Category Archives: Column

The Force Awakens: A New Hope

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Star Wars was my life growing up.  I could quote all of the movies, and then one Christmas an aunt bought me Shards of Alderaan as a gift, and I realized there was an entire expanded universe out there for me to read.  And holy cow, did I read them.

I’ve talked about what it was like to grow up as a geeky teenage girl before, and therefore why it’s so important that Star Wars feature women.  At that point, Lucasfilm hadn’t yet been sold, and the prospect of Episode VII was still something that would never ever happen.

And yet, here we are.  We stand ten days away from Episode VII, which, to all appearances, features a lead female character.  It features an African-American actor as one of the leads, and a Hispanic actor, and Jessika Pava, the Hapa Pilot Queen of Bria’s Heart.  The commercials for tie-in products have featured girls challenging antiquated gender roles–one using that exact phrasing, mind you. The Campbell’s soup commercial for the Star Wars chicken noodle soup features a little boy and his two dads.  A Disneyworld commercial shows an adult African-American woman playing with a lightsaber.  This Halloween, I saw X-wing pilot uniforms for little girls.

Matthew made a compelling argument in his TFA hopes column that Star Wars has been a signpost for the way the movie industry moves.  If he’s right (and I see no reason to think he’s wrong), it’s a good time to be a Star Wars fan.

As most of you know, Shane and I had a Little Jedi (though my Imperial sympathizing husband might give her a different name) at the end of August.  She is a beautiful little girl who had a Wonder Woman onesie for Halloween, complete with shoes (with capes on the back).  My best friend cross-stitched the Avengers logo on a onesie for her.  Brian and Nanci bought her a BB-8 plushie.  Shane and I bought her a DC friends Golden Book.  One friend works at the Marshall Space Center and sent NASA merch.  Another friend sent Superman and Batman bibs.  The very first thing I got for her–and the way we announced that we were expecting a little one–was a Green Lantern onesie.  Oh, and we’ve already shown Little Jedi her first episode of Star Trek.

This child is already close to peak geekiness, and she hasn’t even learned to crawl.

But as she gets bigger, she’s going to have options.  She doesn’t have to go hunting in the boys’ section for t-shirts with Green Lantern symbols.  There is an entire line of Star Wars clothing for girls, thanks to Her Universe. She will see girls playing with Star Wars toys on television.

So if there’s one thing that I hope for out of TFA (other than a really awesome Star Wars movie), it’s that I hope that the incredible combined media power of Disney, Lucasfilm, and the Star Wars franchise continues to have an impact on the way our society sees girls, women, and their interests.

My little Jedi deserves that.

I’m Terrified to Watch The Force Awakens

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star-wars-force-awakens-official-posterI love Star Wars. I really really really love Star Wars. And I love a lot of Star Wars. I may have some kneejerk bad reactions to some aspects of it but I’m really easy to please when it comes to reading a new book or experiencing something new. If it’s Star Wars, if it feels like Star Wars, and if I enjoy it, I’m happy. I also unabashedly love the Prequels. If you want to see me go from 0 to 100, just suggest in my presence that they should be skipped when showing someone the movies for the first time. Those movies, just like the Original Trilogy, were a huge part of my childhood and I can’t imagine loving Star Wars without them.

And that’s where the fear comes in. I am terrified to watch The Force Awakens because of the very slim chance that I won’t love it.

Yoda kinda nailed it with his whole “truly wonderful the mind of a child” comment in Attack of the Clones. Kids don’t overanalyze films like Star Wars and they probably don’t spend months and months before the release hearing little tidbits and piecing together parts in their minds. I was 9, 12, and 15 years old respectively when the Prequel films came out and I instantly fell in love with each of them. Part of that had to do with being so young and having zero expectations about what I’d see in each movie. (Well, I knew that Anakin was going to fall to the Dark Side and I was pretty sure that everyone was going to die in Revenge of the Sith. Went two-for-two on those revolutionary predictions.) As so many others before me have noted, none of us know what to expect from these films. For the first time since 1977, we’re all going in blind for a brand new Star Wars story that could take us anywhere.

But what if I don’t like it? What if I have to change my standard “I love all of the Star Wars movies!” to “I love most of the Star Wars movies!”? What if I fall to the dark side and become the thing in fandom I hate most: someone who focuses more energy on something they don’t like instead of what they love?

Okay so that last one’s never going to happen. I can at least take solace in the fact that the chances of me becoming one of those people are approximately 3720 to 1. I’ll probably at least somewhat like it. Probably. Hopefully. Is this what a preemptive crisis of faith feels like? I think this is what one feels like. I don’t like this feeling. Someone take it away. And take this fear I have of not loving The Force Awakens with it!

