Category Archives: Column

Spark of Diversity: What Sabine Wren Means for Star Wars

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SabineWrenI’m an impatient person. I really thought that I could hold out until the official Rebels premiere on October 3rd but then they bumped the online release date up to Friday and… I watched it. Because I’m impatient person. I’ve known for a while now that I was excited for Rebels to start. It featured a family-like crew filled with characters who seemed right up my alley.

What I didn’t realize until I sat down on my couch to watch Spark of Rebellion is what seeing Sabine Wren on the screen was going to mean to me. Finally, after twenty-four years, there was a main character in a Star Wars film or television show that looked like me and the full impact of this hit me like a ton of bricks as she took her bucket off for the first time.

It’s not like I didn’t know that Sabine was going to be there. I was amongst those who loved Sabine’s character design from when they initially debuted it, wondered if she was human or alien, and then rejoiced when they confirmed that she was a human character of color. There’s been plenty of time for all of this information to sink in but somehow watching the episode made it seem so much more real to me.  Sabine Wren was the sort of character I’ve been waiting to see my entire life.  All of this brought forth a giant mess of emotions that are difficult to fully describe if you’ve been able to see a hero who looks like you in Star Wars before.

I wish that I’d been born later. I wish that I could’ve had the opportunity to watch Star Wars Rebels as a kid and see a teenage girl who looked like me up there on the screen. I wish that I could’ve had the opportunity at a younger age to watch an Asian woman be an integral part of our team of heroes with no one commenting on her race or gender as she blows things up to stop the enemy… artistically. I wish I’d been able to see a capable lady in the Star Wars universe who looks like me and who does more for the plot than serve as space scenery.  I wish I’d had that extra positive reinforcement that Sabine will give all these young girls out there.

At the same time though, I’m happy. Tiny explosion obsessed Bria may not have had Sabine to look up to but there are hundreds if not thousands of young girls of color out there who can now look at the television screen each week and smile as they watch her kick butt across the galaxy. Some of them may be conscious of how important she is and some may not but the important part is that she is there for them. My heart will probably grow two sizes when I see a little girl dressed up as Sabine and running around playing Rebels with her friends.  (Add in another size if I ever see a Sabine joined by other girls dressed up as Leia and Padmé.)

So thank you, Rebels. Thank you to everyone involved with creating this show and creating a character like Sabine and then casting an actress of color to voice her. Thank you Rebels for giving us an Asian human female hero who not only can hold her own but has more to her character than being action girl. Thank you for finally bringing a character like this to the forefront for hundreds and hundreds of young girls to look up to.

Sabine Wren’s not just the sort of character that we Star Wars fans deserve—she’s the sort of character that we need.

So You Want To Go To Disney World – Mission: SPACE

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Introduced to Disney’s Epcot resort in 2003, Mission: SPACE instantly became one of the most intense attractions at Walt Disney World. Teams of four enter a flight simulator strapped to a centrifuge to embark on an interactive mission to Mars where not everything goes quite as expected.

The Geek Appeal

Ever daydreamed about being an astronaut or blasting off into deep space?

Mission: Space is the second of Walt Disney World’s two space-themed thrill rides. The difference between this attraction and Space Mountain, however, is thirty years of technological advances, and those innovations have translated into an extremely geeky ride.

The fun starts in the waiting room where you’re greeted with a video of Gary Sinise of Apollo 13 fame (Or Lieutenant Dan if you prefer) acting as your CAPCOM and explaining what you’re in for. From there you’re ushered into another holding area where you’re given your assignments for the mission. Depending on where you’re standing prior to entering the ride, you’ll be assigned the role of commander, engineer, pilot, or navigator.

Inside the ride itself, you’re treated to a simulator full of all sorts of knobs and dials and switches designed to look like the interior of a space shuttle or Apollo era capsule. Ever wanted to pretend you’re an astronaut? You’ll get your wish on this ride, because after playing with the instrument panel, the centrifuge spins up and simulates a launch experience so real your entire body will get pinned back into your seat. Trust me, you won’t even be able to lift your arms.

