Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Jedi Princess Rey is a Terribly-Written Character

Oilver Campbell, like Max Landis, knows a thing or two about storytelling. So, when he comments on that I listen. That Tweet above is part of a thread that began with Max Landis' Tweet below. Max is right: The Force Awakens is nothing more than shit fan-fiction that somehow ascended into the canon. Sure, it's better than the prequels, but that's like saying being not-retarded is better than being retarded. The Social Justice cultists immediately pointed and shrieked, but sane folks have come out in his defense, like this woman below. Listen to what Anna Akana said: Hold female protags to same standards as males.

You can hear the pod-people comprising the SocJus Cult going REEEEEEEEEEE! from here, as this is something that blasts The Narrative right in the kidneys with a bowcaster. Whatever else can be said about The Force Awakens, this much is certain:

Rey is a TERRIBLY-WRITTEN CHARACTER!

She is a Disney Princess, and the same horrible writing faults (producing these horribly-done characters) that afflict the Disney Princess cult figures in other works apply here:
  • Secret Royalty (since we known Force Sensitivity is a heritable trait)
  • Instant Proficiency (in an absurd manner that not even Anakin had, and he came off as a proto-Gary Stu at times)
  • IWIN Protection (never really vulnerable, in any way, physical or emotional)
  • Reality-Distortion Aura (can do blatantly unreal things, even after accounting for fictional posits)
  • Effortless Victory (wins in the end, just because)
At no time does Rey show any emotional vulnerability, despite being someone who should have severe personality deficits due to being abandoned at a young age. At no time is Rey actually physically vulnerable, despite appearances as well as growing up as an orphan on a desert planet filled with the same sort of people who--in the real world--value courtesy and hospitality as a means of enhancing short and long-term survival. She goes from not having any proficiency with using the Force to being equal in power and proficiency to Jedi-era Luke within the course of a couple of days, if that, and (of course) no fucking training at all.

She's a walking, talking homing beacon for Plot Contrivances- and not at so much as a two-dimensional character of either the Dynamic or Iconic sort. She's a typical fan-fiction protagonist, the archtypical Mary Sue, and differs from other Disney Princesses only in that she (like Disney's Mulan) takes on a lot of plot-carrying that usually goes to male characters. Whatever emoting she does comes off as "script calls for it here", and lacks any authenticity whatsoever.

She undergoes no adversity. She never fails at anything that matters. She suffers no loss. She makes no sacrifice to get what she wants- it's all handed to her Because Reasons. (Hell, she doesn't even really want anything, and so has no motivation for being involved; Rey's just there Because Reasons.) NO MALE CHARACTER CAN DO THIS AND BE ACCEPTABLE!

And I don't blame the actress (Daisy Ridley) for this; that blame belongs to Jar Jar Abrams. Daisy, being a newb, doesn't have the professional experience or the innate confidence (that Harrison Ford, back in the 1970s, did) to (figuratively) grab Abrams by the scruff of his neck and do a "You can write this shit (George), but you can't say it." thing with him that Ford did to Lucas. I hope that Rian Johnson fixes this shit for the next two episodes, but I'm not that hopeful due to SJW Cultist Kathleen Kennedy riding herd on everything to do with Star Wars now that it's a Disney property.

We need better-written characters in our entertainment, and so long as we get Disney Princesses (and Princes, but this film has none) that isn't happening in Star Wars properties. It's really sad when trailers for the MMO are far superior Star Wars products than those charged with what are the load-bearing pillars of the Temple, and we all know what happens when the deception reaches critical mass now, don't we?

1 comment:

  1. Here you've presented pretty much everything that needs to be said about the Rey-shielded thermal exhaust port.

    When Oliver Campbell and Max Landis agree on something, it's imprudent to gainsay them, anyway.

    Speaking of Max Landis, have you seen his Best of the Worst episode? If not, make sure you watch it--to the VERY END.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-3wkbqmgxs

    ReplyDelete

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