Heroic Journeys or the Lack Thereof in "The Force Awakens"
So, I lay awake last night thinking about "Star Wars," as you do, and came to the conclusion that I still had a lot more I needed to say. Clearly I need to buckle down and write a scholarly article on the topic, but in the meantime, I'll have to settle for venting on this blog. Watch this space for more updates...
In my previous post I outlined some of the problems I had with the character of Finn, who I think was underserved by the writers. Casting a non-white actor to play the part was a bold stroke on the part of the filmmaking team, especially in light of the racist backlash they've received over it. So major kudos to them for doing that and to John Boyega for 1) playing the role with humanity and humor (I know some critics weren't crazy about his performance, but I think he did about as well as he could with the material he had) and 2) responding to the backlash with dignity. That being said, I still hold that the writers made a misstep with the apparent easy resolution of Finn's story: instead of actually undergoing a heroic struggle to free himself from the chains of slavery, he just...walks away, no qualms, no internal struggle, and very few external difficulties either. I don't know how much this was just the kind of cheap writing we get these days in action/adventure movies, and how much it was the writing and producing team choking when it came time to have a black character as a hero who escapes from oppression and exploitation, but anyway, for me it's a problem, and it leaves Finn without a clear role in the over-arching story. Is he supposed to free the storm troopers? Face his own internalized oppression? Help Rey achieve her destiny? We don't know, because his heroic path has not yet really been laid out.
Which brings me, as a side note, to Poe Dameron. What's his role in all this? That is, we know he's the best pilot in the Resistance and he saves Finn and Rey, but what's his heroic journey? He seems supposed to be some kind of a Lando character, but the Lando in the original trilogy had a clear heroic journey: he had to transform himself from a smuggler to a hero and redeem himself for having betrayed Han to Vader. What's Poe's backstory? Why is he doing this? What dramatic moral conflict will he have to resolve? We don't know. He seems to function more as a deus ex machina plot device than as a character with a moral story arc. In the original trilogy, even the tertiary characters had some kind of an emotional/moral story arc (the Rebel pilots had to overcome their fears of getting shot down and/or missing their target, the Imperial officers had to deal with their disbelief in the Force and their fears of Vader), but Poe just...drops in whenever it's convenient for the other characters.
Many viewers, myself included, have fallen in love (artistically, at least) with Kylo Ren and BB-8. I would argue that one of the main reasons why these characters are so compelling is because they have clearly developed and understandable heroic journeys: Kylo Ren is the adolescent who must deal with his Oedipal rage and choose between the Dark Side and the Light; BB-8 is the little hero in a big scary world who must navigate numerous dangers in order to complete the mission that will save the world. The success of these characters with the audience would suggest that many viewers are in fact craving just this kind of clear heroic journey.
(Another side note: My father and I were having a debate over BB-8's gender: I thought it was masculine, while my father thought it was feminine. Upon re-watching the movie I noticed that the characters referred to BB-8 as "he," which is disappointing. It would have been awesome to have our female Jedi (Rey) with her female mentor (Mas Kanada, tragically underused) and her female droid sidekick, but alas, that was not to be).
None of this is to say that in many ways "The Force Awakens" isn't a loving and well-done homage to "A New Hope," but for me it lacks the simplicity and clarity of storyline that was the true achievement of the original trilogy. I've read that part of the problem is that the writing and development team had to leave things open for the makers of the next movie, so that they couldn't, for example, indicate Rey's parentage but instead had to hint at various possibilities and leave it up to the next team to decide how it will play it. If that's true, then that's disappointing and alarming, but probably not unexpected. Compared with the bloated and incoherent monsters that most action/adventure films have become, "The Force Awakens" is a marvel of clever writing and directing, but compared with what it could have been, for me, at least, it falls flat.
In my previous post I outlined some of the problems I had with the character of Finn, who I think was underserved by the writers. Casting a non-white actor to play the part was a bold stroke on the part of the filmmaking team, especially in light of the racist backlash they've received over it. So major kudos to them for doing that and to John Boyega for 1) playing the role with humanity and humor (I know some critics weren't crazy about his performance, but I think he did about as well as he could with the material he had) and 2) responding to the backlash with dignity. That being said, I still hold that the writers made a misstep with the apparent easy resolution of Finn's story: instead of actually undergoing a heroic struggle to free himself from the chains of slavery, he just...walks away, no qualms, no internal struggle, and very few external difficulties either. I don't know how much this was just the kind of cheap writing we get these days in action/adventure movies, and how much it was the writing and producing team choking when it came time to have a black character as a hero who escapes from oppression and exploitation, but anyway, for me it's a problem, and it leaves Finn without a clear role in the over-arching story. Is he supposed to free the storm troopers? Face his own internalized oppression? Help Rey achieve her destiny? We don't know, because his heroic path has not yet really been laid out.
Which brings me, as a side note, to Poe Dameron. What's his role in all this? That is, we know he's the best pilot in the Resistance and he saves Finn and Rey, but what's his heroic journey? He seems supposed to be some kind of a Lando character, but the Lando in the original trilogy had a clear heroic journey: he had to transform himself from a smuggler to a hero and redeem himself for having betrayed Han to Vader. What's Poe's backstory? Why is he doing this? What dramatic moral conflict will he have to resolve? We don't know. He seems to function more as a deus ex machina plot device than as a character with a moral story arc. In the original trilogy, even the tertiary characters had some kind of an emotional/moral story arc (the Rebel pilots had to overcome their fears of getting shot down and/or missing their target, the Imperial officers had to deal with their disbelief in the Force and their fears of Vader), but Poe just...drops in whenever it's convenient for the other characters.
Many viewers, myself included, have fallen in love (artistically, at least) with Kylo Ren and BB-8. I would argue that one of the main reasons why these characters are so compelling is because they have clearly developed and understandable heroic journeys: Kylo Ren is the adolescent who must deal with his Oedipal rage and choose between the Dark Side and the Light; BB-8 is the little hero in a big scary world who must navigate numerous dangers in order to complete the mission that will save the world. The success of these characters with the audience would suggest that many viewers are in fact craving just this kind of clear heroic journey.
(Another side note: My father and I were having a debate over BB-8's gender: I thought it was masculine, while my father thought it was feminine. Upon re-watching the movie I noticed that the characters referred to BB-8 as "he," which is disappointing. It would have been awesome to have our female Jedi (Rey) with her female mentor (Mas Kanada, tragically underused) and her female droid sidekick, but alas, that was not to be).
None of this is to say that in many ways "The Force Awakens" isn't a loving and well-done homage to "A New Hope," but for me it lacks the simplicity and clarity of storyline that was the true achievement of the original trilogy. I've read that part of the problem is that the writing and development team had to leave things open for the makers of the next movie, so that they couldn't, for example, indicate Rey's parentage but instead had to hint at various possibilities and leave it up to the next team to decide how it will play it. If that's true, then that's disappointing and alarming, but probably not unexpected. Compared with the bloated and incoherent monsters that most action/adventure films have become, "The Force Awakens" is a marvel of clever writing and directing, but compared with what it could have been, for me, at least, it falls flat.
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