Rey in The Force Awakens (Possible Spoilers)

[TremblingBluStar]

I do love that every time people state an obvious tendency for sexism there's somebody who points out some exceptions that somehow are supposed to disprove the whole original statement.

Why don't you be the one to offer evidence first? Give me an example of this "obvious" tendency for sexism that prevents there from being strong female characters in media, and then explain why this phenomena doesn't prevent the hundreds of examples of strong women in media that I can think of off the top of my head from becoming a reality.

Just like there's no racism anymore now that Obama is president. Right?

Are you talking racism is having black characters, or racism in general? If the latter, you are moving the goal post. I can prove that racism or sexism doesn't prevent there from being good black or female characters in media, but I obviously can't prove there is no racism or sexism at all, because there clearly is.

That is fucking unreal. I suppose white dudes can enjoy their privilege of not having to experience that racism and sexism have a pretty significant effect on many people's lives.

Can you prove white men have never faced sexism or racism? Because men involved in the Irish slave trade would disagree with you. As would Jewish men living in Nazi Germany, or Italian men living in slums in Queens in the 1900's. Or the hundreds of thousands of homeless men in the U.S., who enjoy the privilege of colorful names such as "bum", "hobo", "drunk", ect.

Ok, can Rey even be Ben's kid given when he died & how young she is? Isn't that IMPOSSIBLE?

I thought the theory is that she's his granddaughter

Yeah, that thought crossed my mind because I wouldn't like them to go the obvious route of making her Luke's daughter. You also have to consider her accent. In Star Wars, there is generally a reason behind a character's accent, even if it is as silly as "all Imperials sound British" from the original films. It at the very least suggests she was raised by people who have a Posh British accent.

 

[cultcross]

I do love that every time people state an obvious tendency for sexism there's somebody who points out some exceptions that somehow are supposed to disprove the whole original statement.

Why don't you be the one to offer evidence first? Give me an example of this "obvious" tendency for sexism that prevents there from being strong female characters in media, and then explain why this phenomena doesn't prevent the hundreds of examples of strong women in media that I can think of off the top of my head from becoming a reality.

TV Tropes link to the 'Smurfette Principle'. The tendency for ensemble casts to have exactly one woman. And those that avoid this trope because they're modern and socially conscious usually just add one more female. Even the Buffyverse, celebrated feminist crusher of the 'damsel in distress' trope, had 11 male main cast members to 8 female, and that's counting Tara's single episode in the credits.

Nobody is saying there aren't or can't be strong (or even weak) female roles in mass media. They are saying they are far rarer than equivalent roles for men. And that's not even starting on the issues with age and beauty in Hollywood and the disparity between men and women there. Can you imagine a film like The Expendables, but done with women of the same age? Or hiring back Kristanna Loken to play a Terminator again when she's 68? Female actors over a certain age transition to playing maternal roles, or the housekeeper in period dramas, and leave the leads and the action to, often older, men.

 

[ancient]

Ok, can Rey even be Ben's kid given when he died & how young she is? Isn't that IMPOSSIBLE?

I thought the theory is that she's his granddaughter

If Obi-Wan had decided to spread his space seed, as it were, and had produced a line of force-sensitive people, that introduces way too many plot holes that would need patching. So I don't think they'll do it for that reason alone.

 

[cultcross]

The whole idea that force sensitivity is hereditary does not sit very well with the ban on Jedi having families. It makes no sense at all that the Jedi order would ban skilled masters from passing on their sensitivity to the next generation, and depending on how common the 'gene' is, would eventually lead to a great shortage of recruits. The fact we rarely see two Jedi of the same species (human aside) suggests the family trait thing is perhaps an unusual quirk of the Skywalkers.

 

[Skywalker]

The whole idea that force sensitivity is hereditary does not sit very well with the ban on Jedi having families. It makes no sense at all that the Jedi order would ban skilled masters from passing on their sensitivity to the next generation, and depending on how common the 'gene' is, would eventually lead to a great shortage of recruits. The fact we rarely see two Jedi of the same species (human aside) suggests the family trait thing is perhaps an unusual quirk of the Skywalkers.

Makes sense, since the Force was introduced into the Skywalker family in a rather unusual manner.

Although when they were discussing Anakin's Force sensitivity, Qui-Gon asked Shmi who Anakin's father was, which I think implies it's not unusual or atypical for Force sensitivity to be a hereditary trait. I think the ban on families was more about keeping Jedi away from the temptations such things would bring, such as forming dangerous emotional attachments that could lead to jealousy and selfishness, and the dark side. That was the whole impetus behind Anakin's fall in the prequels.

 

[The Old Mixer]

Just gonna throw this out there...has anyone suggested that Rey might be descended from Palpatine...?

 

[Turtletrekker]

Just gonna throw this out there...has anyone suggested that Rey might be descended from Palpatine...?

No, I had not considered that...

