why TLJ WAS NOT a movie of feminism or equality
hello i have returned to talk about the last jedi and its implications on feminism and equality. many have been saying that this is a milestone for equality and white males have been going crazy about it which is usually a good sign. however after seeing the last jedi shortly after it was released and reflecting since then i think this is a whitewashed view of the film. yes the film made many steps to include women and the other cultures but there is a long way to go before true equality.
let's first look at the main protagonists of the last jedi. luke, rey, finn and rose. first this may seem like equality because we have two minorities and two white ppl. however this ignores that the white luke and rey were far more significant in the story. for example many have pointed out that finn and roses storyline was basically pointless and didn't change much. and this is unfortunately correct and probably explained by rian johnson who once joked about just having finn in a coma for the entire movie. that shocking quote alone reveals that this movie was not the liberating move as it was advertized. so basically the two main and significant protagonist remained white whereas the minority characters were relegated to the background. now you may point out that the main protagonists listed above have a gender balance and that makes it okay? unfortunately that is not the case. rey's role as an empowered woman was greatly diminished in this movie. this was partly due to luke's potrayal in the movie where he snubbed and mansplained to rey and was reluctant to train her despite earlier training a white male kylo and an entire academy. the way he treated her was disgusting and unlike the luke we know. and then there was the end of the movie where kylo literally says that rey is a nobody and that she did not have any special origins. both luke and anakin got special origins but rey is excluded.
now it is a more pleasant picture when we look at the more minor protagonists. for example poe is demonstrated as the embodiment of toxic masculinity but he is put down by admiral holdo who is portrayed as a strong and smart woman who all women can relate to in having to deal with ******* men. also leias so called superman scene was very empowering and her thwarting of poe's dumbass coup was a high point. however these factors do not outweigh the sidelining of the minorities and diminishment of rey as an empowered woman.
and unfortunately the inadequacies are further laid bear when we look at the antagonists of this film. both kylo and snoke are white men who attempt to use rey as a tool. the interactions between kylo and rey also suggest the start of a relationship which could further threaten reys status as an independent woman. captain phasma is a woman but she is horribly sidelined and killed off in a disgusting act. the codebreaker DJ is also a white male and he exploits and manipulates the two minority characters in the film which makes them appear idiotic and makes there important mission a failure. general hux is also a white male in a position of power with no equality among the first order ranks. however the first order is meant to be a replica of the nazis so this is not to be expected.
perhaps my biggest problem with the last jedi is that it ultimately did not make up for star wars decades of white male domination and unfair treatment towards women. in the original trilogy, leia was only one of four women who had a speaking role and even she was grossly sexualized in rotj. equality got better in the prequels with female characters like padme but even she was treated creepily by anakin and was depicted as powerless against him. star wars made a step forward in the force awakens and rouge one via a female protagonist but that protagonist was still white and also there was still a insufficient level of diversity in the rest of the films. the last jedi was ultimately a step forward but not enough to make it a truly feminist movie. those are my thoughts on the last jedi and thank you for reading.