She Calls Herself … REY

Throughout most of The Force Awakens we hear the phrase(s): “What girl?” or “Who’s the girl?” Simple references that are inferred towards the newest lead role to this next generation of Star Wars stories and as they are said, I am reminded of similar remarks pertaining to Star Wars past leading roles, i.e. Anakin Skywalker and Luke Skywalker.

Both of these characters and now, Rey, all seem to be underestimated or even questioned in the first installment of their respected trilogy. In Anakin’s case, “You’re a slave?” Yes, Padme wasn’t being judgmental. Not really, she was sincerely inquisitive and genuinely concerned for the nine-year-old boy from that desolate sandy planet called Tatooine. His response to this labeling question was straight-up defensive and even, matter-of-factly, “I’m a person and my name is Anakin.” Moving forward into The Phantom Menace, Mace Windu even questions Anakin’s purpose, for a lack of a better term. “…you believe it’s this boy?” Mace says this to the entire Jedi Council and more importantly, in front of this young impressionable boy, Anakin Skywalker. If he wasn’t already emotional scarred due to leaving his mother behind, never to see her again and furthermore, to the extreme, being told to downright forget her, well, the Jedi scrutiny would be more than enough to do the job. That being said, there are countless moments throughout both, The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones, quite possibly a few times in Revenge of the Sith as well, where Anakin Skywalker seems be dismissed as “the boy.” But I digress.

Moving on to the original trilogy’s hero, Luke Skywalker, he too is labeled as “the boy” or even, “just a boy.” In fact, Ben Kenobi’s line of, “This little one’s not worth the effort. Come, let me get you something” is his way of trying to deter the two “wanted men on twelve systems,” it still comes off as belittling, at least from my point of view. Even Darth Vader says, “He’s just a boy. Obi-Wan can no longer help him” to the Emperor in Empire Strikes Back and honestly, Vader’s line holds a bit more empathy than Ben’s. Regardless, minimizing the lead role(s) seems to be cyclical throughout the stories and yet, these parallels are most definitely symbolic.

In the newest generational journey of The Force Awakens, our leading role calls herself REY, but we still don’t know if that is her given name aka birth name. What I find simply intriguing is how, like the two predecessors already mentioned, she too has been misjudged or in a sense, dismissed by those around her. She is underestimated and repeatedly evaluated by her surprisingly exceptional skills, which have led some of us, the fans, to label her as a “Mary Sue.” Let me just say, I despise that analogy or term. Not only because I’m a woman, but because I am a mother of two teenage daughters. One of which, happens to be highly talented in all areas i.e. intelligence, athletics, musically, and of course, beauty. Much like Rey, this one has always been able to adapt to her surroundings, no matter the circumstances. Simply put, she just does. So in Reys’ defense, not that I feel she needs any, why does her character need explanation? Why can’t she just be good at mechanics, piloting, defending herself, etc.? Some of us, women and men, are just adaptable. And as Rey so clearly stated to Han, “I can handle myself.” So let’s, let her do just that and enjoy the journey.

The Cantina Cast

The wretched hive your Jedi Master warned you about!

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