Skimming some of the discussion about Finn's character brought me back. Just because Lucasfilm, Kennedy, Abrams, or Terrio don't "see" negative racial stereotyping or negative implications to the Finn character, and there's no evidence we've seen that they don't, just like some would say there no evidence that they do, doesn't mean the negative racial stereotyping did not exist, or that certain moviegoers saw or it felt that it had been done.
Even though I also have no evidence, I doubt that Lucas intentionally thought Jar Jar Binks, Watto, and the Nemoidians were racially/culturally insensitive when he created them, but that's how they were perceived (and IMO were). Lucas, drawing from the history of Hollywood and old serials, seemingly drew from a very questionable racial/cultural well without thinking of the how other people might see it, because
he enjoyed those serials, and since they weren't offensive to him, then he IMO assumed they wouldn't be offensive to others.
I could see Disney Lucasfilm making similar decisions. And that goes to who is in the room making creative decisions. For all of the touting of Disney Star Wars' progressive views, all the film directors thus far have been white males (and though I haven't looked up the screen writers, I'm just going to go out on a limb here and assume the same). I'm not making a blanket assertion than white males in principle, or in general, can't make culturally aware and nuanced films or create non-white characters, to be clear, but when it comes to Finn and Disney Star Wars the proof is in the pudding.
My own personal take is that Disney, especially after hearing more of the J.J. Cut rumors, was skittish about putting a black character in such a prominent role already and made him a more stereotypical character to make him palatable to non-black audiences who might have been put off by the inclusion of the character, but also was hoping that his prominence and the desire for representation and inclusion, their marketing machine, ignorance (willful or otherwise) as well as Boyega's charisma, would be enough to mollify detractors.
Though it's simply not an issue of having one or even a handful of people of color in the writing rooms and boardrooms, it also has to be a willingness to hear and consider what they have to say if their views are divergent and if they are willing or able to bring in a different racial/cultural perspective. I do think the novels, even more than the comics, have diversified their writing stable. I've also seen some more diversity behind the camera for The Mandalorian. Perhaps the next round of films will follow suit.
People being blind or callous even to racial discrimination or disparities is not unusual. If it's not your experience, if it doesn't affect your life, and then also if you're living inside the insulated bubble of Hollywood, I can see how easily oblivious a person could be. Plus the history of racism in this country is unsettling and many people still struggle with reckoning with the past, much less the future. Look at what's going on about with the debate about Confederate monuments today.
As for the charge that a few, basically a minority, only take issue with Finn (which is debatable since Finn does not seem to be a broadly embraced character among black Americans; compare him to the Black Panther characters for example), does that make the concerns any less valid. What I am getting here is an attempt to dismiss these concerns, that 'you people' (my words here) are too sensitive and you need to 'stop seeing racism everywhere' kind of thinking. Don't interrupt my fun. It's 'your problem' not mine. And 'get over it'. It also reminds me of how the 'vocal minority' charge was used by Disney and the Hollywood media, among others, to dismiss The Last Jedi detractors.
Back to the Black Panther characters. When you look at that film and how many different kind of complex/complicated characters and nuanced portrayals you had in it, there's really no excuse. Even Nick Fury, though a supporting character, has been depicted with more complexity, and he's nowhere near as prominently featured. Laurence Fishburne's Bill Foster, got even less screen time, but his characterization I had no real problem with. The MCU is not perfect, but it is definitely doing it better than Star Wars when it comes to inclusion and representation.
I may be wrong here but I can't see Ryan Coogler, F. Gary Gray, Jordan Peele (as a director so far) among others putting the Finn character onscreen as we got him particularly in The Force Awakens. And if Disney had been insistent about Finn I could see them adding other black characters to balance him out, like giving Korr Sella more to do. She was in a blink and miss it role, and thankfully has gotten much more to do on Legends of Tomorrow.
https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Korr_Sella
