Is Star Wars a Boy Brand?
Originally posted to Thinkspot on January 21st, 2024. The original article contained screenshots of tweets illustrating the exchanges.
As has become routine in the 21st century, I found another pointless internet drama over someone making a largely uncontroversial statement. Of course, everything is controversial these days, so...
Noted film critic Chris Gore, founder of internet review site Film Threat, responded to an NBC News article about Star Wars. Gore, who is largely critical of Disney in general and Disney's new Star Wars in particular, tweeted "Turning Star Wars into a girl brand will prove to be one of the costliest decisions in entertainment history."
At least half of that statement is utterly incontrovertible. The Disney Corporation has sunk billions into owning Lucasfilm and its properties, in addition to billions more spent on movies, television shows, theme park attractions and an entire themed hotel experience. All of which has not only failed to yet turn a profit, but arguably never will. In fact, under the stewardship of Disney CEO Bob Iger and Lucasfilm studio head Kathleen Kennedy, Star Wars has gone from being the most valuable intellectual property in entertainment history to barely moving the needle in sales on everything from movies to toys.
So yes, Disney has made huge errors in their management of the Star Wars brand.
Now to the second part; is Star Wars being converted into a "girl brand"?
Yes. I don't think this is particularly controversial. Whereas Star Wars once featured strong, well-written and prominent female characters, now that universe seems to almost exclusively feature poorly-written, obnoxious female characters. Rey Skywalker nee Palpatine has the looks of General Leia Solo, the fight and flight skills of Han Solo, and even more natural Jedi talent than Luke Skywalker. They've also gotten rid of any strong male characters. What's the best they've got? Dollar Bin Han Faux-lo? Possibly Finn, but even he got quickly sidelined.
And there was a deliberate attempt to destroy the original male characters. My childhood hero, Luke Skywalker was suddenly a bitter old man who would murder his own nephew in cold blood. Han Solo was a deadbeat dad.
Leia was somehow now Space Jesus.
Additionally, studio head Kathleen Kennedy has long since had a marketing push, touting "The Force is Female". This would be like George Lucas making t-shirts that read "Lightsabers are basically Dicks. No chicks allowed."
So yes, Star Wars has been feminized. Your mileage may vary on this point, but again, it isn't a particularly contentious statement.
But of course, Gore was immediately rebuked.
Peter Sciretta, founder of SlashFilm responded "Stop being sexist."
His attacks went on from there. And he wasn't the only one to chime in.
But at the core of their accusations is the idea that male Star Wars fans are attempting to gatekeep women out of the fandom.
So let's back up a bit to Gore's original statement.
Is Star Wars a "boy brand"?
The answer is yes.
...and no, not exactly.
Long before there were toys, tv shows and theme parks, George Lucas and his many, relevant collaborators (notably including his editor and then-wife Marcia Lucas and Carrie Fisher who did some script doctoring) created a universe that was an homage to the old science-fiction pulp serials of Lucas' youth. Lucas wanted something akin to Flash Gordon.
Those old serials are masculine by their very nature. Common tropes include wild adventures to far off lands where the hero fights a villain to save a damsel in distress with the help of his friends. These stories tend to be romantic in the more masculine, traditional sense. Men tend to be object-oriented. Swords, guns, pirates, fighter planes... these things delight us. They also tend to have a destructive capacity. By contrast, Women tend to be relationship-oriented. They generally aren't interested in kicking the crap out of a galactic dictator on a giant space laser.
Here's the thing though. While the trappings of Star Wars are geared towards male fantasies, they do feature those strong relationships, as all good writing does.
The crux of Star Wars is not a story of lightsabers and space ships... or even space fascists. Ultimately Star Wars is about two things- longing for something greater in life, and family.
Arguably, the biggest problem in the continuations of Star Wars has been the obsession with the family aspect, and one family in particular.
These are ideas that appeal to a female audience. The desire for a distant, but lovable bad boy in Han Solo is obviously there for something other than male attention. And from the beginning, women have had their own avatar, Princess/ General Leia, played by the irreplaceable, extraordinary Carrie Fisher. Leia was more than just a damsel in distress, an object of affection or a Princess... though she was in fact all those things. But she was also a leader and a hero in her own right. She was one of the first sci-fi heroines that women could look up to, soon joined by the likes of Ripley, Sarah Conner, Xena and others.
No one has ever had a problem with this. Two of my favorite Star Wars characters are Sabine Wren and Hera Syndulla; the females of Star Wars Rebels.
Rebels never sought to replace male characters with female characters. It was an ensemble sharing the stage. And the themes remained consistent with the earliest versions. Adventure, heroes, villains, space ships, pirates... and yeah, lots of swords. But the family theme was strong there as well.
Replacing those themes with something ideologically-driven, such as feminism is what has caused the brand to fall. Feminism isn't about family, heroes or finding your destiny. It's just about power. So it's kind of the dark side of the Force, if you think about it.
So is Star Wars a boy brand?
Yes. The elements that make Star Wars work are typically associated with boys. Replacing those elements with feminine ones is akin to hollowing it out and wearing its skin like a Taun Taun.
But it really doesn't matter if Star Wars is for boys or girls. They were great films that everyone enjoyed, regardless of what's in their pants. What really made the brand fall apart was the new owners moving away from telling good stories.
And good stories are what could save it.
#starwars #culturewar #menvswomen #boysandgirls #boybrand #georgelucas #kathleenkennedy #chrisgore #filmthreat
