SWC **Diversity in the Star Wars Universe-Possible Spoilers**

It should suit the story being told.

 

I don't think so. Not every story has to represent everything to still be a decent tale well told.

 

Its kinda of a trick question. An artist has ZERO obligation to his/her client base/audience. If your referring to Hollywood as a business entity; my only stipulation is that artists can tell whatever stories they wish to pursue. So, if we want better female representation: we need more female directors or female writers that have a tendency to tell more female driven stories. Its then the audiences responsibility to go see those movies. That seems to be the remedy to me.

Star Wars is a big enough brand that if a female director/writer wants to tell a female centric story in that universe; go for it. You will get no complaints from me.

But to artificially say that ALL movies, media, stories has to fit into some sort of quota based representational system. That sounds absurdist to me.

 

I appreciate the initiative of starting this thread. For some people, it doesn't matter how well you explain something, they'll still call you an idiot because you don't share their views.

I think sticking to the basics is the most vital point. As Lucas himself said, the Star Wars movies are essentially the story about the rise and fall of Darth Vader and his son Luke Skywalker. You can't change that, it's the original story. If you start messing with the logical continuity, you will eventually get a movie that's less Star Wars and more something else.
The logical continuity is of course that the sequel trilogy revolves around Luke's son. If you, say, don't have a son and instead a daughter it could work (and surely critiques in Hollywood would love it) but it would lose alot of it's atmosphere since a female lead requires a whole different setting and often an accompanying male lead. Just take Lionking 2 for example, where Simba had a daughter instead of a son. But Kovu became her love interest and thus the second lead. That is to say, when you start to look at other films with female leads, it's almost amusing how hard it seems to make a movie with a female lead where the female doesn't have an accompanying male whom she becomes romantically involved with. The Hunger Games, Divergent to name a few modern examples.

 

Thats utterly superficial though. Largely because Hollywood isn't some unified entity. I remember seeing some PSA where a group of celebrities were talking about gun control. Meanwhile, the movie "2 guns" was being released that weekend. Its self congratulatory, and hollow posturing. Hollywood does whatever makes itself the most money. Like all business its utterly amoral.

We do have a vote, however. One can vote with your wallet. Thats all we get(should get imo) as an audience. If that isn't enough; step up to the plate and start writing.

 

Thats only if you value it. I don't. I don't go to a bunch of actor/actresses/movie producers for my political beliefs or moral stances.

 

When people say the story is what matters do people think it already exists somehow and the writer can't change it? We already know they changed the age of characters to fit their purposes is it really that crazy to change the sex or race or even better just try to write for diversity in the first place cause that's reality? Like somehow that will destroy the story?

There are laws against discriminating and fair hiring practice laws if any other industry had the representation of women and minorities Hollywood did they would probably be sued for discrimination. The sad part is working in Hollywood what's on the screen doesn't reflect the diversity of the people who actually work behind the scenes.

 

But isn't that the case with male lead movies? The guy usually gets a girl. Okay so in Luke's case his only hope turned out to be his sister but that' not overly common!

I guess I can sum up my take on the diversity issue simply with this: If we ignore stereotypes and prejudices then really any half descent role in action movies should easily be switchable to any race or gender without any impact on the story? Otherwise we're saying 'ah but a woman wouldn't/couldn't do that' or 'a black guy wouldn't/couldn't do that'

Examples:
Luke as a woman would simply have worked. Wouldn't have to fallen for han or ended up with anyone at all.
Annakin as a woman? Why not? there were female jedi and female villians so why not?
Indianna Jones as a woman? Well of course and it's been done with Lara Croft

Also really any reason why any of those couldn't have been any race/ethnicity?

 

For sure. But I've said enough about this topic. This whole thread will inevitably offend people; so its destined to become a largely circular discussion.

 

Oh no, I'm not saying they don't. I just don't have the stamina for it any more. People are free to be offended and complain as much as they want. I don't have to agree with it, partake, or even care about it(which I don't). The only issue I got is when other people have to start making mandates for me to agree with it, partake in it, or care about it.

 

I think anybody can see SW is a very specific beast it is not just any movie there are certain obligations like it our not the filmmakers carry. And to be honest this is Disney now responsible ultimately for these decisions. Yes the writer has the freedom to write a movie where the cast is 85% white guys or even 100% white guys. But unless it takes place in Nazi Germany or a white only male prison and you have a choice to write or cast more diversely and don't why are you not when women and minorities are so glaringly under represented especially in big movies? What is the argument against it? You can write those movies but based on everything we've seen SW is not a mostly white male galaxy that's what's so glaring to me.

This is why this thread is a bad idea, if you start with presuming people being offended is unreasonable it's pretty clear this discussion is just being filtered into a backwater to let people get things off their chest you personally don't have a problem with.

 

Since this is the thread to talk about race related issues and diversity. Here my question. Why do people try to pin hole a black person into a sidekick role when it comes to Episode VII or other movies. I bring this up because of John Boyega. He's been rumored as the possible main hero in Episode VII. Yet, all I been seeing is people say stuff like he must died in the first movie,he doesn't have enough experience to be the lead, JJ Abrams kills all the black actors in his movies,etc. Is this a society issue or a Hollywood issue? I have noticed very few black actors get the main role in a big franchise.

 

interesting thread!

 

IMO Hollywood has no outright obligation to increase gender diversity, at least, in its movies. However, doing so would make good business sense given that a lot of women go to movies, but are consistently underrepresented in sci-fi/fantasy movies, in importance of the roles if not always in numbers. Yet The Hunger Games has certainly proven that having a female lead in a sci-fi action movie won't automatically lead to box-office disaster and can in fact be quite profitable.

In the case of Lucasfilm and Episode VII, having more than one new female character, and making at least one of these female characters part of the new Big 3, would IMO do much to increase the enthusiasm of women and girls for (and their spending on) the movie in particular and the SW franchise in general. A huge audience of boys and men for Ep VII is pretty much a guarantee, so IMO there's no reason Lucasfilm shouldn't make an effort to reach out to the other half of the population and try to increase the fanbase. And the best way to do that is to have more prominent characters in the movies that girls and women can relate to.

Plus, I admit I'm a bit tired of the "heavyweight Force-users" in the movies only being males. Sidious, Dooku, Anakin/Vader, Yoda, Mace Windu... I'd really like to finally see a powerful female Jedi who could hypothetically go lightsaber-to-lightsaber against any of them and at least hold her own. And I'm sure there's plenty of women and girls who would agree with me.