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A Civil War Among Fans

Society has changed a lot over the course of time, especially regarding film and television. There have been various changes to franchises and characters that most fans know and love, and something important to mention is how all of this change has affected these groups, and of course how these groups of people responded to change. An example I’d like to use is the path the Star Wars films have taken and how the general audience and hardcore fans have reacted to the new content they have produced. It’s no secret that the new trilogy and other films under Disney have received numerous types of backlash for different reasons, but why? Could it be because the fans are toxic, or could it be because the characters, and concepts they have grown up with have been distorted? Perhaps it’s all of these things combined. As mentioned before, times change, things change with time, like film. The industry has seen change in the form of progression involving civil rights for different groups/ethnicities for different people. Disney has of course, adopted this, and of course there has been backlash. There will always be someone, or a group that hates change and won’t let go of their biases, but one has to look deeper into these new films to see if they’re completely undeserving of the hate they receive. We have our new protagonist, Rey, a strong female character with a mysterious past that has been at the center of controversy for the sequel trilogy. Some (including the studio themselves) might say it’s because its fans don’t like a woman as the protagonist, and for some Star Wars fans this could be true, however there are other fans that believe the character and the screenwriting for these new films is just simply not good. Not to mention, it’s a weak move for a studio to criticize its own fans and generalize them all as sexist neckbeards, that’s shameful. So, it’s no surprise that Disney and the new Star Wars films have received so much hate because the problem doesn’t just lie with the content they produce, but with the studio itself and how they treat things. Most wouldn’t care if a character belonging to a beloved franchise is female, however they’d have a problem with it if it were introduced poorly. Examining Rey, throughout the entire sequel trilogy she has been a pivotal part of the story, however has no real relatable qualities, she defeats the villain every single time, so any tension in defeating evil is thrown out the window, there’s no good explanation for why she is as powerful as she is, instead it’s inferred that she’s here, she’s a powerful female character and the fans should accept it or piss off. This is what the studio has made clear throughout the entirety of these new films, which understandably, is why many fans are upset. There are also Disney shills that don’t analyze these movies well, they see them and automatically defend them to no end because it’s Disney, or pull out the ‘sexism’ card when arguing with another fan who doesn’t like the films, so all together this is a huge mess. It’s important to represent different groups of people of various races, ethnicities, gender, etc. in films, but when it’s done poorly then it’s more insulting than gratifying to those groups. Not to mention, there will be disparities between a fanbase like what’s going on right now with Star Wars, a fan based civil war.