But I digress because, as our editors here are sure to soon tell me, that’s not the point of this series. We’re supposed to be talking about what our hopes are for The Force Awakens and not our somewhat irrational fears. The good news is that the movie is already delivering from the trailers alone. We’re getting kickass female leads, X-Wing battles, blazing lightsabers, and the return of Leia Organa. In fact, they’ve already gone one further and given me Jessika Pava who shall now be referred to as the Hapa Pilot Queen of My Heart. Add in a very impressive cast and crew and all the signs point towards this being another awesome peace of the Star Wars puzzle. So, at the end of the day, what’s my hope for Episode VII?

Please, sweet baby Yoda, just let me love this Star Wars movie as much as the rest.

The Diversity Wars: A Letter and An Offering

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My Dearest Fellow Diversity Bloggers,

It has come to my attention that we must yet again fight the #WheresFemaleCharacter War. This shall be dubbed the First Battle of Rey as we shall undoubtedly take up her standard and charge forth into the front lines of war in the weeks following the release of The Force Awakens and then likely yet again in Second and Third Battles of Rey with Episodes VIII and IX.

But these have not been the only battles we have fought, my worthy Capable Lady Warriors. Oh no. For we have all stood together and raised the cry of #WheresHera and #WheresBlackWidow in the First Battle of the Rebel Ladies and the Second Battle of the Avengers to name but a few of the hills where we have drawn our swords. We were all there for #WheresGamora and we routinely fight in the Battle of Will Someone Please Just Give Us A Decent Action Figure Of Leia In Something Besides The Metal Bikini. (At least there’s good news from the front lines on that last one.)

As much as I value all of your efforts, my dear Capable Lady Warriors, I also value your time. Our energy is far more useful in the trenches of Twitter than in having the write essentially the same column again. In an attempt to save us all some time, I have written the below form article for us to all use when posting yet another one of these articles. Please feel free to use as you deem necessary although to be honest, we’ve all had to do this so often that we could most likely write these pieces in our sleep.

So make use of the below and then run forth to Twitter and carry our banner high! We’ll win this war one marketing battle at a time.

Best Regards,
Bria

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HeraIt seems that the toy and merchandise companies can’t seem to take a hint. For every Target who stops separating their toys by gender, we find another example where a leading female character has been excluded. I recently found this __(Insert Product)__ at __(Insert Store)__ and while it featured all of the main male characters, __(Insert Excluded Lady)__ was nowhere to be found. Given that she is one of the leading characters, this is ridiculous. Apparently it’s time to start a #Wheres__(Lady)___ hashtag. Again.

This is not the first time that this has happened with __(Marvel/Star Wars)__. __(Marvel/Star Wars)__ previously routinely excluded __(Hera and sometimes Sabine/Gamora)__ from much of their __(Rebels/Guardians of the Galaxy)__ merchandise and also __(Padme and Ahsoka/Black Widow)__ from their __(Star Wars/Avengers)__ products. It’s not just getting ridiculous—it’s been ridiculous. __(Franchise)__ should have long since gotten the memo that girls like __(Franchise)__ just as much as boys. By not acknowledging the existing market, they are yet again alienating these women and young girls. Finally, __(Company)__ needs to realize that excluding women from products that feature an entire team not only shows how tone deaf they are but also sends a bad message to the young boys they are supposedly marketing to. Women are not lesser and are absolutely an equal part of the team. They should not be excluded from products that feature that team.

So come on, __(Company)__. Stop excluding __(Lady)__ from the __(Franchise)__ products and making us as #Wheres__(Lady)__. It’s getting real old real fast.

 

Why Katooni Should Be In Rebels

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Look, I know what you’re thinking: we already know about four Jedi who definitely survived the Jedi Purges. Why the heck would you advocate for a fifth? If you keep finding more and more Jedi who survived Order 66, doesn’t it take away from its impact? The short answer is that you’re right and it does take away if we find out that dozens of Jedi survived. However, it does make sense that a dozen Jedi out of hundreds were able to make it out alive and one of those could have joined a certain pirate crew.

While Vader’s attack on the Jedi Temple was most certainly ruthless and thorough, it stands to reason that a youngling could have escape. After all, Vader and the clones all marched in from the same direction and made a heck of a lot of noise with their killing people. That could have given Katooni enough time to make her way out. She’s small enough that the ventilation shafts are a possibility and I don’t doubt that the Jedi Temple has at least one if not more secret ways out. Plus, she’s just a youngling… barely a blip on anyone’s radar. Her escape wouldn’t be as nearly as noticed as Shaak Ti’s.

