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Is Star Wars catering to girls now?

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Im not a Star Wars fan, but I was ok with watching the new ones. Im watching them all in order now, and the older ones are so… god, the dialogue is so campy. So i noticed, it definitely is a male power fantasy story for guys and yea that’s fine., When I watched the new ones with rey though, I was surprised like, holy crap, this is something I, a girl would definitely like. And definitely Kylo. And I feel like they very much know what they’re doing with Rey/Kylo being a ship lol. Why is star wars suddenly catering to girls now? Im just wondering is all.

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People have been shipping Han and Leia since 1977, friendo.

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When Kathleen Kennedy wears a t-shirt that says “The Force is Female”, you can safely assume they’re trying to market Star Wars directly to women.

Some think it’s straight-up anti-male. I don’t think it’s intentionally trying to make men look bad, but I do think they dumbed down the men rather than lifted up the women, and it’s to the detriment of all characters. My complaints are with overall character development and inconsistencies in the universe, but that’s probably not something that most casual viewers would find problematic.

You might want to check out this thread:

Culture, politics, and diversity in Star Wars

The discussion gets a bit testy in spots, though.

Just curious: when you say you’re watching them “in order”, do you mean release order (Eps. IV/V/VI followed by Eps. I/I/III) or story order (I/I/III/IV/V/VI)?

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MTFBWY…A

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Jay said:

When Kathleen Kennedy wears a t-shirt that says “The Force is Female”, you can safely assume they’re trying to market Star Wars directly to women.

Some think it’s straight-up anti-male. I don’t think it’s intentionally trying to make men look bad, but I do think they dumbed down the men rather than lifted up the women, and it’s to the detriment of all characters. My complaints are with overall character development and inconsistencies in the universe, but that’s probably not something that most casual viewers would find problematic.

You might want to check out this thread:

Culture, politics, and diversity in Star Wars

The discussion gets a bit testy in spots, though.

Just curious: when you say you’re watching them “in order”, do you mean release order (Eps. IV/V/VI followed by Eps. I/I/III) or story order (I/I/III/IV/V/VI)?

Im watching them in this order, I started with Rogue one first and then A New Hope, ect…

Original triology
Episode 4-A New Hope(1977)
Episode 5-Empire Strikes Back(1980)
Episode 6-Return of the Jedi(1983)

Prequel triology
Episode 1-A Phantom Menace(1999)
Episode 2-Attack of the Clones(2002
Episode 3-Revenge of the Sith(2005)

Sequel triology
Epiosde 7-The Force Awakens(2015)
Episode 8-The Last Jedi(2017)…and so on

Is this right? lol. I only got into the series because of that shirtless scene with Kylo… I am complete casual fangirl trash.

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JediKnightFay said:

Jay said:

When Kathleen Kennedy wears a t-shirt that says “The Force is Female”, you can safely assume they’re trying to market Star Wars directly to women.

Some think it’s straight-up anti-male. I don’t think it’s intentionally trying to make men look bad, but I do think they dumbed down the men rather than lifted up the women, and it’s to the detriment of all characters. My complaints are with overall character development and inconsistencies in the universe, but that’s probably not something that most casual viewers would find problematic.

You might want to check out this thread:

Culture, politics, and diversity in Star Wars

The discussion gets a bit testy in spots, though.

Just curious: when you say you’re watching them “in order”, do you mean release order (Eps. IV/V/VI followed by Eps. I/I/III) or story order (I/I/III/IV/V/VI)?

Im watching them in this order, I started with Rogue one first and then A New Hope, ect…

Original triology
Episode 4-A New Hope(1977)
Episode 5-Empire Strikes Back(1980)
Episode 6-Return of the Jedi(1983)

Prequel triology
Episode 1-A Phantom Menace(1999)
Episode 2-Attack of the Clones(2002
Episode 3-Revenge of the Sith(2005)

Sequel triology
Epiosde 7-The Force Awakens(2015)
Episode 8-The Last Jedi(2017)…and so on

Is this right? lol. I only got into the series because of that shirtless scene with Kylo… I am complete casual fangirl trash.

Everyone is free to enjoy Star Wars in their own way 😃

That’s the order I’d watch them in (minus going with Rogue One first, but I don’t think that really spoils anything). Which ones have you watched so far?

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MTFBWY…A

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Jay said:

JediKnightFay said:

Jay said:

When Kathleen Kennedy wears a t-shirt that says “The Force is Female”, you can safely assume they’re trying to market Star Wars directly to women.

Some think it’s straight-up anti-male. I don’t think it’s intentionally trying to make men look bad, but I do think they dumbed down the men rather than lifted up the women, and it’s to the detriment of all characters. My complaints are with overall character development and inconsistencies in the universe, but that’s probably not something that most casual viewers would find problematic.

You might want to check out this thread:

Culture, politics, and diversity in Star Wars

The discussion gets a bit testy in spots, though.

