Meditations on the Mask: Kylo Ren

2016 is now on its way, and the world has just witnessed a new Star Wars movie! Like many, I absolutely loved it. Similar to the other movies in the saga, I truly believe that The Force Awakens is very rich and full of awesome nuggets to be discovered by fans. It’s as if we’ve all become like Rey on Jakku, scavenging for every little thing of worth so we can survive the day (or at least until the next movie). All of the different fan sites, blogs, and podcasts have really gone to work in the past few weeks in dissecting the newest tapestry of the galaxy far, far away. So hopefully, what I write about for this month’s post can bring something new to the table.

We see him very early on in the movie. A tall figure covered in black whose garb shows both menace and a kind of regality. His unstable lightsaber belies both, his personality and beliefs, as he uses it both brutally and skillfully. But what intrigued me most of Kylo Ren/Ben Solo is the interplay between his real face, laid bare and the mask, he wears to exert his power. Just as J.J. Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan said, we have never seen a Star Wars villain like this. Darth Vader wore his suit and mask out of necessity, with a great side effect of further dissociating himself from his old identity, and striking fear, in those who stood against him. The Emperor had a sense of duality, switching between Sheev Palpatine and Darth Sidious fluidly. However, everything was done secretly until he could fully embody himself as the Emperor. Both of them are complete villains in control … they truly own it. Kylo Ren/Ben Solo lays everything on his sleeve, and most interesting of all, the way he behaves (actions, speak, posturing, etc.) changes, depending on whether he is wearing his mask or not.

When he is wearing the mask, he exudes confidence and we feel how powerful he is—a Vader fanboy becoming Vader incarnate. However, when the mask is off, Kylo becomes vulnerable and if I may be so bold, meek and unsure of himself. This really raised my curiosity and got me to think about the role of masks in our world and gain insights in this new character. According to the “History of Masks” (http://www.historyofmasks.net/), masks have been used by many cultures in the past and present for both entertainment and ritual purposes. The fact that priests of Ancient Egypt “used masks that represented gods in rituals so they could embody their gods on Earth” really resonated with me (http://www.historyofmasks.net/mask-facts/types-of-masks/). It’s as if masks, both in films like Star Wars and in real life, allow people to transform themselves into something else. When a ten year old girl puts on a werewolf mask for Halloween, she becomes the werewolf and embodies the monster. I feel this is true for Kylo Ren as well. One of the most powerful scenes was Kylo trying to commune with his grandfather, while a burnt Vader mask lay behind him. It’s all very spiritual and ritualistic. When Kylo takes off his helmet when interrogating Rey, he places it in burning ashes. Darth Vaders ashes? Or ashes to honor Anakin’s fall on Mustafar?

All of these insights on masks makes me wonder about the next film in the new trilogy. Considering Kylo lost his mask on Starkiller and now has a large scar on his face, how will he appear? What conscious decisions will he make for his appearance? Things to meditate on indeed.

The Cantina Cast

The wretched hive your Jedi Master warned you about!

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