We Need To Talk About The Unnecessary Hate Certain ‘Star Wars’ Actors Receive
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I think it's finally time to discuss the elephant in the room when it comes to Star Wars, and that is the unfair hate certain actors get in this fandom. Don’t get me wrong, you’re allowed to criticize content all you want, but once you start using hateful comments towards someone, all of your concerns are automatically invalid. This gross “trend” has been happening for far too long, and it’s time we talk about it.
It’s okay not to like things, there are a lot of things I don’t like, what is not okay is harassing the actors about the things you don’t like. Certain Star Wars fans have a bad habit of doing this. It goes as far back as the prequels. Ahmed Best, Hayden Christensen, Ewan McGregor, and Jake Lloyd, yes a literal child, all got hate for their role in the prequel trilogy. Some of them took a step back from the franchise for a while, but for Jake Lloyd, it wasn’t so easy. He struggled with mental health issues all of his life because of what happened to him. Luckily, the generation that grew up with the prequels is older now and has been showing more appreciation for them. We have been privileged enough to see a return of Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker, and he is finally getting the praise he deserves. Ahmed Best even came back and was the Jedi who rescued Grogu from the Jedi Temple. Talk about coming back better than ever.
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This extremely unnecessary hate did not stop with the prequels. It started up again with some of the recent Disney+ shows, and the sequel movies. Again, certain “fans” have harassed Moses Ingram for her role as Reva in Kenobi, Daisy Ridley for her role as Rey, and Kelly Marie Tran as Rose Tico. John Boyega was also harassed for his role as Finn. Were the sequels perfect? Absolutely not, no piece of Star Wars content is, but that doesn’t mean the actors deserve hate for their parts. All of these actors, in my opinion, were great in their roles, and what they had to work with. When the hate got too much, some of them even left social media.
Most recently, the cast of The Acolyte has been the unfortunate recipient of this hate. The recent hate tends to have a pattern. It primarily targets women, and people of color. It also tends to be from the same group of Star Wars “fans”. Listen, it’s okay if you don’t like new Star Wars content. You don’t have to be a fan and like everything, that is totally valid. What is not okay however is leaving hate messages to the actors who play these roles. Even if it's the worst show you’ve ever seen, actors do not deserve the hate. Go outside and touch grass.
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Unfortunately, Lucasfilm has not done anything to help combat this hate. When Kenobi came out, Moses Ingram got a ton of hate for her role as Reva. Ewan McGregor took it upon himself to call out these racists, and so-called “fans’ who were leaving her hate. Amandla Stenberg recently revealed that Lucasfilm told her that she should expect some hate. This is not acceptable, and they need to do more to protect their actors.
In this day and age, when social media is such a presence in the world, the hate and vitriol you see online is even worse. It’s not always easy to avoid either. There are some “fans” who use their platform to spread this hate, and some make a living off of making YouTube videos against these actors. Again, they are allowed to not like stuff, but to just rag on the actors, primarily women and people of color is disgusting, and against everything Star Wars stands for. Congratulations, you're literally the Empire, and that's not a good thing!
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At the end of the day, Star Wars is for everyone. Inclusivity is a good thing. Not every story has to relate or be for, you personally, and that is okay. It's a beautiful thing to see different stories than what we're used to. The universe is vast, which means there's a huge diversity of people. This hate unfortunately does not just happen to the actors and has bled into the fandom as well, but that’s a whole other article. So next time you go and complain about a Star Wars actor or project, ask yourself if that's really the hill you want to die on. If you don't like it, don't watch it, it's that simple.
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Is 'Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker' Really That Bad?
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The sequel trilogy has yet to receive the best reception from fans. While I love the sequels, they did have flaws, with one of the biggest ones being the direction of the films. The last one in the trilogy, The Rise Of Skywalker, is the worst in most people's opinion, but is the final film really that bad?