Just curious: when you say you’re watching them “in order”, do you mean release order (Eps. IV/V/VI followed by Eps. I/I/III) or story order (I/I/III/IV/V/VI)?

Im watching them in this order, I started with Rogue one first and then A New Hope, ect…

Original triology
Episode 4-A New Hope(1977)
Episode 5-Empire Strikes Back(1980)
Episode 6-Return of the Jedi(1983)

Prequel triology
Episode 1-A Phantom Menace(1999)
Episode 2-Attack of the Clones(2002
Episode 3-Revenge of the Sith(2005)

Sequel triology
Epiosde 7-The Force Awakens(2015)
Episode 8-The Last Jedi(2017)…and so on

Is this right? lol. I only got into the series because of that shirtless scene with Kylo… I am complete casual fangirl trash.

Everyone is free to enjoy Star Wars in their own way 😃

That’s the order I’d watch them in (minus going with Rogue One first, but I don’t think that really spoils anything). Which ones have you watched so far?

I started the series with The Force Awakens, then The Last Jedi, now I’m watching it in order correctly starting with Rogue one, then A New Hope, the Empire Strikes Back, and the one I’m on currently is Return of The Jedi.

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 (Edited)

JediKnightFay said:

Jay said:

JediKnightFay said:

Jay said:

When Kathleen Kennedy wears a t-shirt that says “The Force is Female”, you can safely assume they’re trying to market Star Wars directly to women.

Some think it’s straight-up anti-male. I don’t think it’s intentionally trying to make men look bad, but I do think they dumbed down the men rather than lifted up the women, and it’s to the detriment of all characters. My complaints are with overall character development and inconsistencies in the universe, but that’s probably not something that most casual viewers would find problematic.

You might want to check out this thread:

Culture, politics, and diversity in Star Wars

The discussion gets a bit testy in spots, though.

Just curious: when you say you’re watching them “in order”, do you mean release order (Eps. IV/V/VI followed by Eps. I/I/III) or story order (I/I/III/IV/V/VI)?

Im watching them in this order, I started with Rogue one first and then A New Hope, ect…

Original triology
Episode 4-A New Hope(1977)
Episode 5-Empire Strikes Back(1980)
Episode 6-Return of the Jedi(1983)

Prequel triology
Episode 1-A Phantom Menace(1999)
Episode 2-Attack of the Clones(2002
Episode 3-Revenge of the Sith(2005)

Sequel triology
Epiosde 7-The Force Awakens(2015)
Episode 8-The Last Jedi(2017)…and so on

Is this right? lol. I only got into the series because of that shirtless scene with Kylo… I am complete casual fangirl trash.

Everyone is free to enjoy Star Wars in their own way 😃

That’s the order I’d watch them in (minus going with Rogue One first, but I don’t think that really spoils anything). Which ones have you watched so far?

I started the series with The Force Awakens, then The Last Jedi, now I’m watching it in order correctly starting with Rogue one, then A New Hope, the Empire Strikes Back, and the one I’m on currently is Return of The Jedi.

Welcome JediKnightFay , and no , the force is female shirt that Kathleen Kennedy wore had nothing to do with Lucasfilm and the new movies , it was a completely separate campaign for Nike which you can read about here …http://boards.theforce.net/threads/the-truth-about-the-force-is-female.50049374/

https://screamsinthevoid.deviantart.com/

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screams in the void said:

JediKnightFay said:

Jay said:

JediKnightFay said:

Jay said:

When Kathleen Kennedy wears a t-shirt that says “The Force is Female”, you can safely assume they’re trying to market Star Wars directly to women.

Some think it’s straight-up anti-male. I don’t think it’s intentionally trying to make men look bad, but I do think they dumbed down the men rather than lifted up the women, and it’s to the detriment of all characters. My complaints are with overall character development and inconsistencies in the universe, but that’s probably not something that most casual viewers would find problematic.

You might want to check out this thread:

Culture, politics, and diversity in Star Wars

The discussion gets a bit testy in spots, though.

Just curious: when you say you’re watching them “in order”, do you mean release order (Eps. IV/V/VI followed by Eps. I/I/III) or story order (I/I/III/IV/V/VI)?

Im watching them in this order, I started with Rogue one first and then A New Hope, ect…

Original triology
Episode 4-A New Hope(1977)
Episode 5-Empire Strikes Back(1980)
Episode 6-Return of the Jedi(1983)

Prequel triology
Episode 1-A Phantom Menace(1999)
Episode 2-Attack of the Clones(2002
Episode 3-Revenge of the Sith(2005)

Sequel triology
Epiosde 7-The Force Awakens(2015)
Episode 8-The Last Jedi(2017)…and so on

Is this right? lol. I only got into the series because of that shirtless scene with Kylo… I am complete casual fangirl trash.

Everyone is free to enjoy Star Wars in their own way 😃

That’s the order I’d watch them in (minus going with Rogue One first, but I don’t think that really spoils anything). Which ones have you watched so far?