So let’s assume she escaped and, with enough time, made her way off Coruscant and eventually ran into the pirate gang of the one and only Hondo Ohnaka. Most people would think that Hondo’s first instinct here would be to err in the side of credits and sell Katooni out to the Empire… for the right price. Hondo’s smarter than that though and he has a little bit of a soft spot for her after the battle on Florrum.

It wouldn’t be unprecedented. After all, it wouldn’t be the first time Hondo offered to let her join his pirate gang and while he had no problem attacking a ship with kids, he wasn’t terribly inclined to take children into battle. We’ve also seen that Katooni can be very persuasive and convince him to do the right thing, which, in this case, is to not turn a child over to be murdered. More importantly though, Hondo could see the opportunities that having a Force user on his side would present especially when it’s a secret. It’s unlikely that smugglers would be fond of the Empire with its oppressive crackdown making their jobs even more difficult than under the Republic. When have smugglers been fond of any government?

So let’s assume that Hondo had a compassionate moment and brought Katooni into the fold, letting only his most trusted lieutenants in on the secret if even them. Probably not even them. To everyone else, she was a street kid that he took a liking to and who quickly earned her place amongst the group. And come on: Hondo’s an eccentric person to begin with. Adopting a stray is probably not the weirdest thing he’s done.

In the latest episode of Rebels, we learned that Hondo’s a bit down on his luck. No crew, no fancy ship, no base. Peace under the Empire has not been kind to him. One might think that the lack of crew or anyone seemingly on Hondo’s side would shoot this theory in the face. One would be wrong! At this point, Katooni would be a grown woman and she’d both need and want to branch out and try out being her own person. So she’s been off doing her own thing. Maybe she’s joined another crew. Maybe she’s leading her own crew. Either way, her path would definitely cross with Hondo’s again and then in turn with the crew of the Ghost.

Katooni could be a great example of yet another completely different path that the escaped Jedi have taken. In a way, she’d be like an alternate universe version of Kanan except instead of being brought around to the rebellion side of thinking, she’s completely abandoned the Jedi way of life and embraced being a smuggler who just happens to have the Force. Just think about it for a minute: an escaped Jedi who doesn’t have a lightsaber stashed away somewhere. Imagine how Kanan, Ezra, and eventually Ahsoka would react to her once they figured out her secret… and all this with patented Hondo wisecracks in the background.

Admit it: you’re on board with Pirate Jedi Katooni just for that last one.

Luke Skywalker and the Secret Ninja Jedi Order

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R2D2-and-Luke-Skywalker-in-The-Force-Awakens

This post contains spoilers for the “Journey to the Force Awakens” books and comics. 

Regular readers and listeners of Tosche Station already know my feelings about Luke Skywalker. He’s by far my favorite character in the Star Wars universe, and the reason I got invested in the Expanded Universe and read tons of books set after Return of the Jedi, even when I soured on certain events. I needed to know what happened to Luke after he became a Jedi. I wanted to know if he trained other Jedi, got married, and had children. We got answers in the form of books and comics: Luke started a Jedi Academy on Yavin 4, married Mara Jade, and had a son named Ben. He rose to the rank of General, resigned his commission after the Battle of Mindor, and dedicated his life to rebuilding the Jedi Order. His life wasn’t all roses, however. He had a brief dabble with the dark side about six years after the Battle of Endor, and many years later his own nephew/apprentice became a Sith and killed his wife.

luke-skywalker mindorBut the Expanded Universe is now Legends, and we have a new canon. New films, depicting the events 30 years after Jedi. We never thought this day would come. Now everything we once knew about the Galaxy Far, Far Away has been altered, and we’re left to wonder about the events that happened between Jedi and The Force Awakens. We’re just now getting some answers in the form of Aftermath, Shattered Empire, and other books in the “Journey to The Force Awakens” line. But they’re just drops in the bucket, and only succeed in creating more questions. Then you add in the marketing for TFA, which has been very light on story but high on visuals and Force themes. We’ve seen Han, we’ve seen a tiny bit of Leia, but no Luke whatsoever (at least from the front).

Which leads to the most common question echoed about the internet: “Where is Luke Skywalker?” Or, better yet: “What the hell has Luke been doing in the galaxy?”

I don’t know what Luke’s been doing for the past 30 years, but I’m pretty certain he’s up to something hugely important during the events of TFA. And my favorite theory, the one I’ll cling to until December 17 (and probably even after that, even if I’m proven wrong) is that Luke is off the grid, training a group of secret ninja-like Jedi Knights.

