Why Rey Is So Important

Hey! I have not blogged for quite a while, but now that it is Christmas Break and the hustle and bustle of the holidays has declined, I hope to get some posts lined up. I have plenty of new makeup favorites to share and I will be going to Sephora tomorrow to purchase a foundation, so look for a post on that soon.

photo credit

Anyways, I want to talk today about Rey, the heroine and protagonist of the new Star Wars movie. Let me first start off by saying that I thought the film was fantastic. It has a good plot line, phenomenal character development, and it brings back the flair and "feel" of the original Star Wars. I join the bandwagon by saying it's a great film. I'm going to focus on Rey (obviously) so there could be some spoilers!

My favorite part of the film, however, would have to be that the heroine of the movie was a woman. Before anyone starts freaking out that I am skipping over Leia, I am not. Believe me, I am a huge Leia fan, however, Luke was the main hero of the original Star Wars. I love seeing good triumph evil in every Star Wars, but it's important to acknowledge that women are capable and deserving of that battle too. Leia was a sidekick. In this film, the main hero is a girl, Rey, and I couldn't be happier. 

It's not everyday you watch a film with a female protagonist. In a report from The Guardian, it was stated, "According to a 2014 study by the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, in both the US and UK just 30% of the highest-grossing movies had female leads or co-leads." Can you believe that? Women make up 50% of the world population, yet are only represented 30% of the time as a lead or co-lead. There have been plenty of great gains in film representation equality in the past few years: Katniss in The Hunger Games and Tris in Divergent shines a whole new light on dynamic female heroines, Bradley Cooper said he would join his female coworkers when negotiating contracts to ensure equal pay, and Sandra Bullock fought for a role written for men. The rise of powerful women in Hollywood is a promising sign of leveling the playing field, both financially and in terms of roles available to women.

Rey, played by Daisy Ridley (who is an incredible actress, by the way), showcases the movement of powerful women. Rey is the heroine of the film. Instead of the film largely being focused on males, like in the original Star Wars, and instead of having women fit into the traditional Hollywood boxes for women: side-kick, mother, unable to live without the love of a man (*cough* Padme *cough*), Rey leads the pack. She breaks out of prison, she doesn't wait for anyone to come and rescue her. She fights (the main villain--and wins). She does it all without wearing a gold bikini.

Leia's gold bikini turned a strong female lead (who strangled Jabba the Hut, no less) into an iconic sex symbol. It objectified the strongest female lead the original Star Wars movies had. The bikini shouldn't matter. It's a type of clothing. But it had a tremendous amount of impact, nonetheless  It turned Leia into a sexual object used to glorify Luke's rescue of her. Leia was forced to wear it, as it was her slave costume. Leia wasn't showing off her body because she wanted to (I, for one, am in full support of women wearing whatever they want, though I respect that everyone has different modesty convictions), she was showing off her body because she was forced too as Jabba's slave. It's disgusting. It wasn't necessary. But, every movie needs sex right? 

Seeing as Star Wars: the Force Awakens has made a record-breaking $1 billion faster than any film in history, I would argue no. The film has a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and continues to sell out theaters. No bikinis in sight. No objectification of women (or men) needed.

Rey, and the lovely General Leia, prove to filmmakers that women do not need to be put in traditional boxes in order for films to be successful. They do not need to wear revealing clothing to sell tickets. They do not need to be objectified in order for men to further themselves as a hero. Audiences are clearly accepting of seeing a woman lead.

That's why Rey is so important. She expands on the diversity of the Star Wars universe and proves that women are just as capable as men, and do not need to have their body exploited in order to do so. The rest of the cast adds to this: there were no demeaning comments on Rey or her gender throughout the film, no one questioning if she could handle something. Rey was treated as an equal, because she is one. She can fight just as well as any man in any Star Wars film. The other characters respected her, as they did with General Leia. She embodied power and resourcefulness and independence, traits not often see by female leads in Hollywood, and rarely seen in combination. Rey is refreshing. She's the role model I want my future children looking up to. I don't want my daughters to watch Star Wars (believe me they will) and think that a man's love defines them (Padme) or that they should wait to have a guy come and rescue them (Leia). I want them to see Rey and know that, they too, can fight with the rest of the boys and rescue themselves. Rey has a pivotal role, not just in Star Wars, but in the equalizing of Hollywood. I can't wait to see the outcome of either. :)