Attraction Strategy

Unlike Space Mountain, Mission: Space is an extremely efficient ride and can move guests through the line in a hurry. Even on the worst days, the longest you’ll typically wait in line as a standby is thirty minutes. In the off-season months, it’s often a walk-on ride. With that in mind, a fastpass isn’t usually necessary for this ride, so don’t feel compelled to use one unless there’s nothing else that interests you as an option at the park.

Is This Attraction For You?

Mission: Space is a violent and very spinny ride, but here’s the other interesting part of this attraction: There are two intensity options. The most intense version known as the Orange Line features a centrifuge that simulates rapid acceleration. There’s also the Green Line that features the same simulator but locks the centrifuge in place, only moving the cabin about in a manner similar to the likes of Star Tours and flight simulators seen throughout the country at various theme parks and museums.

If high thrills and spinning work for you, the Orange Line will prove exceedingly entertaining. If you can’t handle that but can deal with a more traditional flight simulator, the Green Line is the ticket.

So You Want To Go To Disney World

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It’s no secret that Brian and I are fans of the Disney parks. We live ten minutes from Walt Disney World Resort (henceforth abbreviated as WDW) and are card-carrying premium annual passholders. We visit the parks at least twice a month, usually more than that, especially if there’s a special event or family is visiting.

We’re often asked if we get bored of Disney. The answer to that is an enthusiastic NO. WDW is huge. Our annual pass grants us unlimited admission to Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, Typhoon Lagoon, Blizzard Beach, Disney Quest, and Disney’s miniature golf courses. Because we live so close, we can go for an hour or two after work on a Friday as a fun way to start off the weekend. We can go for a few hours on a Saturday when we’re bored. We can laze around a water park during the dog days of summer on a Sunday afternoon. I love being able to go to Disney for a few hours and not have to run myself ragged. I can’t imagine being a tourist and having to pack everything in WDW into only a few days.

(Plus, it keeps me from getting too annoyed with the tourists!)

Disney is ever-changing, and it’s not a place you can just pop into and expect to get the best experience. To that end, Brian and I are here to help! We’re starting a column called “So You Want To Go To Disney World,” highlighting WDW’s geeky attractions, history, and strategies to help you get the most out of your trip. We’ll also be discussing other theme parks, like Universal Orlando Resort, and Kennedy Space Center.

Why should you care about Disney World, you might ask? First of all, Disney World is home to Star Wars Weekends, a month-long celebration of Star Wars held every year in May and June. Most importantly, Disney is now our lord and master, owner of the Star Wars IP. My first thought upon hearing that Disney had bought Lucasfilm was “ahhhhh more Star Wars in the parks! Gimme my Star Wars Land!” It’s taken awhile, but it looks like our wishes will finally come true soon enough–Bob Iger recently stated on a conference call that more Star Wars will be coming to the parks, and to stay tuned for an announcement next year.

Let’s clear up some misinformation first, because there’s a lot of it going around:

  • Disney is not building a Star Wars theme park.
  • At most, Disney will create a Star Wars Land inside of one of its existing theme parks, most likely Hollywood Studios (home to Star Tours).
  • There is no Harry Potter theme park. There are two Harry Potter “lands,” located inside the Universal Studios (Diagon Alley) and Islands of Adventure (Hogsmeade) theme parks.
  • The Avatar expansion is already under construction inside Animal Kingdom.

Got it? Good.

We look forward to sharing our love of Disney an other Orlando theme parks with you. Stay tuned for our first column, covering Brian’s favorite ride–a classic Disney attraction in Magic Kingdom’s Tomorrowland. Can you guess what it is?

My Hopes and Dreams for Princess Leia

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Leia_Dodson1Or more specifically: My Hopes and Dreams for the Star Wars: Princess Leia comic by Mark Waid.

