Star Wars: Nerds vs Racists

Sophie Braker, Senior Student Life Editor|November 15, 2015

Chewbacca and Han Solo. Photo via Flickr under the Creative Commons License (https://www.flickr.com/photos/bagogames/16982730290)

A Long time ago…. In a galaxy far, far away… there were only six Star Wars movies. But now…

Star Wars: The Force Awakens comes out December 18. The most recent preview debuted October 19 during ESPN’s Monday Night Football show. As Trevor Noah said, “The best part is they made the nerd community sit through two quarters of football just to watch it.” The reaction was instant and far reaching. In the first 24 hours available, IMAX sold $6.5m in ticket sales for The Force Awakens. Fandango sold more than eight times as many tickets on its first day of the release as the previous record holder, 2012’s The Hunger Games.

Han Solo’s ship chasing some tiefightes. Photo via Flickr under the Creative Commons License (https://www.flickr.com/photos/bagogames/15280131283)
Han Solo’s ship chasing some tiefightes. Photo via Flickr under the Creative Commons License (https://www.flickr.com/photos/bagogames/15280131283)

The seventh Star Wars movie takes place after Star Wars: Return of the Jedi and the thrilling end to the original Star Wars trilogy. It is a continuation of the adventures of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Princess Leia in which they face a new villain, Kylo Ren. And yes, our favorite actors from the originals are in the movie including, Harrison Ford, Mark Hammell, and Carrie Fisher.

Here is a link to the trailer.

Although George Lucas is no longer the director since Lucasfilms was sold to Disney, the film is in experienced hands. JJ Abrams, director of both Star Trek movies and TV shows including Lost, Fringe, and Alias, is directing the next Star Wars movie.

Not all the reactions although been positive. There is a group of people who have been trending a racism-fueled hashtag #BoycottStarWarsVII. The social media movement is accusing Star Wars of pushing a “sinister” multicultural agenda and engaging in “white genocide”. They are mad because none of the main protagonists are white males.

On the other hand, the extreme nerds are saying that it is improbable to have a black clone as one of the main characters because there were no black clones in the second movie, Star Wars: Attack of the Clones. However, as Jordan Klepper from the Daily Show explained, “They were clones originally, so while it might not initially make sense after the battle of Kamino the Emperor began recruiting a variety of ethnic templates. So it’s totally fine conically.”

Here is a link to The Daily Show on Star Wars.

There has been much uproar over several details from the preview. Fans were absolutely shocked by the absence of Luke Skywalker in the second preview. JJ Abrams admitted to the press as well that the absence of Luke in the preview was no accident.

Star Wars VII Logo. Photo via Wikimedia under the Creative Commons License (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:StarWarsVIILogo.jpg)
Star Wars VII Logo. Photo via Wikimedia under the Creative Commons License (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:StarWarsVIILogo.jpg)

Also the new villain, Kylo Ren, has a new lightsaber that blew fans out of the water. In the first preview, Kylo Ren’s lightsaber debuted. It is cross hilted and sparked extreme controversy over whether that type of lightsaber would work or not. Stephen Colbert’s reaction trumped them all.

Link to Stephen Colbert’s reaction.

For the not extreme fans, a brief history of the Star Wars.
George Lucas created Star Wars. Star Wars, later named Episode IV: A New Hope, was released 1977 and became a sensation. It was then followed by Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back in 1980 and Episode VI: Return of the Jedi in 1983.

Then the prequel came out with mixed reviews from fans. Some thought that they would ruin the Star Wars franchise and others thought it was the best thing yet. Episode I: The Phantom Menace came out in 1999, Episode II: Attack of the Clones in 2002, and Episode III: Revenge of the Sith in 2005.

In 2012, The Walt Disney Company bought Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion dollars. They announced there will be three more Star Wars movies starting with Episode VII: The Force Awakens.

If you want any extra info on the new movie or the Star Wars Universe, the Wookieepedia.com is very helpful.