So my son took me to see the last Star Wars movie. This last trilogy started off so hopeful and ended so badly that I found myself pining for the terrible prequels. The final film of the new trilogy, The Rise of SkyWalker, really drove home the problems that have plagued these new films: disjointed plots, one-dimensional characters, amateurish plot devices (the MacGuffins were strong with this one), zero character growth, and insulting dialogue.
Yet just as the theme in Star Wars is that no one is beyond redemption, you can always find something redeemable to enjoy in each of these films—just enough to give Disney money for the next film. You can always expect awesome special effects, breathtaking visuals, a few good action sequences, and just enough of a story thread to keep you from walking out.
There’s so much I could discuss the latest film, but this is not a review. There’s plenty of that out there online. In fact, I already wrote a review of the film, and it was during this review I noticed something that has bothered me more and more every time I think about it. It’s a scene at the very end of the film.
I’m not giving away any big spoiler to tell you that somehow, someway, the good guys will eventually be victorious. (This is Star Wars, people.) There’s a scene near the end of the film where joyous characters are hugging and kissing each other after a big battle. For a brief second, we get a very quick shot of a very minor female character who was in the background for the past two films greeting and kissing her girlfriend. So yes, Star Wars has it’s first-ever “gay kiss.” Conservatives who make their career hating Hollywood really lost their minds over the promotion of the “gay agenda.” Here’s the thing—I really hate it too, but not for the same reason.
If you know anything about this latest trilogy, you know two of the major characters are Finn and Poe Dameron, played by John Boyega and Oscar Issac. They have a bromance that has developed over three films after all of the tight situations they find themselves in. There is so much chemistry between them that several in the Twitterverse theorize that they are, in fact, homosexual. Unfortunately, the tone in which this has played out online has sometimes been degrading and exactly what you’d expect from homophobic trolls. This doesn’t surprise or offend me. What does offend me is how Disney seemingly responded.
Disney did its best in this new film to try to tamp down the rumor by giving Poe an ex-girlfriend to pine over in order to prove he’s not gay. The ex-girlfriend served no purpose at all in the film, and there was no chemistry between them. It didn’t help that she was dressed like a Power Ranger, and her schtick was to never take off her helmet. (She did lift her visor for a brief second so you could see she was a human girl.) While I was groaning over the poor dialogue, I got to thinking—why didn’t Disney just go with the real relationship between Poe and Finn?
Romantic subplots are a staple of good filmmaking. Usually, you’ll see the main character fight passionately to save another main character because they are obviously in love with each other. There are scenes that showcase this bond, which inevitably gives way to the upcoming perils where they have to fight for each other. This connection is critically important to understanding a character’s motivation, and good actors who are able to create chemistry onscreen can really make the audience feel fully invested in both the characters and their actions.
Poe and Finn already shared a lot of the snarky, witty banter that reminded me of the Leia and Han dynamic of the original trilogy. After so many escalating situations, we witnessed Leia and Han’s relationship evolve from contempt, to grudging respect, to friendship, and eventually, love. There was an arc between them that improved the story and made us care about the characters.
Now, just imagine what would have happened if George Lucas decided to cram a ridiculously dressed character in the last film for Han to suddenly decide he has feelings for. It would have been stupid, and that’s exactly how it felt in this film.
Poe and Finn started a similar trajectory where they were forced to work with each other in these harrowing situations. They argue and fight, but develop an admiration for each other. JJ Abrams could have taken their relationship a step further to make a better film. After all, Poe racing to save Finn would have had a hell of a lot more impact if he felt he was losing his soul mate, and maybe if one of them sacrificed himself to save the other it could have had the audience feel something. This would have been much preferred over the many preposterous, cartoonish escape sequences. Besides giving these characters a little bit of depth, a love story between them would actually have made sense. Best of all, this wouldn’t be a “pander” to the LGBTQ community, or worse, a marketing ploy. It would have been a beneficial story arc that improved the film.
I’ve noticed this trend where Hollywood wants to jump on the equality bandwagon, but not in any consequential way. I felt the exact same way when J.K. Rowling announced that Dumbledore was gay a few years ago. I did not find this bold or progressive. There was nothing in any of her books that portrayed him as gay, and nothing was ever explored or even identified about how being a gay wizard would have influenced his character. Rowling just retroactively declared him gay as an ultimate lazy pander.
This was repeated with Sulu’s character in the last Star Trek movie, of which George Takei took umbrage. He correctly pointed out that Sulu was an established heterosexual character, and that by declaring him gay all of the sudden, it would have meant he had been “closeted” all this time. This runs contrary to the evolvement of humans featured in Roddenberry’s creation. Takei’s plea for the creators to be “imaginative” and create a new character who had a history of being gay fell on ears that didn’t want to hear it.
This latest Star Wars film had a great opportunity to feature a love story between the only characters who had any damn chemistry at all. It was so blatantly obvious to everyone that even the actors admit to having emotional intimacy onscreen and openly said they wished the filmmakers would have explored their relationship. The love story between Finn and Poe wouldn’t have been a “gay” love story as much as a true love story between two characters who happened to be gay. It would have worked because it is what the story called for.
Unfortunately, the filmmakers were apparently too frightened to allow the story to develop naturally and derailed it in the worst possible way. The two-second kiss between newly declared lesbian characters only added insult to injury.
The rightwing is correct that Hollywood is gratuitously shoe-horning these things in. I agree, but unlike them, I want them to support the LGBTQ community better. All they really need to do is actually allow them to have meaningful representation in their stories. If an opportunity presents itself, try exploring it instead of suppressing it. A side benefit might be having films that suck a little less.
OK, now, about those plot holes…..