 

[The Old Mixer]

Now that I've let it roll around in my head a bit, that could lend itself to certain story angles...like the First Order either (a) wanting to make her their dark queen, or (b) wanting to kill her to make sure she wouldn't try to assume Palpatine's place. Either angle would certainly give Luke sufficient motivation to hide her away.

 

[poundpuppy29]

I am positive that Rey is Luke's daughter no doubt in my mind it's a big fight in SW fandom right now

 

[{ Emilia }]

Why would anybody fight over this?

I grew to love Rey as a character without knowing anything about her parents. So I don't see why her parents being revealed would change much for me at all. It'll be nice to know but that's it.

 

[Trekker4747]

It seems very, very telegraphed she's Luke's daughter but I really hope that's not the case and that she's not related to anyone we've met. That was a big problem with the prequels, the "small universe" notion where everyone is related to or has some connection to everyone else. An entire galaxy of people out there, trillions upon trillions of lives and only, like, a dozen of them mattered and had some meaning of contact with one another either directly or through others over the course of a few decades when it comes to galactic government and power.

Six Degrees of Anakin Skywalker.

Is it maybe just possible that someone else out there is important and they're not a Skywalker, a Kenobi, a Jin, a Solo, a Jinks, a Fett, a Greedo-lastname, a Palpatine, etc.?

I'm sure Rey will turn out to be related to someone because, well, I honestly don't think Abrams is all that creative in all honesty, but I really hope it turns out to not be the case and he allows his writers the freedom to do what they want and not succumb to the tropes of this franchise. You more-or-less copied formula to win us over with the first movie. You succeeded. You have out attention, now show us something different.

And not with taxes and trade blockades!

 

[Michael]

I really like the Rey Kenobi theory floating around here. But still, I would love if they'd just let her be her own, new thing without any relations to anyone from the saga. Somehow I think it makes her a stronger, more interesting character. I fear, though, they will opt for the most obvious and make her simply Luke's daughter. We'll see.

 

[The Old Mixer]

a Jin

Hmm...now that you mention it, having her be a descendant of Qui-Gon would be another less-obvious possibility.

 

[Trekker4747]

a Jin

Hmm...now that you mention it, having her be a descendant of Qui-Gon would be another less-obvious possibility.

Yeah, that one might actually work "the most." But it'd require Qui-Gon to have gone against the "Jedi Code" and slept with someone. Which if we ignore that stupid rule from the stupid prequels, fine by me.

I guess he could have done it without his pecker entering the temple of forbidden treasures. Maybe he did what Palps did and used Miditechnobabbles to give some unsuspecting woman a virgin conception?

 

[Mojochi]

I think it's unlikely it'll be anyone too deep into the history, as someone who died back when Obi-wan was a padawan

I also think it's kind of stupid to fight over this, but it is fun to think about in the interim. Being Luke's daughter just feels too obvious to me. The fact that they've been somewhat mum about Ben is why I suspect him more, that & it seems, to me at least, to be a more fertile story direction, but honestly, the most fertile direction is that she's related to no one.

However, even if that's the case, they DO have to know who she is. Jedi types don't just appear out of the blue, do they? These guys are attuned to the universe, most of them existing in the wacky ethereal plane. They know she's out there, just like Yoda knew about Leia. So she IS somebody, somebody important, regardless of lineage. I just got a sneaking suspicion that lineage will matter too, because it's Star Wars. Blood ties are a big part of it

 

[ConRefit79]

Just gonna throw this out there...has anyone suggested that Rey might be descended from Palpatine...?

I did in some thread. Talk about a twist.

 

[poundpuppy29]

I am happy that she maybe Luke's daughter because I want a main character girl Jedi we have done the father son thing in Star Wars

 

[Skywalker]

I think I'd like it if she were a Skywalker. I don't mind small universe syndrome in this case because the Star Wars movies are supposed to be about the Skywalker family. Ben Solo has Skywalker blood in him, too, of course, but at this point I think it would be more interesting if Rey was Luke's daughter than if she had no relation to anyone we've seen before. It's pretty clear to me that her background is significant somehow. Rey might have been joking when she told BB-8 that where she came from was classified, but to me that sounded like Abrams and Kasdan were also talking to the audience.

 

[Kelso]

Just gonna throw this out there...has anyone suggested that Rey might be descended from Palpatine...?

You just said that so I'd picture the Emperor having sex. Bastard.

 

[Set Harth]

However, even if that's the case, they DO have to know who she is. Jedi types don't just appear out of the blue, do they? These guys are attuned to the universe, most of them existing in the wacky ethereal plane. They know she's out there, just like Yoda knew about Leia.

Yoda knew about Leia because he was present for her birth, not because he was attuned to the universe per se.

But it'd require Qui-Gon to have gone against the "Jedi Code" and slept with someone.

Is that against the code? Only attachment is forbidden.