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The Expanded Universe Should Only Expand, Not Change

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I love the Expanded Universe. I love that it exists. I love that there are books and comics and even video games to fill up my Star Wars obsessiveness in the absence of film and TV shows. I love that Heir to the Empire jump-started the fandom way back in 1991. I love that the barrage of books and comics kept the fandom going strong during the 1990s. I love that the EU always drove the Star Wars story forward, no matter what was happening onscreen. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: without the EU I would not have become a Star Wars fan.

I don’t always like the way people treat the Expanded Universe. I hate that people look down upon it. But I also dislike when fans treat it as just as important as what’s onscreen. This might seem odd, coming from an EU fan like me, but it’s true. I hate when people take something that happened in a book and assume it will have huge consequences for the Sequel Trilogy. Yes, everything is canon now, but that doesn’t mean every story holds the same weight.

Nor should they.

(spoilers for Star Wars #6 and #8 under the cut)

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Tsar Wars: Return of the Alderaanians

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Welcome to the final part of our royal team up with Eleven Thirty-Eight.  Jay and I have already discussed monarchy as a whole, Naboo, Hapes, and now it’s time for Alderaan.

Bria: I’d like to start by blaming YOU AND YOUR EMPIRE FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF A PEACEFUL PLANET, YOU JERK.

Jay: it’s not my fault! It’s not my fault. It was all Tarkin’s doing. Seriously, if you don’t believe me, check out the old Radio Drama — Vader told Tarkin not to destroy Alderaan and basically said the Emperor wouldn’t approve, and Tarkin did it anyway. I’m super curious to see if Alex Bracken will use that part of the audio drama in The Princess, the Smuggler, and the Farm Boy because I *NEED* it to still be canon, otherwise I will hate myself.

Bria: She probably won’t just to spite you.  Yes, specifically you.

Jay: Considering how many people enjoy specifically spiting me, it wouldn’t surprise me. But I have hope yet, she’s a nice person. :p If not, well, um…. are you guys taking defectors or do I have to wait for the fall session?

Bria: We’ll look into seeing if we can arrange you non-explosive transportation.  Before it was so rudely and cruelly blown up, Alderaan actually seems to have had one of the more traditional monarchies in the Star Wars universe; at least in Earth terms.

Jay: Traditional, if confusing as heck. Under the EU, the Organas were the royal family of Alderaan. Bail Organa was the viceroy (which… doesn’t make any sense, as a viceroy is a monarch’s representative but words don’t mean anything in space I guess) and so his adopted daughter Leia was the Princess of Alderaan. Breha, who wasn’t Breha yet, was the Minister of Education. Until ROTS, when it turned out that *she* was the Queen of Alderaan and Bail was prince consort. Luckily for us, the EU already had the “Alderaanian Ascendency Contention” from the Zahn books and… Bria, this is getting complicated, isn’t it? Continue reading →

Tsar Wars: A New Naboo

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You may have noticed that I have a weakness for all the royalty in Star Wars.  That’s why it made perfect sense to team up with Jay Shah from Eleven Thirty-Eight for a nice long chat about all the different monarchies we see across the Star Wars universe.  Part I covered how monarchy works and now we’re ready for a deep dive into the intricacies of Naboo.

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Bria: I’d like to thank George Lucas and The Phantom Menace for giving nine year-old Bria the dream that she too could one day be elected Queen and get a crown to wear at state occasions.

Jay: I love Naboo so much — you know, it was my home world in Star Wars Galaxies and I never wanted to leave. I hung around Theed and De’ja Po–oh wait, we were supposed to be talking about the Naboo system of government, weren’t we? Sometimes it’s hard to get over how beautiful and awesome Naboo is.

Bria: Did I ever tell you that I went to the Lake House?  I mean, technically it’s called Villa Balbianello on Lake Como but it was the kriffing Lake House!

Jay: Yes, I still remember the day you told me and being eternally jealous. I lived vicariously through the photos, but oh my god it looked just like you had walked onto the set of the pier/balcony area.

Bria: Thankfully, no one was there to talk to me about how they hated sand but you’re right.  We digress.  Let’s get back to talking about how I’d like to be Queen of Naboo.  I mean how Naboo elects their monarchs.

Jay: I’d vote for you–I mean, I’d vote for an improbably young candidate who went through a legislative program and a crash course in politics. But then people would probably think I was crazy, so why is it that the people of Naboo feel so comfortable electing children to run their planet?

Bria: Do we actually know how old the youngest queen ever elected was?

Jay: Argh, I feel like it was something that came up in one of the reference books, perhaps Wizard’s of the Coasts Secrets of Naboo sourcebook but I can’t remember offhand. Man, and Naboo is like my second or third favorite SW planet. Nerd fail.

Bria: Let’s assume it was 13 or younger since Amidala was 14.  You knew me via the TFN boards when I was 14… would you have voted for me as Queen back then? Continue reading →