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Before proceeding further, this post contains spoilers. If you do not want any aspect of the latest Star Wars film spoiled for you stop reading now. I plan on discussing major elements of the film, so read at your own risk.


After three long years, "The Force Awakens" finally premiered, grossing over $500 million in the first weekend alone. I'm not here to to talk about records or the public reaction to the film. Instead, I'd like to take a closer look at the film from a critical standpoint. As a student of literature and a feminist, my thoughts on the film should stray from the beaten path ever so slightly.

For less informed readers, Wabash College has been an all male institution since its founding in 1832. Despite this, my most surprising realization in my first year at Wabash was the fact that I am a feminist. The most obvious source of this realization would be my professors. The women who educated me in my first year are some of the most intelligent individuals I have ever met; however, I was a feminist long before that – I just never knew what to call it.

Growing up with my sister, I never had to be told that girls could do anything just as a well as boys. She actively reminded me of that fact nearly everyday. After leaving the theater for the first time this weekend (I saw the film twice), I realized that the Force Awakens was the film we needed a decade ago. Padame and Princess Leah were strong enough characters, but they were never the characters we needed. Both of them knew their way around a blaster, but still fell into the damsel in distress role. The latest leading lady of the franchise, Rey (Daisy Ridley), does no such thing.

Rey is more or less kicking ass when she steps on the screen. She is not running from the villains like Leah, nor is she dolled up for the public eye like Padame. Rey is out in the desert, scavenging the ruins of a Star Destroyer for parts, fending for herself. While it's not exactly action packed, the audience immediately knows that Rey is a strong character. The film takes greater care in introducing her than they do with the other new characters. It becomes that Rey is the one we're supposed to pay attention to.

I was initially skeptical of her role in the film. Shortly after she meets Finn (played by John Boyega), it seemed that she might slip into the same helpless role as her predecessors, as the TIE fighters begin to bomb the deserts of Jakku. Thankfully, no such things happened. Finn takes her hand as they begin to run off, but Rey pulls away. She is the first major female character in Star Wars who does not need saving. In fact, she is quite the opposite. Finn grabs her hand several times as the scene progresses, showing that he needs her more than she needs him.

As the film goes on, Rey continues to establish herself as a strong feminist figure. She is the one who pilots the Falcon to safety. She is the one who fixes it in the middle of their escape, and she is the one who is constantly saving Finn from danger. Rey is a character who does not need a man in her life, but the film does it in a way that is not obnoxious. Unlike so many strong female characters in Hollywood, Rey does not slip into militant feminism. Rey is constantly proving her abilities throughout the film, but she is doing it for herself, not the men in the story. She is confident in herself, but does not scoff at the advice given to her by Finn or Han Solo. Rey is not a character who is proving that she is better than the men in her story, rather, she is proving that she is their equal.

After seeing the film for the second time with my family, my sister said that she could see Rey becoming the next Catniss in the next year. It is almost certain that Rey will be one of the most popular costumes worn by young girls next Halloween, and I find this absolutely exciting for a number of reasons. First and foremost, the entire film will usher in a new generation of Star Wars fans, and Rey stands to attract more girls to the franchise than the previous female leads ever did. As a character, Rey was clearly conceived to draw young girls into the franchise, yet her characterization goes above and beyond what was needed.

With each of the previous Star Wars films, countless little sisters were forced to play as Princess Leah or Padame. Entire generations of girls never received the lightsabers they deserved because the films never showed that this was possible. The exciting thing about the Force Awakens is the prospect young girls everywhere will be picking up lightsabers with confidence. They will not have to prove that they can handle a one. Rey will have already done that for them.
As I said earlier, The Force Awakens is a film we needed a decade ago. I fondly remember training my sister in the Jedi ways with plastic lightsabers in our back yard. My recollection of the lightsaber shaped welts is not as fond. I was among the minority of young boys who welcomed their sisters into the galactic struggle against good and evil. A decade ago, Star Wars was still very much a boys' club. Most girls had never so much as touched a lightsaber, even fewer could use one effectively. This was precisely the notion my sister's classmate, Ken, had assumed when he invited her over to play one afternoon. That play-date would live in infamy.

Bridgette and Ken were in the same kindergarten class. They would walk home together most afternoons, and were relatively good friends prior to the infamous play-date. Bridgette went over to Ken's one afternoon, wearing a pink dress and a bow in her hair. She could not have looked more girly. Nevertheless, she managed to beat Ken in every race and every game he challenged her to. Bridgette had beaten Ken and his brother in every event imaginable, except of course, for lightsaber battling.
Legend has it, that Ken threw her a red lightsaber while he and his brother kept the blue and green ones. Ken assumed that the two of them together could take down this bow-wearing girl, and restore order to the universe of their backyard. They assumed wrong. Bridgette hit Ken in the wrist and his brother behind the knees. She disarmed them both with one stroke each. They were never able to take a swing at her. Bridgette tossed the lightsaber at the feet of the crying boys and went inside. Ken never invited her over to play again.

If the Force Awakens had been released a year ago, Ken probably would not have underestimated my sister's skills with a lightsaber. Even if he did, there would have been a little less shame in his defeat. I say this because the Force Awakens changes part of the underlying narrative of the Star Wars saga. Boys everywhere will soon know that any girl in their lives can kick as much ass as Rey does, and girls everywhere will soon realize that they can kick ass like Rey, too. For the first time, girls are being welcomed into the Star Wars universe with blasters and lightsabers instead of frilly dresses and funky hair-dos. I for one find that exciting.

The Force Awakens is a film that the feminist movement has desperately needed. It shows the merit of feminism in a franchise that was heavily patriarchal in its previous iterations, but it does so in a way that the audience does not feels indoctrinated. The Force Awakens shows the audience that women have a place in that Galaxy far far away. That place is the co-pilot seat of the Millennium Falcon, or a spot in the new Jedi order. The Force Awakens is preparing a new generation fans to inherit the galaxy, but for the first time girls will be picking up their lightsabers with the boys. Boys everywhere will begin losing lightsaber duels to girls, but there will be no shame in losing. Rey has shown them all exactly what a girl can do.