I’m gonna say this because it needs to be said evidently. Some of you bitches need and very well so deserve to be dragged. Y’all don’t wanna learn, y’all wanna argue. Some of y’all wanna get on a social website to shout whatever wild, incorrect notion and cry like a baby when multiple people check your asses. Another thing, if you all are just dying to be educated, you would be very quiet and just listen without interrupting. I’ve learned more from watching and reading discussions instead of barging into conversations with my dense ass comments demanding my ignorance be changed. The very last time I checked, teachers don’t work for free and neither should anyone else. So unless you have something constructive to add or a real question to be answered, don’t bother joining. I do not feel sympathy for anyone getting molly wopped all up and down the dash because they wanna be too clever.
There’s no excuse for Lando not to show up in episode 9 when the resistance is literally on it’s last legs and are calling out for allies! Plus it would be a good way to tie this trilogy to the original trilogy now that this can’t be Leia’s movie like it was supposed to. Lando deserves to remembered as the amazing rebellion leader that he was!
It’s a fucking racist travesty because not only is she gorgeous and incredible but she literally stole the scene in TLJ like her 30 seconds were fucking INCREDIBLE and she was fucking WASTED
I think a lot of the mistakes in TLJ come from a fundamental misunderstanding of what audiences want versus what critics want; and a complete misreading of the strengths of the Star Wars saga.
Star Wars has never been about “subverting your expectations” or “destroying your preconceived notions” or any of that tripe reviewers are trotting out to defend the latest movie. Even at its most subversive (ESB) Star Wars was still about building things, loving your friends, and having hope for a better future. The cultural context was different as well. Coming off of the seventies, when sci-fi was still nascent; that sort of borderline downer ending was genuinely revolutionary. It really did “subvert expectations”. Now every other reboot is about making things darker and less fun, and sci-fi has become a grit fest. There is no destroying preconceived notions. We’ve seen it all before and we’re tired.
This is an inherently a constructive series full of destructive occasions. The Death Star may get blown up and planets may get destroyed, but there is an honorable rebellion and real hope for the future. Now it has become a destructive franchise, and the deaths feel cheaper because there is no promise that the Rebellion is still fighting, that hope is just around the corner. Without those “tired” fantasy cliches or actual plot pacing, it’s hard to feel like the story is building up to anything. New directors take glee in tearing down mainstays for the sake of it, killing off characters, and throwing in gratuitous subplots. While this sort of edge might still delight critics, a lot of audience members have gotten tired of it.
We don’t necessarily want old Star Wars back, we recognize that things change, but we do want the same foundational ethos. We want storytelling beats out of fairytales, wrapped in good special effects and cheesy deliveries, touched by a genuine desire to make something good and exciting that people will enjoy. We want childlike enthusiasm, and genuine care, and a storytelling vision that reaches more than one weird episode. You don’t need to be upending what it means to be a Star Wars story, in fact, that’s the opposite of the solution. This is a children’s story (for all ages), and not a gritty reboot. Learn how to tell it like one, or don’t get upset when people complain.
It’s also a failure to connect with the current climate. There were fairytale endings in the 30s because it was the Depression and noir in the fifties when it was a change of pace. In our time, do you really think the message this generation wants or needs is “the nazis win and any previous victories against them are made moot and except for a very small, constantly shrinking resistance with no real victories (I am enraged that starkiller base meant nothing in the end) the world is under their heel”? Do you think that people want to see a female hero being made to redeem a violent white twentysomething man in the era of mass shooters and white supremacists, when he’s done nothing worthy of redemption?
It’s like people who watch SWR and complain that the Empire should win more, because that would be “unexpected” or whatever, and there should be more hopelessness and despair. Do you really think kids today need the message “no matter what you do to make the world better you’ll fail”, simply because you think it would be interesting? Do you think that kids of color, girls of color, need to see the few heroes that look like them beaten down by an oppressive system they can’t stop or change? Or do they need “no matter how often you fail, no matter how big it seems or how long it takes, keep fighting and hold onto hope and you can make a difference”?
