• Welcome! The TrekBBS is the number one place to chat about Star Trek with like-minded fans.
    If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Poll Is Rey a Mary Sue?

Is Rey a Mary Sue

  • Yes, she absolutely is-make arguments below

    Votes: 24 25.3%
  • No, she is not-make arguments below

    Votes: 34 35.8%
  • Mary Sue is a meaningless term

    Votes: 27 28.4%
  • Don't know, don't care

    Votes: 12 12.6%
  • Doesn't impact me one way or the other

    Votes: 11 11.6%

  • Total voters
    95
totally different from Luke.
You couple all the mary sue aspects of her character (that she knows how to fly, wield a lightsaber, knows all the languages) with the fact that we no nothing about the background of the character.. coupled with the fact that we don't know what DRIVES the character (why is she doing the right thing, except because the writers need her to) and those three elements combined make her a mary sue .. and the fourth element is that the audience is detached from her, never truly worried about her or surprised when she succeeds.
Let's not forget how the BTS aspects filter in.. this is Disney, this is Kathleen "all I want to talk about is fierce strong female characters, writers and directors" Kennedy

This is gibberish.
 
Moderators should seriously consider banning the use of this term because, although it once had a clear and precise meaning, it is now only synonymous with sexist crap.
 
Let's break this down...
that she knows how to fly
Same as Luke.
wield a lightsaber
She demonstrates more combat capability than Luke does with fighting off thugs. She already demonstrates combat competency with a melee weapon.
knows all the languages
She works with machines and in a diverse population. Seems reasonable.
we no nothing about the background of the character
A survivalist left abandoned on a frontier world, forced to scavenge in order to live.
we don't know what DRIVES the character
A desire to belong.
audience is detached from her
Incorrect, as demonstrated repeatedly in this thread.
Let's not forget how the BTS aspects filter in.. this is Disney, this is Kathleen "all I want to talk about is fierce strong female characters, writers and directors" Kennedy
Hyperbole. That isn't all that she talks about. Also, do Abrams' and Arndt also get the same BTS critique? No?

Hopefully this same criticism gets applied to Joss Whedon as well, who is on record as wanting to write strong female characters.
Moderators should seriously consider banning the use of this term because, although it once had a clear and precise meaning, it is now only synonymous with sexist crap.
Until they do let's keep the discussion around the arguments.
 
But he used to bull'seye womp rats in his T-sixteen back home! Because even IRL there is absolutely no difference between a bi-plane and a F-35!
As demonstrated in Independence Day, any ol' crop duster can take out a giant alien ship in a modern fighter plane. It's totally logical, as long as a white male does it.
 
As demonstrated in Independence Day, any ol' crop duster can take out a giant alien ship in a modern fighter plane. It's totally logical, as long as a white male does it.
Well, it's obvious: suspension of disbelief can't be applied to female characters. I mean, a woman who isn't a damsel in distress or the main character's love interest? What's this nonsense?!?
 
So, you are totally making up the definition of Mary Sue and decided that it applies to Rey..?

Look, now I don't have time to refute every single point you made, but I think this suffices



Knowing nothing about the background of the character has never been one of the definitions of "Mary Sue".

This is the original short story from which the term was coined:


We know from this story a lot about the background of this particular character (even her ancestry).

So please, just stop using that term, because,
To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.
I think I read somewhere that the original Mary Sue story was actually a parody of those types of characters, not an actual serious story.
 
The fact that Rey walks onto the Falcon and acts like she knows her way around a cockpit tells me that she's flown ships before. I don't need the dialog telling me what ship she's flown in the past.

Besides, I thought TV shows/movies were supposed to "show not tell" because they are a visual medium?
 
I think I read somewhere that the original Mary Sue story was actually a parody of those types of characters, not an actual serious story.
I quoted the original story, you can judge for yourself. :)

The fact that Rey walks onto the Falcon and acts like she knows her way around a cockpit tells me that she's flown ships before. I don't need the dialog telling me what ship she's flown in the past.

