Before we move forward, this post will have NO SPOILERS. I promise. Although if you haven't seen "The Force Awakens" yet, you have to go see it. It's so good.
Full disclosure: I am a huge Star Wars nerd. I love the movies, and the mythology of it. I've always loved fantasy and science fiction, and even though the prequels aren't the greatest movies in the world, they were the first Star Wars movies I watched and they have a special place in my heart. All of the Star Wars movies do. "The Force Awakens" is no exception.
Now, I am about to say something about the plot, but I promise if you've been paying attention to the previews and the posters that this is not a spoiler: Rey is the main character of the film.
Here she is on the posters, in the center and the largest, just like Luke Skywalker was in "A New Hope."
And here she is in the theatrical release poster, the official poster for the movie:
She is in the center. She is the focal point of this poster, and your eyes are supposed to be drawn to her.
Now, if she is the main character, or one of the main characters, why doesn't she have more merchandise?
This has happened before, with other awesome, kick-butt lady characters in action films. With The Avengers movies, Black Widow is conspicuously absent from the action figure packs. Same with Gamora for Guardians of the Galaxy. And now Rey. The action figure pack at Target has a TIE fighter pilot and an X-Wing pilot action figure in addition to some of the main male characters like Chewbacca and Finn, but not Rey, the main character. The female characters in action films are looked over as the merchandise is marketed mainly to boys. But boys aren't the only people in these movies' audience.
I saw something incredible in the character of Rey. She could take care of herself, she made her own choices, and she was remarkably strong-willed. She is an amazing character, and if I were a little girl, she is exactly who I would want to be like when I grew up. To be honest, even as an (almost) adult, she is still exactly who I would want to be like when I grow up. She is a fantastic character. And yet there is a distinct lack of her inclusion on any merchandise, like they think it won't sell to boys if there is a girl included. NPR has an article about this and Rey is nowhere, not on bedspreads or action figure displays. But it isn't just boys who want these toys, it's girls too.
Not having Rey included in merchandise is taking a character and saying to the people who might see something of themselves in her and saying that she doesn't matter enough to be included. She isn't as important as the boys. When little girls time and time again are given characters who can kick butt better than the boys and are still well-created characters and not just included to be the love interest, and then not given merchandise when they fall in love with the character and the movies themselves, they are being shown that they don't matter. They aren't the target audience. They're not who the companies think the movies are for.
When I was a kid, I had a Padme doll. I must have been around eight or nine, and I loved that doll. She was used in regular rotation with the rest of my Barbies. She made me feel like I could be like her. Padme was a queen when she was 14 and a senator when she was 24. She was pretty good with a blaster, and politically savvy. I definitely wanted to be as cool as her. And seeing the character of Rey, I can imagine eight year old me wanting to be as cool as her too. And I can imagine a lot of eight year old girls wanting to be her as well. Then I remember that there isn't enough merchandise yet, and they might not have that Padme doll like I did, and it makes me sad that Star Wars, which I think is for everyone, doesn't feel like it's for everyone anymore.
