The Flintstones, The Jetsons, and Scooby Doo both reflect societal values from their time periods as well as perpetuate the developed stereotypes. Cartoons produced more recently such as The Simpsons start to challenge these stereotypes instead of following blindly. Comparing the earliest popular cartoons to more recent productions, shows progress towards a less stereotypical character portrayal in regards to gender.
Macbeth is a play written by William Shakespeare. It is considered one of his darkest and most powerful tragedies. Set in Scotland, the play dramatizes the corrosive psychological and political effects produced when evil is chosen as a way to fulfil the ambition for power.The play is believed to have been written between 1603 and 1607, and is most commonly dated 1606. It is a timeless classic and its themes resonate within some of the most common movies and books of modern times. Star Wars is an American epic space opera franchise centered on a film series created by George Lucas. The film series, consisting of two trilogies, has spawned an extensive media franchise called the Expanded Universe including books, television series, computer and video games, and comic books. The franchise depicts a galaxy described as far, far away in the distant past, and it commonly portrays Jedi as a representation of good, in conflict with the Sith, their evil counterpart. Their weapon of choice, the lightsaber, is commonly recognized in popular culture. It is arguably a cinematic masterpiece, holding in rank two of possibly the greatest trilogies the world has ever seen. It is a timeless epic which embodies within it an allegory for the history of the world; the rise and fall of empires and their emperors; the pursuit of power; the melting pot of cultures; the struggle for survival; the advancement of human technology; and most importantly as a whole, the history of humanity. Steven D. Graynus declared, “Ultimately, what the Star Wars films offer is….rousing storytelling suffused by themes of moral struggle and transcendence” (Decent Films Guide). The franchise's storylines contain many themes, with strong influences from philosophy and religio...
FN-2817 is an unique name that matches his unique story. FN-2817 or, Finn, is a character who has a start unlike most heroes, he starts at a stormtrooper. The irony of the situation is hilarious because stormtroopers are one of the villains of the movie. Finn’s call to adventure is one unlike any other. His call to adventure is actually when he was on the dark side. His call to adventure is when his Kylo Ren and the Stormtroopers went to Jakku. This is the location of his supernatural aid. His supernatural aid came from, oddly enough, Kylo Ren the main antagonist of “The Force Awakens”. Kylo Ren used the force to thwart a shot fired by Poe Dameron, a Resistance fighter. This is one of the reason’s Finn joined to fight against the First Order because he saw other people stand up for what right.
One must know Star Wars before criticizing anyone of ruining it or making it better. Most people go off of the books and the information contained inside that was published in the 70's. Based off of the movies, Star Wars can be described as a huge futuristic war between two sides that take place in a fantasy universe populated by many different species of creatures. In the first three movies there was a Galactic Republic that ruled the galaxy in peace, yet a few small groups didn’t want to join them. Then, p...
Disney’s new movie, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, will do exceptionally well in the box office due to the previous success of the Star Wars films and the recent prosperity of Disney’s use of Star Wars. On December 1, 2012, Disney’s purchase of Lucasfilm had been completed and Disney rigorously started production of merchandise to begin being released in 2014. It was then announced that they would begin development of a seventh edition to the Star Wars saga with hopes of being released in December 2015. This sparked much fan reaction across the globe consisting of both positive and negative feedback.
Long ago, in a galaxy far, far away, there lived a princess. Her name was Princess Leia. Growing up, she didn’t realize that one day, she and her twin brother would be travelling through space, fighting the dark side, fighting their father. This is Star Wars, the epic battle between good and evil. This is a very iconic movie series, one of the best sci-fi there is! Although, that is my opinion, I have a feeling many people would agree with me. As we take a look inside the film series, you’ll see a picture of what might be out there, and we have George Lucas to thank for that!
Star Wars is a science fiction adventure novel. The symbolism and characterization was really excellent in the story. The story gives a great look into the future as it has many different types of things we have not yet invented; blaster rifles, space ships that go the speed of light, fat alien slugs, and beam swords. The plot of the story sucks you into the novel and makes you want to continue reading the novel.
Gender stereotype are fixed ideas about men’s and women’s traits and capabilities and how people should behave, based on their gender. It starts at a young age. Our society starts establishing gender roles when children born. Parents chose for their children blue color clothing and other staff for boys and pink for girls. Even in the children’s stores, just by watching stuff the way they are organized you can see the difference. The toys are different as well. In general, toys associated with boys are related to fight, aggressiveness, competitiveness, and toys associated with girls related to physical attractiveness, nurturing and domestic skill. So basically through toys children learn their role in our society. Even if you will try
Girls are supposed to play with dolls, wear pink, and grow up to become princesses. Boys are suppose to play with cars, wear blue, and become firefighters and policemen. These are just some of the common gender stereotypes that children grow up to hear. Interactions with toys are one of the entryway to different aspects of cognitive development and socialism in early childhood. As children move through development they begin to develop different gender roles and gender stereotypes that are influenced by their peers and caregivers. (Chick, Heilman-Houser, & Hunter, 2002; Freeman, 2007; Leaper, 2000)
The women’s suffrage movement and gender equality are things that have changed everything in our society, and changed them for the better. Compared to the past, when the role of a man and the role of a woman had a distinct difference, in today’s society the role and opportunities of both sexes in America are nearly equivalent. While when many people think of the key players in these movements as strong willed women such as Rosa Parks or national icons such as Rosie the Riveter who was a symbol for the women working in the factories during World War two, many other attributes had immense impacts on the movement. One of these attributes is pop culture, and in specifically the Star Wars movies.
Changes in society have brought issues regarding gender stereotype. Gender roles are shifting in the US. Influences of women’s movement (Firestone, Firestone, & Catlett, 2006) and gender equality movement (e.g., Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)) have contributed to expanding social roles for both genders. Nevertheless, gender stereotypes, thus gender stereotype roles continue to exist in the society (Skelly & Johnson, 2011; Wood & Eagly, 2010). With changes in gender roles, pervasiveness of gender stereotype results in a sense of guilt, resentment, and anger when people are not living up to traditional social expectations (Firestone, Firestone, & Catlett, 2006). Furthermore, people can hold gender stereotype in pre-reflective level that they may
“Sugar and spice and everything nice, that’s what little girls are made of.” This is a famous nursery rhyme that is recited by loving parents almost as soon as a child is brought home from the hospital. But does it serve as the backbone for gender stereotypes that permeate our society? Today women make up more than half of college graduates but according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2010) only 13.8% serve as engineers and 24.8% are working in computer and mathematics fields. The resounding question is why aren’t women choosing these occupations? On one side of the argument is the belief that it is a scientific fact that girls just aren’t as talented at math as boys, and on the other side is the belief that girls are stereotypically pigeonholed into traditional female roles from a young age, eventually affecting their self-efficacy in math-related topics and their choice to pursue jobs in this realm (Bandura, Barbaranelli, Vittorio-Caprara, & Pastorelli, 2001; Geist, E., 2010).