Besides, I thought TV shows/movies were supposed to "show not tell" because they are a visual medium?

What are you saying??? She absolutely had to talk extensively about her pilot resume while Tie Fighters shot at her. This is REALISM!
 
I'm still wondering how Luke managed to retrieve his light saber at the beginning of Empire with no training?
 
Besides, I thought TV shows/movies were supposed to "show not tell" because they are a visual medium?
This is my biggest contention regarding the whole argument. What evidence we have is presented on screen in the visuals not in dialog. That's how films work. How do we know Anakin is great at podracing? We watch him do it. How is Luke a good pilot? We watch him do it. Same thing with Rey.

We have been shown, not told. That's the strength of TFA.

I'm still wondering how Luke managed to retrieve his light saber at the beginning of Empire with no training?
Totally took me out of the movie.
 
So last night I re watched TFA and paid attention to the whole pilot thing.

There are at least three occasions where Rey states explicitly she has piloting experience and her qualms about the Falcon are that it is likely not space worthy. Rey and Finn initially head for a completely different ship, a speeder which is blown up before they can get there.

She struggles at first with the unfamiliar cockpit and actually complains about being alone in a vessel which requires a co pilot for proper operation, before finding her feet and flying around a familiar landscape within the atmosphere having already pointed out to Finn where the cannons are.

Where on earth does any of this leave us in any doubt that she is a pilot? Why would we require further backstory to explain this commonplace skill she has repeatedly stated she possesses? Do we also need to ask how she came to be ale to cook her own dinner?

I don't ask how it is characters in contemporary settings learnt to drive cars, use mobile phones or send emails, they are commonplace skills in the modern world and don't requires any special mention other than very possibly the simple fact of their presence.

Likewise Rey is living in a setting where mechanical and piloting skills are commonplace, skills she both references and demonstrates on numerous occasions (including using a speeder earlier on in the film). There's no reason to ask the question, much less make an issue out of it as a storytelling flaw.
 
Totally took me out of the movie.

It didn't for me. But for the sequel trilogy folks who question every single choice made with regard to Rey's character, I think it is a fair question to ask. Kenobi was dead, Luke hadn't met Yoda yet, we aren't given any information about how he would come about such a power with no training.
 
It didn't for me. But for the sequel trilogy folks who question every single choice made with regard to Rey's character, I think it is a fair question to ask. Kenobi was dead, Luke hadn't met Yoda yet, we aren't given any information about how he would come about such a power with no training.
It's a joke...I do that ;)

However, I do agree with the fact that is a completely fair question.
 
So last night I re watched TFA and paid attention to the whole pilot thing.

There are at least three occasions where Rey states explicitly she has piloting experience and her qualms about the Falcon are that it is likely not space worthy. Rey and Finn initially head for a completely different ship, a speeder which is blown up before they can get there.

She struggles at first with the unfamiliar cockpit and actually complains about being alone in a vessel which requires a co pilot for proper operation, before finding her feet and flying around a familiar landscape within the atmosphere having already pointed out to Finn where the cannons are.

Where on earth does any of this leave us in any doubt that she is a pilot? Why would we require further backstory to explain this commonplace skill she has repeatedly stated she possesses? Do we also need to ask how she came to be ale to cook her own dinner?

I don't ask how it is characters in contemporary settings learnt to drive cars, use mobile phones or send emails, they are commonplace skills in the modern world and don't requires any special mention other than very possibly the simple fact of their presence.

Likewise Rey is living in a setting where mechanical and piloting skills are commonplace, skills she both references and demonstrates on numerous occasions (including using a speeder earlier on in the film). There's no reason to ask the question, much less make an issue out of it as a storytelling flaw.
That pretty much sums it up. Rey's skills are on display from the word go, and more overtly than Anakin or Luke at similar moments in the films.

The questioning of Rey's skills makes it very difficult to take seriously.
 
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Sign up / Register


Back
Top