What Rey Means To Me: ‘Star Wars’ delivers an iconic new character

Michael Fairbanks writes:

While I happen to enjoy a great deal of the blockbusters being produced by Hollywood, especially the “Marvel Cinematic Universe” that arguably filled the void of Star Wars for our generation before this comeback, there is one thing that is sorely apparent. They’re all movies about handsome, charismatic white dudes who save the day with the help of other white dudes. That’s not to discredit the work of people like Robert Downey Jr. or Chris Evans, as they fill the roles well. However, after awhile all of our heroes seem similar, because they all look the same and come from the same crop. You know the personality of Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang before you even sit down to watch Ant-Man and that makes the ensuing film a lot less exciting.

So here comes our new Star Wars, staring Daisy Ridley as the capable, soulful and complex Rey, coupled with co-star John Boyega as the equally fascinating Finn. These aren’t token characters wedged in to please every demographic, but rich, well developed people with conviction and personality. Rey in particular is likely to become iconic, even if what creates that iconography is not completely on the page. The mere idea of a woman on her own adventure, whose choices are going to determine the fate of the universe is much rarer than it should be in 2016, and that idea will spread like wildfire through the under-represented female fans.

Next year’s spin-off Rogue One: A Star Wars Story continues this trend, with Felicity Jones in the lead, and such diverse faces as Diego Luna, Riz Ahmed, Donnie Yen and Forrest Whitaker in supporting roles. Star Wars has always been a window through which kids have fantasized about becoming the characters within it, but now it’s creating a universe that allows each of those kids heroes that they can closely identify with. It moves us towards an age where we’re not disappointed by the lack of Black Widow toys on store shelves or saddened when young women leave tentpole films dissatisfied by the boy’s club they have been in for decades. Everybody has always enjoyed Star Wars, but now, everyone is a part of Star Wars.

Caryn Welby-Solomon writes:

I’m a fairly new Star Wars fan, in that I’ve only gotten to see all the films in the last month and after a weekend of binge-watching all six films, I rewarded myself with The Force Awakens. Whereas I adored the original trilogy and tolerated the prequels, The Force Awakens truly ignited a fire within me. In many ways one can see how The Force Awakens would resonate with millennial audiences — there is a diverse cast, we get to see the story from different points of view, there are nostalgic elements and there are characters that are complex and interesting with a hint of mystery. Although I did wonder what it was about Rey and Finn and the rest of the motley crew that had me so gripped; perhaps because I felt that between the characters of Rey and Finn, there was a protagonist I could relate to, we have all been stuck between choosing to flee or fight, and they represented both sides of that. They also represented characters who chose their own fates, learn to separate from their past and overcome their biggest fears.

They are characters that we the audience see ourselves in and also what we admire. I remember being young and struggling to find main characters with whom I could relate to as a woman of color, especially in mainstream blockbusters, but the Finn and Rey generation are lucky to be able to watch big films like Star Wars, and see characters that look like them, or sound like them, but still face difficulties, challenge the system, make difficult decisions, become vulnerable and take charge. It might seem like insignificant changes with the diversification of the cast, but to women of color and to a whole new group of young people, it inspires us in a whole new way.

William Eguizabal writes:

Rey’s character in the new Star Wars film represents everything right about post-modern heroines. She is powerful without being obnoxiously so, she is elegant without being dainty and she is relatable due to her supposed upbringing. This is something we never received in either Lucas’ original or prequel trilogies. Leia is a princess and her reputation with the audience is built out of that; likewise Padme is a queen and we never see her truly as a threat to anything or anyone. Rey on the other hand is a simple girl just making ends meet. She is a pilot and scavenger. A woman who grew up in a desert planet without anyone. She has enough familiarity and correlating features to Luke to satiate all of the weirdo fanboys, who get up in arms about who shot first (which by the way was Greedo; I don’t care what Lucas wants us to think.)

Camille Espiritu writes:

I love how the Star Wars series introduced some awesome characters. Rey is a strong female character, who a lot of young girls can look up to. I asked my eight-year-old niece who her favorite was, and it comes as no surprise that she said Rey. Rey’s athletic and smart; so it’s nice that girls don’t have to resort to looking up to just Disney princesses. Even though Star Wars, in a Disney business standpoint, is meant to draw in a male demographic, they didn’t forget about the girls! Who wouldn’t like Rey? She can kick some serious ass.

Donald Strohman writes:

To me, Rey is the focal point of what makes the new Star Wars film so good. Not only does she have the most developed character of anyone in the film, but it’s a character you can completely get behind. The film throws so much at you in such subtle ways about what kind of person she is and what she’s going to become as the new trilogy rolls along. Take the scene where Finn kept trying to grab Rey’s hand to help her, but she kept preventing it. Some may argue this is just an odd quirk of her character, but I like to think it means a lot more than that. She’s been abandoned and self-reliant on this planet for a long time, and one could only imagine what she’s been through in trusting others. Likely they took advantage of her or just sought her help for their own gain, and Rey has gotten to the point where she can only trust herself. That’s all thrown in a blender when she’s thrust into an adventure with other people, shifting her entire goal away from finding her family. Despite Finn being a good character, I am much more satisfied when Rey’s story was the focus. In all honesty, if the next film just focused on Rey and BB-8 being unmitigated badasses, I’d be totally okay with that.

Gary Shannon writes:

For a lot of people, it’s the strength of the protagonist Rey that stands out, and for good reason. For me, it’s her personal setbacks that I find most compelling. Sure, she has her moments of adaptability and craftiness, displays strong acumen in intense predicaments, but it’s what limits these abilities that make her more relatable, more human. I find myself identifying with her moments of reluctance and low confidence because these are the vices that ultimately connect us, despite our skills. Hollywood tends to mistake skillful, intelligent and other virtues as what solely makes a strong character, male or female. Rey is intelligent but vulnerable, brave but reluctant, strong with the Force but sensitive to her emotions. Rey is a character I feel is worthy of the new generation’s admiration, but also a really good character in general.

Gabrielle Bondi

Gabrielle founded The Young Folks in 2010 with Luciana Villalba. Since then, she has served as editor-in-chief and oversees the staff and editorial content on The Young Folks. She recently graduated from Northwestern University and is now working on her master's degree at the Medill School of Journalism.