The short answer is no, and I know this will shock many people, but I will explain why. Don’t get me wrong, the movie has its issues, and it's not in my top 3 Star Wars movies, but I don’t hate it like some people do. I enjoyed it and think it was a perfect ending to this saga. But I will talk about the good later. For now, let's talk about the bad. One of the biggest issues in the movie is the dialogue. This is Star Wars, and the dialogue has never been the strong point, even in the original trilogy. For some reason, some of the lines they say in this movie are even worse, with the biggest being “Somehow Palpatine returned”. It also relies heavily on nostalgia and classic quotes. The direction of the trilogy is also a big issue. This isn't the movie's fault, but going from JJ Abrams to Rian Johnson back to JJ Abrams doesn't make for a cohesive trilogy. Abrams's movies are completely different from Johnson's. Abrams also introduced a lot in his first movie, that was never continued in the last one.
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Okay, now for the good. The good in my opinion outweighs the bad. First of all, Rey is at her peak in this movie. She is used to the training Luke and Leia gave her and can utilize it in her fights. She is stronger than she ever was. It was also great to see Leia train Rey at the beginning of the movie. Rey also was never tempted to the Dark Side. Yes, Kylo Ren tried to get her to switch, but it was never going to happen. She is too strong in the light. Rey has grown considerably throughout the trilogy and it's great to see how far she's come in the end. She deserves the Skywalker name, and I am so glad she took it.
The Force Ghosts scene gives me goosebumps to this day. While it would’ve been cool to see the actual force ghosts, the voices alone are enough for me to love it. All the Jedi that came before her, help her in the moment she needs it the most. She can use all of their powers, and defeat Palpatine once and for all. Helping is a big part of Star Wars, and we see this at the end when all the civilians in the galaxy bring their ships to help take down the Final Order once and for all. They’re not soldiers, just people. It’s a beautiful scene, and really keeps up the hope message of Star Wars. It also contributes to the much-deserved happy ending that the Resistance fighters finally get.
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I also have to give an honorable mention to Babu Frik. I always love it when they introduce a little guy in Star Wars, so naturally, I love Babu Frik. He’s so chaotic and helpful, but he also is great at his job. He was such a great addition to this universe. Another little guy that was introduced was the droid D-O. He’s a little droid that was treated badly and is awoken by BB-8. He joins the resistance and is shown the way by BB-8. He’s still a little weary of those around him and is very polite. He, like Babu Frik, is just a little guy, and I’m happy he was introduced in this movie.
So is the Rise Of Skywalker bad? It depends on who you ask. For me, it's a no. I saw it twice in theaters and loved it. I still enjoy it to this day. Every Star Wars movie has its flaws, and this is no different. There is still so much more I could say about this movie, especially when it comes to Rey’s friends, and the music in the movie, but at the end of the day, the good outweighs the bad for me, and I will always enjoy this movie. Hopefully one day, it gets the love it deserves.
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A Look At Sol's Choices Seen In 'The Acolyte' Episode 7
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This week's episode of The Acolyte gave us a different perspective on what happened to Brendok. Fans saw what happened that night from the Jedi’s point of view. Unfortunately the Jedi, namely Padawan Torbin and Master Sol were the biggest perpetrators of what went down. No one came out unscathed after a series of bad decisions and misunderstandings. Master Sol is a great character and Jedi, but he did have some very questionable decisions in this episode. Let’s take a look at those choices, and see how they played out.
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The first one is what set everything in motion for the episode. Torbin wasn’t himself after getting his mind infiltrated by Mother Aniseya. At one point, he realizes that the girls are the vergence they were looking for, and goes off to the compound. Instead of stopping Torbin, he helps him to get into the compound and get the girls. Of course, the Coven does not take this lightly and perceives them as a threat. A fight breaks out between the Jedi after Kelnacca is possessed. This whole event leads to the downfall of the Coven and leads Sol to make an impossible choice of which girl to save.
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Next, is killing the twin's mother. In his defense, however, she was turning into smoke and had no idea what her motive was. He was under the impression that she wasn't going to let Osha leave. This was not the case, but by then it was too late because Sol had already stabbed Mother Aniseya with his lightsaber. Even worse was that it happened in front of Mae, who already didn’t trust the Jedi. Communication would've been key here, and even though the Jedi weren't welcome, a lot less blood would've been spilled if they just talked it out.
