The end of 2015 brought a new level of excitement, as the long awaited Star Wars Episode 7: The Force Awakens, finally premiered. The new movie had some changes, including a new director, but ultimately it drew a new generation into the Star Wars craze.
The inclusion of a female lead as, “the chosen one”, prompted questions about the role of women within the science fiction genre and among science fiction fans. I met with Star Wars fans and AU students Laura G. (LG), Alyssa R. (AR), and Amanda Z. (AZ), all of whom have different histories with the films. Laura G. is a lifetime fan who was grown up watching Star Wars, Alyssa R. is a newcomer who recently got into the series after watching Episode 7, and Amanda Z. is right in the middle, having watched the whole series about a year ago. These three women volunteered to share their different experiences with the film, reasons why they love the saga, and what they think about the potential for expanding the Star Wars fanbase.
Her Campus American University: How did you originally start watching Star Wars?
Laura G.: Everyone in my family loves Star Wars, so I grew up watching it. My brother had all of the Star Wars toys and when you have a little brother, you want to get into what they are doing.
Alyssa R.: In my AP English class in 11th grade my teacher assigned us to watch the original film for class, so that was my introduction to it.
Amanda Z.: My boyfriend. He just told me I had to watch them and thought I would love them. We watched 3 movies in 2 days and saw the 7th one on a date.
HCAU: Do you feel like there is a stereotype for Star Wars fans?
LG: Yeah, I feel like we are sort of known as the nerds… not that there is anything wrong with that. I love being a nerd.
AR: I think that star wars fans are always depicted as the ones who are going to dress up for the movies and who are the most passionate.
AZ: Yes. I feel like while growing up I thought of Star Wars fans as geeky people but after going through college and seeing the movies I saw how it’s not just this sci- fi movie and that it is a complex story with morals and values.
HCAU: Out of all of the Star Wars films you have seen, who is your favorite character?
LG: It’s probably cliche but I love Obi-Wan Kenobi because he is everything that a jedi should be. He represents everything good about the Jedi lifestyle.
AR: Well I only saw all the way through 7 which was awesome and I guess my favorite character was BB-8 because he is so cute. I also loved Rey.
AZ: I think I would say Anakin. I loved watching his character progression through all the movies and how his story deals with the prophecy and how he fulfills it. There are cool theories about how he balances the light side and the dark side of the force.
HCAU: What are your thoughts on Episode 7?
LG: I really liked it. I was very satisfied on how it turned out; I really love that they were able to incorporate a very strong female character along with the classic character and some new characters that represent minority groups that typically aren’t represented in the star wars universe.
AR: I really liked it. I thought it was really well done, and for someone who hasn’t seen all the movies it was easy to follow given that there was a lot of the backstory I didn’t know. Only criticism I have is I thought some of the acting could have been a little bit better, but other than that I liked it.
AZ: It definitely wasn’t my favorite movie. It seemed too reminiscent of the fourth movie with bits of Episode 1 and Episode 6. I hope it is just a set up for the upcoming movies. It definietly wasn’t the new original movie I was expecting it to be. I could also tell that Disney took over by the way the characters spoke and interacted.
HCAU: What is you opinion on Rey?
LG: I really like Rey. I love that she doesn’t need romance and that she can be a great character on her own. I also love that she is extremely capable and quick on her feet because you don’t necessarily see that in heroines.
AR: I think she was awesome. I think it was really badass for them to have a female lead that they focused on in the whole movie… and I think she is Luke Skywalker’s daughter. That’s my theory.
AZ: I love her. I like the presence of a strong female lead. I think there are a lot of unanswered questions and things we don’t know about her that will come up in the next movie. She sticks by what she believes and will take on big challenges to get to her end goal.
HCAU: Do you think that having a female “chosen one” will attract more girls to the saga?
LG: I think it already has. From what I have seen online, all of these girls are gaining this strong role model and not being pushed away from this science fiction genre. Sci-fi can sometimes seem polarizing, where it is dominated a lot by guys.
AR: I think it definitely will. I think Star Wars can seem male-dominant and the men can be seen as scary almost because they are so passionate but I think it’s empowering for young girls to see a character who is so badass and isn’t reliant on romance at all.
AZ: I think it depends on advertising. Star Wars has been advertised as sci-fi and targeted to men. It won’t necessarily attract more girls because it’s already so far into the series and there is so much of a backstory. Had they had a female lead earlier, it may have attracted more but now it might be too late.
HCAU: If you could have any color lightsaber, what color would you have?
LG: When I was a kid I wanted a pink lightsaber until my brother convinced me that if I did I would have to join the dark side so now, after much consideration, I would like a purple lightsaber because it’s a royal majestic color. It was also Mace Windu’s and I would love to pay homage to him.
AR: Oh gosh, can I pick purple? I think that would be so fun to have a purple one and thats my favorite color.
AZ: Purple. I really like Mace Windu’s purple lightsaber. Its a chill color; not too bright and different from blue/green and yellow would make you nauseous. Purple lightsabers look like a force to be reckoned with.