You know, this discourse apply to Empire Strikes Back too.
Obviously YMMV but in my opinion the Empire Strikes Back was significantly more positive than this latest movie. The focus was not on upsetting audiences or or delivering a twist, it was primarily focused on pulling all the pieces together and building up Luke as an epic hero. The “Luke I am your father” shock tends to get overstated, but this is a movie where Luke chooses friendship over pragmatism and is rewarded for it, where his bond with Leia saves his life, where there is never any question of him accepting Darth Vader’s offer; he’d rather fling himself into a pit. It also built up a lot of other plot pieces and delivered a lot of answers and emotional catharsis. Leia and Han’s kiss is bittersweet, but ultimately an act of love in the face of an empire trying to beat them down, and there are so many other small braveries and heroic stands in the movie. The defense of Hoth, Lando’s ultimate choice, even the return of Obi-Wan is something of a triumph.
In short, it’s a movie that tells you that even when things are dark, everything is going to be alright. It literally ends with Luke and Leia standing together, planning to make everything right.
This latest movie doesn’t seem to have delivered the same message. It piles sacrifice, failure, and personal disgrace on the heroes, makes them make silly mistakes for no apparent reason, and kills off more characters than ESB (Major character death count: 0, unless you count Dak Ralter) ever did. There’s no comparing the two in terms of overwhelming senses of hopelessness, and the audience pushback proves that.
I think this captures one of the things which annoys me most about The Last Jedi: the meaninglessness of the sacrifices. Not only are the deaths of everyone who helped destroy Star Killer (including Han) immediately rendered moot, the sacrifice of Paige and her comrades are called pointless in the film by the heroes. Every act the heroes take means nothing. Team work means nothing. Haldo’s big sacrifice doesn’t stop the First Order from following the Resistance down to the planet. The Resistance fighters who defend the mine accomplish nothing. They escape because Luke astral projects himself to distract everyone.
It turns out that Hoth is a total route for the Rebels, but it never exactly feels that way. Most of them escape. Yes, Han is frozen and Luke loses his hand, but there’s still that glimmer of hope. The film ends with Luke’s hand restored and a promise to get Han back. TLJ ends with a handful of desperate people with no allies and no plan. That’s not the story I need or want.
Finally there’s the fact that in ESB the actions of the heroes affects the plot and changes the outcome. This is especially true for Luke as he’s the main protagonist, but it’s really true for all of them.
Remove one of them and the plot of the movie would have gone very differently than it did. And yes a lot of those actions and choices leads to failure in greater or lesser degree, that’s not the important thing here. It is that their actions affects outcome.
Not so in TLJ. As most people have noticed nothing the heroes do changes one damn thing. Everyone could have been sitting with their hands in their laps for the entire movie and we would have had the exact same outcome, the only one who differs here is Kylo who manages to kill off Snoke and become Supreme leader instead of the Supreme Leader. But he’s the antagonist and we don’t really care.
(And yeah, I’m not even counting Luke’s death here because he – or rather Rian’s writing – had taken himself so thoroughly out of the plot that him being dead makes for no noticeable difference.)
So you end up with a feeling of “what exactly was the point of all this?”.
The issue isn’t that we see the heroes fail. Seeing that would be hard, but it could also, like i ESB, be deeply emotionally satisfying too despite the sadness. It’s that nothing they do changes anything at all.
And who the hell wants to spend two and a half hour of watching that?
with optional bonus flavor from the novelization and shooting script where applicable
– the first time finn sees rey is from a distance at niima outpost when she is being attacked by a number of men; he moves to help her but ultimately stops and stares, stunned, as she neatly dispatches them herself
– rey is impressed and interested when she assumes finn is a resistance fighter and he immediately and ardently begins to play along with this after observing the admiration with which this causes her to regard him.
– finn is briefly knocked unconscious and, immediately upon waking, asks only after rey’s safety. rey is bowled over by his concern and instantly, visibly softens towards him. (+ in both the novelization and shooting script it is explicitly stated that he is literally the first person to ever do so and she is deeply touched)
– finn instinctively holds rey’s hand twice in quick succession as they attempt to escape from danger. rey tells him twice that she doesn’t need him to hold her hand before, after previously noted softening, she freely offers her hand for him to take.
