The news broke out on Tuesday. Following her December 23rd heart attack, actress Carrie Fisher, best known for her portrayal of Princess Leia in the Star Wars films, died at age 60. After a weekend of hearing news that she was stable, that there was no “bad” developments, we heard the statement. A woman well known for being the no-nonsense leader of the Rebel Alliance, a woman who publicly discussed her mental health, Carrie Fisher's death was shocking to us all. Nobody expected somebody that young would die so quickly and unexpectedly, all as if 2016 just wanted to take a few more before leaving us to an empty new year. But we must look at her life, her legacy. Carrie Fisher was both Star Wars, and yet much more than just the princess.
As
Princess Leia, Fisher gave the world a female character who didn't
need the men to fight for her. Yeah, she did need to be rescued from
the Death Star, but as soon as Luke Skywalker broke her out of her
cell, she was fighting the waves of stormtroopers like it was just
another day for her. This was not a character that stood back while
the soldiers went out and fought for the Rebellion. Leia was already
a Senator, a leader in the Rebel Alliance, and at the start of A
New Hope, was tasked with
bringing Obi-Wan Kenobi to help destroy the Death Star once and for
all. In 1977, the idea of a woman, let alone a princess, holding her
own with Jedi Knights and smugglers was almost impossible to think
of. But it wasn't just the writing that made Leia who she is. It was
Carrie Fisher, who brought a sense of humor and attitude to the
printed words from the script. She delivered each line like a
diplomat, with the same humor as Harrison Ford's Han Solo. A
character who was the opposite of what female leads in film were at
the time, Carrie Fisher presented young girls around the world with a
role model who would go on to become one of the top generals in a
fight to save the galaxy.
Fisher
spent much of the early 1980s involved in heavy drug use and
struggles with mental health. But once she got clean, got her life
back on track, she did not stop talking about her personal battles.
Using her worldwide fame as her platform, Carrie Fisher spoke out
about bipolar disorder, telling an admiring population that even
somebody as famous as the star of Star Wars struggled
daily with her mental illness. She fought for acceptance, for
normalization, for treatment that many at the time were unaware of.
Much like her onscreen performances, Fisher was a fighter through and
through. Always candid and open, she didn't keep things secret from
the eye of the public. Instead of being the quiet actress, she was
loud and outspoken, making sure the world knew what was going on and
what others will go through with bipolar disorder.
And
yes, it goes without saying that she is an inspiration to us all.
From little girls watching The Empire Strikes Back
and seeing a woman in command of a Rebel base, seeing that they can
be more than just a housewife, to those suffering with mental health
and drug abuse, who now had a celebrity who truly knew where they
were coming from, Carrie Fisher was like that friend you never knew
beyond those televised interviews. Her books, both novels and
memoirs, were widely read, some making it to bestseller lists for
weeks. When early footage of her character began to surface in the
buildup to Star Wars: The Force Awakens,
she responded to the comments on her physical appearance by saying
that she has aged, but so hasn't everyone else.
To
me, Carrie Fisher is to Star Wars
as Babe Ruth is to baseball. When I think of Star Wars,
Princess Leia immediately comes to mind. And while Leia is just a
character created by a guy in the mid-70s, Carrie Fisher pretty much
is Princess Leia. As
stated earlier, she gave the world a character nobody saw much of in
that time. Star Wars
has always been a major part of my life – it inspired me to become
a writer in the first place. So hearing the news that the actress who
played one of, if not the, most iconic character of the series had
passed, it was a shock. I never met her, yet through her involvement
in the series that sparked my interest in film and writing, I feel
like I have lost somebody close. As we march on into the next era of
Star Wars, I can only
wonder how they will make this work. Hopefully, they give Leia the
same sendoff that Carrie Fisher is worthy of – a hero's farewell.
And so, we send
Carrie Fisher off. She is one with the Force, and the Force is with
her. Hollywood will be a bit darker without her light, and a world
will mourn. We didn't just loose an actress, we lost an activist, a
writer, a voice for the silent, a persona that was the same in public
and private. Inspiring and never changing who she was to suit
anyone's needs, she was a standout in the stereotypical Hollywood
types. And as per her wishes, she drowned in moonlight, strangled by
her own bra. Always quick to the joke or a response, Fisher was a
living national treasure. May the Force be with you.