When Joe Quesada announced the three new Star Wars comic books at San Diego Comic Con the other week, one series in particular thrilled me more than the others.  We were finally going to get a book staring Princess Leia!  Mark Waid was instantly a choice that I approved whole-heartedly of to write my beloved Leia Organa and that was even before I saw his interviews talking about the book. Terry Dodson on art just made it even better.  They are both perfect choices for a Leia story.  Dodson is perhaps the easier to immediately see.  I’ve never found a reason to complain about his art style and judging from the cover we’ve seen?  We’ll get to see some pretty neat outfits on everyone’s favorite princess that are all logical for her to be wearing.  Dodson also draws a killer action scene so we’ll undoubtedly have a few of those to look forward to.

Waid, on the other hand, might be a little tougher to get.  For me, the gut reaction of perfect! came from his work on Indestructible Hulk over the past few years.  Bruce Banner can be a tricky character to get right but it wasn’t his great work with the Hulk that got me.  No, it was how he handled one Maria Hill who is not a character that all writers get right.  They might get the ‘bitches-get-stuff-done’ aspect of her but miss that there’s more to her than that.  Mark Waid, however, nailed writing her hook, line, and sinker.  Factor in his solidly good work on Hulk and Daredevil in recent years and I was sold.

What doubly sold me were his interviews.  In an interview with StarWars.com, he describe Leia as

I think that she is often misunderstood as short-tempered or what have you, and I think that’s unfair. She’s direct. She’s not necessarily impatient, she’s just exasperated easily by people who are not as smart as her. She’s not bossy…well, okay, alright, she’s bossy. But she is a princess, after all, so you have to allow her a little bit of that.

…and I let out a giant sigh of relief.  It’s these aspects of Leia’s personality that are so important to who she is and how she reacts to situations.  Reading what he had to say about what sort of person she is at her core made me even more confident about how he’ll handle writing her.

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Conventions 101

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Convention season is starting up again and somewhere out there, hundreds of people are thinking about attending their very first convention.  Let’s face it: walking into a moderate to large con for the first time can be totally overwhelming.  That’s why we’ve put together today’s post with some tips and suggestions for con goers both new and old!  I’ve been attending conventions since Dragon*Con 2008 and every year since, I’ve heard a good tip that I then proceed to integrate into my own convention routine.  So that said, let’s begin!

Before The Con: Do Your Homework
This covers so many things but it’s the best and pithiest tip I can give you.  If you do a little bit of googling before the convention, it’ll make your life a ton easier.  Even knowing roughly how big the con is can do wonders for you once you actually arrive especially if you can find a map of the convention.  For example, there are some conventions where you need to buy a badge in advanced or else you won’t be able to get in.  A quick google search can be incredibly useful here.  Of course, there are likely to be plenty of volunteers on the ground who can clarify things for you but it’s always helpful to do some homework first.

Panels
Conventions tend to release their final schedule of panels a week or two before the show.  It’s worth taking a look at before hand so you can see what panels are must-attends for you.  You have to be realistic here though.  It’s unlikely you’ll be able to make 4 Celebrity Q+As in a row if the convention is the sort to clear the room between each panel.  If there’s a high profile guest that you’re dying to see, plan to get in line for them at least an hour before hand.  Some won’t let you even start a line before a certain time but you can always mill around the area.  (It’s a completely different game if it’s a convention where you can stay in the room from panel to panel.)  Be willing to be flexible as something will inevitably pop up during the con.  I usually mark 2 panels as must-sees and then make a ‘These would be nice’ list to supplement it but I also tend to not do tons of panels at cons. Continue reading →

Does this need to be said AGAIN?

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Hey, it’s my turn to tag in.  *slaps Nanci’s hand*  I can do this.  If you look back in the archives, I’ve got a post called Why Star Wars Needs Women.  Why don’t you go read that while I drag out the soapbox?

You know, this soapbox keeps getting heavier.  It seems like it keeps getting more difficult to step on to, too.  I know it’s my own perception, though.  It has nothing to do with the actual weight of the soapbox or my own strength.  It has everything to do with exhaustion.  You see, I’m tired.  