When it comes to choosing Mae or Osha, he is always going to choose Osha. We all know Jedi can't form attachments, but it seems that Sol never got that memo. He has formed one with Osha, but it could be argued that he may have formed one with the wrong girl, as he has mistaken them, and called Mae by her sister’s name a few times. When the compound is burning, the girls are facing each other on a collapsing bridge, and Sol does his best to suspend both of them in the air. However, his force isn’t as strong, and has to make the impossible choice as to which girl to save. He chooses Osha and lets Mae fall to what he thinks, is her death.
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We always knew there was more to Sol than he was letting on, we just didn't think it was going to be this bad. He made the choices he had to, and I don't hate him because of it. The Jedi have never been perfect, and have made their fair share of mistakes. We have seen this in the prequels as well. At the end of the day, they're human, and bad things are going to happen. This doesn’t mean they all deserved to be wiped out, and that they're worse than the Empire because they're not. The Empire is still leagues worse than the Jedi ever could be.
Lee Jung-Jae has done an amazing job as Master Sol. The character is amazing and reminds me a lot of Qui Gon Jinn. There's only one episode left, and I am terrified as to what is going to happen to him. I hope he somehow survives, but it's more realistic that he won't., and if you’re familiar with the High Republic novels, you should never get too invested in a character, because most of them don’t make it out. Whatever happens, we as Star Wars fans were lucky enough to have him on our screens for one season.
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The Coolest Things Seen In 'The Acolyte' So Far
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We are halfway done with The Acolyte. The show has been a nice change of pace from the other Star Wars shows, as it takes place during the High Republic era, which is about 100 years before the prequel trilogy. This is the first time we have seen the High Republic era in live-action as well. Fans will recognize many familiar elements in the show. The Acolyte however has some of the coolest things we’ve ever seen in Star Wars, like the elegant robes, and yellow lightsabers. So let's look at some of the coolest things we’ve seen so far.
5. Wookiee Jedi
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The Acolyte is not the first time we’ve seen Wookiee Jedi in Star Wars. It is, however, a rare sight. We first saw Gungi, a Wookiee youngling in The Clone Wars and later The Bad Batch. Burryaga was a Wookiee Jedi in the High Republic books. And now we can add Kelnacca to that list. Jedi could be anyone in the universe, as long as they are force-sensitive, so it makes sense that there could be Wookiee Jedi. Since we don’t see them as often, it’s always exciting when we do.
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4. The Elegant Robes
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The Jedi are known for their robes. The robes Jedi wear, tend to be pretty plain. They utilize many muted colors, so they don’t stand out. The Jedi robes during the High Republic era are very similar to the robes we’ve seen but have an elegance to them. They still utilize muted colors but also have an elegance to them. The main part of the outfit tends to be more of a white, cream, or yellow color, with some gold accenting to them. The cloaks can be their usual brown, or even white. Each of these seems to be more personalized for the Jedi wearing them, and they all look different, unlike the Jedi robes we’ve seen in the films.
3. Yellow Lightsabers
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This is not the first time we’ve seen yellow lightsabers. At the end of The Rise Of Skywalker, Rey ignites her lightsaber on screen, and it’s one of the first yellow ones we’ve seen. The Acolyte changed that, however, and we now get to see them in action. Instead of the classic blue and green, or purple if you’re Mace Windu, yellow can also be seen, and it seems to be a popular color among the High Republic Jedi.
2. The Pip Droid
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Droids are also a popular part of the Star Wars universe. Osha’s Pip droid is a new, and adorable, edition to the universe. Even though the Pip droid is small enough to fit in your pocket, don’t underestimate its size, as it’s still extremely useful and has helped Osha plenty of times. It is one of the most convenient droids we have seen thus far as well as in the Star Wars universe, and would be easy to take it with you anywhere.
1. The Sith Helmet
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Let’s all admit that even though the Sith are evil, they do have some pretty cool helmets. The Sith (or Sith-like being) in The Acolyte is no exception. It’s a plane black helmet, with an extremely small slit across the eyes, and a creepy metal smile. This helmet is one of the creepiest ones we’ve seen, and it will be interesting to see who is under the helmet.
The Acolyte has been great so far. It has all the familiar elements of Star Wars, but also introduces new ones as well, thanks to the High Republic era. Hopefully, we get to see more of the High Republic on our screens again, because one show in this era is not enough.
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