[Warning: The following article discusses vague spoilers of the recent film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Proceed your reading with caution!]
After acquiring the production company Lucasfilm, home to the Star Wars franchise, Disney has been greatly expanding the universe and characters of this series, including a subfranchise entitled the "Star Wars Anthology", which looks at stand-alone adventures not focusing on Jedis or the Skywalker clan, beginning with the recently released Rogue One. The film was, of course, a massive hit and was loved by millions upon millions of Star Wars fans, but that happiness within the Star Wars community was very short-lived as only a week later Carrie Fisher had gone through an intense heart attack on December 23rd, 2016, and four days later died at 60.
When I first heard about Fisher's initial attacks, I was absolutely shocked and scared, and learning about Fisher's eventual death left me devastated. Here was a wonderful woman who had graced cinemagoers with one of the greatest sci-fi heroes of all time, and had been an advocate for mental health, fighting against stigma and telling anecdotes of her being bipolar leaving us. Of course it's a stretch to say that 60 is too soon, but as someone who has fought against her mental issues for nearly all of her life, it feels premature for an incredible fighter to go away at a common age like 60.
However, what later came to my mind was the conclusion to the previously mentioned �Rogue One. Without going into heavy spoilers, the film has been more or less praised, even by those who didn't care much for the film, for its fun and exciting third act and its phenomenal conclusion that sets up the very beginning of the original 1977 Star Wars. The film's final moments include a beautiful segment that shows the very beginning of what will become one of the greatest adventures of all time, with the final line of the movie being "Hope".
As I think about that line, I realized how important Carrie Fisher was to the world. Here was a woman who had appeared in some of the greatest movies ever made, capturing the hearts of people the world over through her wonderful acting and cunning character. Here was a woman who was full of wit, snark, and charisma, it all oozing out of every action she had done in her professional and personal career. Here was a woman who fought for those with mental health issues, advocating for their rights and for their treatment, both through her personal experience and through her humanitarianism. And when I remember that final line from the last film from the franchise she's best known for was released in her lifetime, I had begun to realize that her legacy had given nothing but hope. Hope for future filmmakers, hope for those suffering some mental illness, hope for women, hope for men, and hope for anyone who felt even the tiniest bit abnormal. Carrie Fisher was a true legend who deserves to be celebrated for generations to come, and it's important to recognize the hope that she has given to all human beings.