You know why?  Because I have to keep repeating myself.  Because I have to keep shouting myself hoarse and jumping up and down and saying “HEY YOU, HOW ABOUT THE GIRLS?”

People conveniently forget that women invented science fiction.  (Haven’t read Frankenstein?  You should.)  They don’t know that the history of science has been rewritten to excise the contributions of hundreds of women.  They don’t realize that there are systematic social roadblocks in the way of women and minorities entering into science and technology.  Don’t believe me?  Maybe you’ll believe Neil DeGrasse Tyson in his response to the man who used to be the president of Harvard University.

Tyson points out that to have women and minorities in science, “[Y]ou gotta come up with a system where there’s equal opportunity.”  You know how some of that starts?  With representation in media.  Don’t believe me?  Take a look at the original Star Trek and the influence that its intentional representation had.  (And yeah, I’ve called JJ out on screwing that up in the Star Trek reboot too.)  Star Wars can’t do that?

Star Wars can do better.

So why am I so tired?  Because when we get a casting list like this, it seems like all the work I do, everything I work for, everything I try to teach my cousins and my students, everything–has been worth precisely a hill of beans.

But Tyson points something else out.  To become an astrophysicist, he says “I looked to become something that was outside the paradigms of expectation of the people in power. Fortunately, my depth of interest was so deep, and so fuel-enriched, that every one of these curveballs I was thrown, and fences built in front of me, and hills that I had to climb, I just reached for more fuel and I kept going.”

So here we go.  Yeah, it needs to be said.  Again.  And we’re going to keep saying it.

An Observation About Women Who Speak in Star Wars

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Last night, while getting ready for bed, Brian and I were talking about Star Wars. Big surprise, the conversation centered around the casting announcement. We speculated who the actors were playing, I squeed over Luke Skywalker, we joked about Carrie Fisher mentoring young Daisy Ridley about how Star Wars is about to ruin her life. It was grand.

We also discussed why there are only two females in the (presumably) main cast. We’ve been hearing that there may be a female role that’s yet to be cast, but that remains to be seen. Either way, the representation of women around that table is very poor. And it got me thinking about the women we see in Star Wars. More importantly, about the women we hear in Star Wars.

So I began to list all the women with speaking roles in the live action films, not counting feminine droids. And it was kind of infuriating.

Here’s what I came up with:

A NEW HOPE:

  • Leia
  • Aunt Beru

THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK

  • Leia
  • Tonyn Farr (the ion cannon control woman – I had to look up her name, I’m a bad fan)

RETURN OF THE JEDI

  • Leia
  • Mon Mothma
  • Oola
  • Sy Snootles (she sings, so I guess that counts)

THE PHANTOM MENACE

  • Transport captain (I am a bad fan and do not know her name and Google didn’t help)
  • Padme/Amidala
  • Sabe (aka Kiera Knightly)
  • Jira (Anakin’s old lady friend)
  • Anakin’s two girl friends (I’m a bad fan and do not know their names but one of them is Katie Lucas do I get my fan points back)
  • Shmi
  • Rabe (the handmaiden who speaks to Anakin on Coruscant)
  • Dinee Ellberger (the lady pilot in Bravo Squadron!)

ATTACK OF THE CLONES

  • Padme
  • Corde (the handmaiden who dies)
  • Dorme (the handmaiden who sees Padme off on Coruscant)
  • Jocasta Nu
  • Queen Jamillia
  • Taun We
  • Shmi
  • Beru (I guess saying “hello” counts)

REVENGE OF THE SITH

  • Padme
  • …And that’s it.

The only woman with a speaking role in Revenge of the Sith is Padme. ONE. ONE WOMAN WITH A SPEAKING ROLE IN A MOVIE THAT’S OVER TWO AND A HALF HOURS LONG. And she dies of a broken heart. (Perhaps the deleted scenes might have helped here? Alas…) How had I never realized this before? Was I that blinded by Padme losing the will to live that I didn’t see that there are NO other women who speak in this movie? It’s absolutely ridiculous. There’s no reason for it. Any random male secondary character could have easily been a female with absolutely no change to the plot.

