When I first entered the theater to watch "Star Wars: The Force Awakens", I expected little more than a fun popcorn flick. While I enjoyed the original trilogy (and like most, did not care for the prequels), Star Wars had never made much of an impact on me. That is, until I saw "The Force Awakens" and was introduced to Rey. Rey, who was powerful in the Force, who fought in the climatic battle against the main villain (summoning Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber in a moment that legitimately gave me chills), and who is undoubtedly being set up as this trilogy’s ‘chosen one,’ a role that it is almost unheard of for female characters to fill.
I left the theater almost giddy over what I had just seen, thinking of the little girls who would be able to look up to Rey, seeing themselves in this character who was now the main hero of what is possibly the biggest franchise in the world. Not to mention the simple fact that we had finally gotten a Star Wars movie with more than one major female character present — Captain Phasma and of course, Leia (now General Leia) each had their own unique impact on the film.
However, I was disappointed, yet unsurprised, to find that there had been almost immediate backlash against Rey’s character. A number of people were calling her a “Mary Sue,” unrealistically perfect and too powerful too quickly. Never mind that both Luke and Anakin picked up skills like piloting or using the Force just as fast, if not faster, than Rey. Another disappointing discovery of mine was that, as with most female characters in action films, Rey has been left out of a good portion of the overwhelming amount of Star Wars merchandise. We have seen this happen time and time again with characters like Black Widow and Gamora, both the only female characters in their otherwise all-male lineups. What makes the omission of Rey from so much of the Star Wars merchandise even more unbelievable is that she is the undisputed main character and hero of the movie. Perhaps the most egregious example of Rey’s exclusion is the Star Wars monopoly set, which neglected to include Rey, but did include Darth Vader, who doesn’t even make a proper appearance in the movie.
And yet, despite the unfortunately inevitable backlash, I have also seen a ton of positivity surrounding Rey’s character. From the stories of little girls proclaiming their excitement at finally seeing a female Jedi, to the sheer number of fan theories regarding Rey’s parentage, to the Rey merchandise that is out there flying off the shelves, to Rey being hailed as an icon less than a month after her first appearance, I can only come to the conclusion that any and all negativity stems from a vocal minority, and from companies that have somehow not yet learned that yes, people want to buy female action figures too. And with two more movies starring this amazing woman on the horizon, I can safely say that it’s a great time to be a female Star Wars fan.
