Is Hollywood finally ready to have unique characters in big blockbusters? The success of Star Wars: The Force Awakens would indicate so.
Action films aren’t exactly known for originality. Nobody goes into an action flick hoping for thought-provoking content, they just want basic entertainment, mind-numbing excitement. With the focus on creating as big and as many explosions as possible, oftentimes the rest of the film is fraught with clichés and overused tropes because it’s familiar and easy.
Stock characters are among the overused. More often than not, an action film has a particular type of lead character: A masculine, dominant male who takes charge, saves the day, saves the girl, and gets the girl. He’s either super macho right from the start, or he’s an underdog who struggles and succeeds in doing macho things. He also probably has a flaw or two that will be used as a learning moment for him during the course of the film.
Then there’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens, in which viewers are treated to action heroes unlike many that have come before them. No matter which of the three heroes you look at, none of them fall into a cutout we’ve seen countless times before.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens spoilers below!
Rey
The main hero of this story is Rey. Before even getting into her personality and abilities, we’re already treated to something different: A lead female action hero. It isn’t just a boys’ game this time.
It’s true female action heroes aren’t a new concept, and they’re not even new to Star Wars. Princess Leia was quite the action hero, but unfortunately she wasn’t the central character. Then there’s other films who make these female characters two-dimensional, lacking personality. Rey, on the other hand, has more going for her than just a capable fighter who can knock you senseless with a staff.
In terms of skills, Rey also has technological talents and piloting prowess. Her life as a scavenger forced her to learn on her own, and through whatever means she used, evidently she taught herself well.
What makes Rey really stand out as a female action hero though, is her personality. She isn’t a hardened, brusque type, despite her strong exterior. Rey has heart, as evidenced by her selfless act of freeing BB-8. She didn’t know him, nor did she want anything from him. He was just a droid in danger. She wouldn’t even sell him so she could eat.
Moreover, Rey has a rather naive innocence. For a start, she’s gullible. Finn isn’t the greatest liar, yet she believes his story about being part of the Resistance. She also demonstrates a childlike amazement at various points in the film. She’s not ‘too cool’ to show excitement and admiration.
It’s also interesting that at no point in the film does anyone make a correlation between her abilities and being female. No shocked comments that she can do something despite being a girl, no doubting her capabilities because she’s a girl, nor telling her she’s not allowed to do something in an effort to keep her safe.
In fact, while she’s referred to as ‘girl’ a few times in the film, there are no demeaning adjectives attached to the term. A stormtrooper calls her “scavenger scum,” with no reference to her being female. In addition, after Rey resists Ren probing her mind, Snoke dismissively says, “This scavenger resisted you?” He does not say ‘girl,’ he says ‘scavenger.’ It’s a small distinction, but an important one.
Finn
Although Finn is mostly like Rey’s sidekick, he’s an action star in his own right, albeit a unique one. One of his first acts in the film is one not typically associated with action heroes: Finn asks for help. He wants to defect from the First Order and escape, but he can’t do it alone. Asking for help is typically something a hero learns to do by the end of a film, not a quality they inherently have from the beginning.
Additionally, in many other action flicks, when a character has a particular skill, somehow that skill is easily transferable. In The Force Awakens, however, that is not the case. Finn knows blasters, and not much else. Instead of showboating and claiming he can shoot anything, he admits that he only knows blasters and that the TIE fighter’s system is complicated. What’s more is that he isn’t an automatic pro either. Later on, the same thing happens in the Millennium Falcon.
Finn also isn’t untouchable. He’s skilled in combat, to be sure, but when up against Ren he loses. Finn has never used a weapon like a lightsaber before, so it makes sense that he can’t hold his own, whereas in other action films, Finn would probably have won the battle using techniques he wouldn’t have known.
Perhaps most importantly though, are his interactions with, and about, Rey. He’s smitten by her, so yes, here we have the romantic element, but she isn’t his damsel in distress. Finn does continually try to rescue Rey when she’s in trouble, but she’s mostly fine on her own. What’s important to take from this is how Finn reacts to it. He’s happy to see her and doesn’t make a huge deal out of it. ‘You saved yourself? Awesome, good job! What’s next?’ It isn’t a huge deal that she didn’t need him, nor is he emasculated because of it.
Poe Dameron
Poe could have easily been the cliché action hero. He’s handsome, charismatic, daring, the best pilot in the Resistance, and the first hero we’re introduced to. But Poe is much more than his poster boy image.
For a start, he has no love interest (yet), though fans speculate he could later be romantically linked to Finn, or at the very least, be attracted to him. Although it’s typical of the hero to have a love interest, what’s unique is the male hero’s love interest being male. It would be an incredible example to films of the future if a film as large as Star Wars had queer representation in the form of a macho male.
Despite being an alpha male type, Poe does not demonstrate many of the traits that come with it. He’s snarky, but not a jerk. He’s cocky, but not derogatory. When Finn asks for Poe’s help to escape, Poe doesn’t make fun of Finn for not knowing how to fly himself, nor does he make a big deal of Finn not knowing how to use the TIE fighter’s weapons. He just explains how to do it, sarcastic comments not included.
Even during the strategy session, Poe doesn’t try to assert himself and take over the meeting. Instead, he listens and contributes where necessary, without throwing his weight around. Moreover, he doesn’t question General Organa’s orders, or doubt her leadership. She gives the orders, he executes them.
There’s also a compassionate side that he doesn’t try to keep hidden. When he reunites with Finn, there’s no hesitation on either of their parts to show how happy they are to see each other. Unlike other ‘masculine men,’ Poe doesn’t shy away from showing he cares. Instead, he openly smiles at Finn and embraces him.
His compassion extends to droids too, or at least, one droid in particular. It’s clear Poe and BB-8 have a special bond, especially when BB-8 almost knocks people over in his hurry to reunite with Poe. Poe, in turn, actually kneels down to speak with BB-8, a sign of respect. It’s similar to when adults kneel to a child’s height to speak with them, so the child feels equal, and not inferior.