– after a victory over their pursuers, they gravitate towards each other and joyously compliment each other’s performance, locked in a stare as they circle about in tandem while talking over each other, their words mostly a rapid jumble for the audience but still completely understandable and delightful to them both.
– in a quiet moment that immediately follows the previous item, they at last tell each other their names, softly and sedately like a secret shared, as rey smiles sweetly, almost shyly, at finn, and finn gazes back at her, speechless. then, moved by the moment, he attempts to tell her the truth of his identity. (+ in the novelization this scene is slightly extended and there is a moment where rey and finn actually verbalize that they have progressed to simply standing there staring at each other and question why, but have no answer to offer that would not be awkward at this early stage in their relationship)
– as finn questions rey about her desire to return to jakku and whether she has a family there, he anxiously adds in an undertone, “got a boyfriend? cute boyfriend?”
– rey is intensely distraught when finn is being dragged away by a rathtar, running after him with her hand outstretched reaching towards his as she yells his name, before losing him in the corridors of the ship. (+ rey’s reaction is so significant here that the shooting script explicitly outlines that her emotional shift to deep distress is both instantaneous and because of what has happened to finn, not the dire situation that they were already in, in general)
– while conversing with finn alone, han advises finn, on what he notes is personal experience, that rey will find out that he’s lying to her, clearly referencing his own romantic travails with his wife, leia.
– despite having just asserted that she is determined to return to jakku shortly, rey is extremely upset when finn makes clear his intention to abandon the mission to return bb-8 to the resistance and flee to the outer rim to escape the first order. she goes so far as to declare that she won’t let him leave.
– in the conversation that follows, blocked with them standing closely, intimately, as they speak, finn reveals the truth of his identity, explaining to rey the intensity of his determination never to go back into the first order’s clutches after having been raised by them as a soldier since birth. finn also explains that he lied to her because after having run from the only thing he’d ever known he “ran right into [her]” and she “looked at [him] like no one ever had” and he wanted to maintain that. he asks her to come with him.
– despite finn having misled rey about his identity, she expresses no anger, no indignation, merely asks him again, pleading, “don’t go.” to which he only responds, voice thick with emotion, “take care of yourself. please.” before leaving a devastated rey and departing.
– rey watches finn walk out the door, but has turned away and misses when he turns back at the last moment, to look back at her. (+ the shooting script specifies that rey is “crushed” and “heartsick” over finn’s departure.)
(+ in the novelization, kylo ren’s intial capture of rey is an extended scene in which he reads her mind with the Force, during which he specifically calls out the fact that she thinks finn is special and has developed feelings for him, which ren declares a weakness and a distraction.)
– maz kanata, positioned in the narrative as both uncannily wise and observant, specifically entreats finn twice that rey needs him and he must help her, despite han and chewbacca, whom maz knows far better, also being present and clearly concerned with rey. (+ in the novelization, maz observes that finn’s eyes have changed from those of a man who she identified as wanting to run, to those of a warrior in the wake of rey’s abduction.)
– upon seeing rey being abducted by kylo ren, finn immediately ignores everything else, including the pitched battle around him, to chase desperately and futilely after the transport, overcome with emotion, screaming rey’s name. (+ the shooting script specifies in this scene that finn is “shattered” and driven to “crazed desperation” by rey’s capture)
– after being taken to the resistance base, finn’s only concern is convincing them to help him retrieve rey and, after his intel facilitates the launching of a mission to destroy the starkiller weapon and base, he insists that he must be present at the base (where rey is being kept) in order to complete the key task of bringing down the shields. however, he later admits to han once they are on the base that he doesn’t actually personally know how to take down the shields as such he didn’t have to come, but needed to be physically present in order to rescue rey.
