ST If there's a female lead... is Disney going after the Hunger Games money/audience?

I did read that excellent post and I agree. For the ST I definitely think it's best to keep the central focus on one or two characters. Following that, however, I do think there's more of an opportunity for multiple leads working within a structure similar to Marvel's, where they can have the films concentrating on individual characters leading up to the larger ensemble films.

 

I still say that in the OT, though Luke was protagonist, both Leia and Han were "leads," right along with Luke (which is why I sometimes argue when someone decries SW for not having "female leads" in the films, when I tend to think they mean "female protagonists").

 

I think what we have here is a situation where the definition of protagonist is more definitive than the slightly more vague term of lead, which may be more open to interpretation.

 

No, it shouldn't really matter in the grand scheme of things. More women in SW films is a fine thing. My concern is more about trending characters in the Ahsoka Tano mold, but you and I both know that's nothing to do with her gender.

 

I think it does matter. Being against a female lead is even more extreme than being against a female protagonist. It would amount to arguing that none of the main heroes should be women.

I think what the OP of the thread was against was a female protagonist, like Katniss. She's more than just a lead. The move is her movie, as the book was her book and told through her POV (from what I recall). It's like saying is this Arnold's movie or Stallone's movie; is this Jennifer Lawrence's movie or Angelina Jolie's movie?

Some people feel more uncomfortable with a female protagonist than they do a female lead. Princess Leia's probably a good example. These anti female protagonist people don't mind Leia so much because she's bookended by Luke and Han. No one can say that ANH is Leia's movie the way The Hunger Games is Katniss's movie.

Trebor Sabreon: I think we both understand where we're coming from on this issue better now, and I'm sorry we had a clash over it before. I don't think you are incorrect to refer to some characters as leads although I think of them more, functionally speaking, as supporting characters. To back up your take on it, I was looking over the academy awards nominations. They have awards for male and female leads, as well as male and female supporting characters. I'm just guessing, but they probably look at screen time as the deciding factor whereas I look at function. If you're mainly considering time > function, then I think Carrie Fisher could have been nominated for Best Lead. But if you look at function first, then she plays a supporting character that shares a lot of screen time.

anakinfansince1983:

It's possible. The big question is time and if you will have enough of it to do them equal justice.

 

I can understand that view. The only reason I don't like these structures generally is because they're usually poorly done; in fact, they are tough to do right (TV is a different story; more time to develop). If they are well done, I have no problem with them.

As for Star Wars, I either want one female protagonist, or I want a co-structure with a female and male (Luke's son and Leia's daughter). The argument for a single female protagonist hinges around the need for showing a female in charge and making decisions, rather than deferring sometimes to male characters.

As for leads or supporting characters, we can ponder if we should have more women than men. Should the ST privilege an ideal equality, or should it lean strongly towards a female POV?

 

I've been hoping for dual-protagonists mostly because it's a difficult thing to execute well, and my thinking is that in accepting the challenge and striving for something difficult to achieve, very good things could come of it, not the least of which would be giving us something we've not really seen in the saga.

Also, I think that, assuming we get them, either potential child of both Luke and Leia/Han would be equally deserving of having the story of the ST center on them, and I don't think I'd want to see one lord over the other, story-wise. I mean, if it has to only be one, my preference is for Luke's son, but that doesn't mean I'm any less interested in "Jaina's" story than I am "Ben's," really.

If, as you suggest, another benefit of having co-protags is the opportunity to appeal to more folks, then all the better.

I'd argue for equality over either a strongly male or female p.o.v., but if the casting call is any indication (and if I remember correctly), I believe of the seven characters listed, five were men. We can make of that what we will.

 

This is my reasoning on it. A co-protagonist structure for the ST makes sense for organic narrative reasons -- we have two sides of the Skywalker family fans are interested in.

Another solution for multi-lead or ensemble structures is just to forget developing some of the characters too much and allow their typology to shine in a fun way. Someone can just be a scoundrel and be entertaining for audiences seeking pure entertainment without taking time from the plot developing them.

But sometimes when writers go this way, all characters end up flat, and the whole ensemble just seems too stereotypical.

EDIT: anakinfansince1983:

When I say POV, I don't mean one, but a range of views that differ from one another. It's a female POV insofar as we have say five female characters, representing a wide range of views or types. A counterpointed view.

 

Bring on the sibling rivalry!

 

Why do you loathe Ahsoka Tano
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Wrong question.

 

Haha, why?

I don't want to debate Ahsoka here, but she grew on me as the show progressed. By the end, I was a fan.

 

Just because when anakinfan starts talking about Ahsoka she won't stop.

I like Ahsoka too. At first I was skeptical about Anakin getting an apprentice, but now I think she was a really nice addition to the verse and I even accepted her into my personal canon.

 

She is.

 

Not sure.

I haven't watched the series in a while. Maybe it's something obvious I can't remember.

 

Reminder: Please discuss the topic, not each other.