The other movies don’t do that great when it comes to women, either, with only a handful of of them actually having lines. Things seemed to get better in the first two prequels, but crapped out at the end. While there may be a lot of diversity in the background, there’s no denying women are shockingly absent from the main storyline.

And this is why people get angry. Women are seen in these movies, but not heard. It’s kind of disgusting metaphor that sticks right in the heart.

And it’s important we all acknowledge and think about it.

 

(Note: If I’ve missed someone, please let me know. I think one of the Neimoidians on the Invisible Hand might have been female, but it’s hard to tell with their bulky robes and goggles. I genuinely racked my brain trying to think of all the random female background characters who might speak. Perhaps that’s the most telling part?)

We’ll Always Have Coruscant

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It happened. The news broke today that the existing Expanded Universe would be shifted into a ‘Legends’ label and all books from here on out would be a part of the new overarching cohesive canon.  I think it’s fair to say that we all know the fandom went a little crazy from the news even though, to be honest, it wasn’t entirely unexpected.

Let’s get a few things out of the way first. One, no one should take this as an opportunity to gloat. That’s tacky and tasteless and if you do so, you are a disservice to the fandom. Two, no one will ever be able to take these books from you nor the chance for you to introduce people to your favorites. Del Rey will continue to publish them under this new Legends banner. Three, suggesting that those involved in the decision hate the Expanded Universe is just false and I invite you to watch the video they put together if you think they do.

This moment was coming, folks. We’ve all been talking about the probability of it for almost as long as we’ve known about the Sequel Trilogy. And to be honest, I think that those of us who have been quietly mentally preparing for it are handling the news a little better than those who didn’t.  I’d also like to take the time to note there that I am not immune to the completely losing my mind just a little and spinning around as a whirlwind of questions about just what all of this means in the long run go through my mind.  So apologies if anything in this piece seems rambling or a bit poorly phrased at times.

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Why the Sequel Trilogy Needs to Star a Skywalker

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I’m a fan of the Expanded Universe. It’s what sucked me in to the saga, made me a fan, and made me stay a fan. Once the credits rolled on my first viewing of Return of the Jedi, I had to know what happened to the characters next. Little did I know that a book called Heir to the Empire had just been released, and coincidentally enough, it starred Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, and Han Solo.

Over the past 20+ years I’ve followed the EU pretty closely. I’ve gotten angry at certain plot developments and given up on it entirely. I’ve come crawling back with the promise of good Father-Son interaction, and a new X-Wing book. I’ve gotten tired of the Big Three starring in every story, and threw up my hands at the Crucible announcement. Before the Disney sale, I was optimistic about the future of the EU, and looking forward to more X-Wing books and a trilogy about Jaina Solo, Han and Leia’s daughter. It was about time she got her time in the spotlight, completely separate from her parents.

Now, with Episode VII on the horizon, I wholeheartedly believe that the Sequel Trilogy must star one of the next generation of Skywalkers, and I will argue this point until I’m blue in the face.

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Diversity Amongst the Stars (And the Royals of Alderaan)

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There are some films that you can watch a dozen times and always notice something new and there are others where you pretty much get it on the first try.  Sometimes though, you watch a film, notice things subconsciously but it just doesn’t click into place until several viewings later when you sit up straight in realization.  I had one of those moments a few months ago while watching Revenge of the Sith.  The realization?  The Royal Family of Alderaan is not white.  The Royal Family of one of the most well-known and powerful planets in the galaxy does not fit the typical white human mold.  It’s funny how long it took me to come to this realization that the royal house of my favorite planet was more diverse than I’d previously realized.

brehabailWhile not every Alderaanian that we saw in the films fell into this category, a fair number of the ones of note in the Prequel Trilogy did.  The actors who played Bail and Breha are both of Hispanic and mixed descent.  A Brazilian actress played Bail’s aide, Sheltay Retrac.  While three might not be a huge number, it’s rather significant when we consider how few Alderaanians we saw in the films.

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