– upon being reunited with finn, rey is overcome with emotion and launches herself into finn’s arms after being told by chewbacca that it was finn’s idea to return for her. (+ both the shooting script and the novelization make explicit that both rey and finn desperately want hug the moment they lay eyes on each other and that finn’s return means everything to rey as it is all she has ever wanted someone to do for her. the novelization additionally outlines that finn is profoundly affected by the intensity of the way rey looks at him in response to the fact that it was his idea.)
– finn and rey share a very long, very tight hug, during which they nuzzle against each other’s necks and are smiling and tearful in turns. the hug persists for so long, that han, cognizant that they’re still in the middle of starkiller base, interrupts them with the command to “hug later.”
– when finn and rey are confronted by kylo ren after fleeing starkiller base, he brutally force-pushes rey into a tree, knocking her unconscious. finn immediately drops his blaster and turns his back on ren in order to run to rey’s side, calling her name, and gently cradling her face before ren makes his presence known once more and finn rises to fight him.
– after defeating kylo ren, rey rushes desperately back to the fallen finn and attempts unsuccessfully to rouse him before burying her face in his chest and sobbing, heartbroken. (+ the shooting script takes the time to paint a picture of this scene that is tragically romantic, with rey cradling finn’s body as snow flurries around them and she cries because despite their short acquaintance she “already adores” him)
– in her final scene before departing to seek out luke skywalker and begin her jedi destiny, and the penultimate scene of the movie, rey sits alone close to comatose finn, at his bedside, staring with affectionate concern at his face. she moves even closer to tell him, softly, “We will see each other again. I believe that,” before tenderly pressing a kiss to his forehead, calling him her friend, and thanking him with great emotion.
I’m genuinely outraged about the fact that Black Friday is getting more media coverage than the terrorist attack in a mosque in Egypt where 230 people were killed
your periodic reminder that “golem” is not a word you can throw around without context. i know golems are pretty ingrained as earth/elemental spirits in a lot of fantasy settings now, but i wish more people understood that golems are extremely important to jewish people in an extremely specific way.
the legend of the golem is a direct response to antisemitism in europe–specifically the blood libel; it was the golem’s job to expose asshole christians who tried to frame jews for child murder. the golem was a uniquely jewish response to a uniquely jewish problem: a sort of proto-superman who could come to our aid when all else failed. the golem is for the most part a benign protector (though there are legends of them rampaging after their rabbis lost control of them, but really, that one’s on the rabbi for not being specific enough). it is a positive and much beloved figure in jewish folklore.
so i want you to understand the full extent of jewish revulsion when we see people throwing around the word “golem” in regards to trump.
trump is not a golem. you do not get to use that word. it does not mean “vaguely human-shaped unfeeling lump of excrement trying to pass as a person.” If that’s what you’re trying to convey with the word “golem”, please just use those words instead.
Finn: “You’re still my boyfriend right ? That wasn’t just a dream ?”
Poe: “You bet I am”
No, he’s asking where’s Rey. It is free for you to make your own post. Stop being an utter tit in deliberately ignoring what is in this post. Shoo!
Can I just say it now? Okay, I am ready for the flames, but… when Finn and Poe remeet in TFA, Finn was obviously very happy to see Poe but after their reunion the first thing he says is that he needs to help his friend, ie. Rey. And the first thing Finn asks Poe when he wakes up …. is where Rey is. Like guys… I have absolutely no issue with you shipping Finnpoe… but Rey matter of factly exists. And Finn matter of factly did all of these IMMENSE things for Rey. And yes, he screams her name when he wakes up from coma and asks Poe where she is. These are just facts. Feel free to talk about the way Poe says Finn’s name or something… but please don’t ignore what scenes are actually about.
DO NOT USE FINNPOE TO DERAIL FINNREY POSTS WTF IS THE MATTER WITH PPL
What Finn fans want: Force sensitive Finn experiences a whole new world on Canto Bight before returning to the FO on a Resistance mission and finds a mission of his own in a Stormtrooper uprising. Rose is the hero who stops Finn’s execution. Finn and Phasma face their demons. Finn and Rey Reuinion after long life-altering journeys apart.
L.J.'s Obsessions 