I started the series with The Force Awakens, then The Last Jedi, now I’m watching it in order correctly starting with Rogue one, then A New Hope, the Empire Strikes Back, and the one I’m on currently is Return of The Jedi.

Welcome JediKnightFay , and no , the force is female shirt that Kathleen Kennedy wore had nothing to do with Lucasfilm and the new movies , it was a completely separate campaign for Nike which you can read about here …http://boards.theforce.net/threads/the-truth-about-the-force-is-female.50049374/

I think that author has to be a special kind of naive to think PR people don’t know what they’re doing when they hand Kathleen Kennedy a t-shirt that says “The Force is Female” at a film festival and ask her to wear it. And she’d have to be a special kind of naive to put it on and not realize it would be seen by fans. “The Force” isn’t culturally relevant because of Nike and their creative team knew exactly what they were doing when they used that wording.

To be clear, I don’t think she was being anti-male or has some crazy feminist agenda. I think Lucasfilm is making a concerted effort to market Star Wars to women, and there’s nothing inherently wrong with that. I just wish they’d do a better job of it.

Forum Administrator

MTFBWY…A

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Welcome JediKnightFay! Hope we don’t scare you off!

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 (Edited)

It’s interesting to hear Star Wars referred to as “a male power fantasy story for guys.” When I hear “male power fantasy” I think James Bond, and even Indiana Jones to a degree, but I personally don’t see how SW fits that category, well, except for this moment in ROTJ, but I’d say that’s more of an evocation of old movie-serial tropes (and it’s from the same film where Luke and Leia are established as siblings for the first time).

Luke never comes off as being macho, and by the end of the trilogy when he becomes a Jedi Knight he’s about as far away from Bond or Indy or any other 80’s action heroes as possible. Han and Lando obviously fits the description to various degrees, but a lot of their toughness and swagger is played for laughs, and both are much more subdued and well-balanced by the end of the trilogy. Plus, neither are the main-character of the trilogy. And of course, there’s Leia; not exactly the type of woman you’d see in a Bond movie (even the newer ones). Even the damsel-in-distress trope in ANH is completely turned on its head the moment she’s let out of her cell.

There are obviously old tropes that both intentionally and unintentionally leaked into the original three, but growing up with them I never got a “power fantasy” feel from them. If anything I’d say Luke’s character journey completely avoids the usual “male power fantasy” plot.

However I see how Luke being the hero makes the OT sort of “for guys”, while Rey as the hero makes the ST “for girls”. Though obviously both have been fans of either trilogies regardless.

Star Wars is Surrealism, not Science Fiction (essay)
Original Trilogy Documentaries/Making-Ofs (YouTube, Vimeo, etc. finds)
Beyond the OT Documentaries/Making-Ofs (YouTube, Vimeo, etc. finds)
Amazon link to my novel; Dawn of the Karabu.

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Star Wars is catering for girls… it’s called Forces of Destiny. The zero budget flash animation/doll commercial. Everything else is pure lip service. They cast a wider net with the most recent stuff and the casting is done differently, sure. But broadening the demographic is different from when they actually try and please a particular group directly. See also: the 90s toyline that featured female characters wearing cloth outfits. Low effort, low return, same old. Girls have always liked SW obviously, but that’s not the same thing. Mega-corporations cater to what will sell and what sells rarely changes.

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Mocata said:

Star Wars is catering for girls… it’s called Forces of Destiny. The zero budget flash animation/doll commercial. Everything else is pure lip service. They cast a wider net with the most recent stuff and the casting is done differently, sure. But broadening the demographic is different from when they actually try and please a particular group directly. See also: the 90s toyline that featured female characters wearing cloth outfits. Low effort, low return, same old. Girls have always liked SW obviously, but that’s not the same thing. Mega-corporations cater to what will sell and what sells rarely changes.

Ive seen those. I just felt like w/reylo in the movie it felt like a super obvious young adult romance for girls. And I enjoyed it. :x Im a… NERD oh my GOD…

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JediKnightFay said:

Mocata said:

Star Wars is catering for girls… it’s called Forces of Destiny. The zero budget flash animation/doll commercial. Everything else is pure lip service. They cast a wider net with the most recent stuff and the casting is done differently, sure. But broadening the demographic is different from when they actually try and please a particular group directly. See also: the 90s toyline that featured female characters wearing cloth outfits. Low effort, low return, same old. Girls have always liked SW obviously, but that’s not the same thing. Mega-corporations cater to what will sell and what sells rarely changes.

Ive seen those. I just felt like w/reylo in the movie it felt like a super obvious young adult romance for girls. And I enjoyed it. :x Im a… NERD oh my GOD…

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy some of the fan art that’s been made of Reylo/FinnPoe. 😉

You probably don’t recognize me because of the red arm.
Episode 9 Rewrite, The Starlight Project (Released!) and ANH Technicolor Project (Released!)

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 (Edited)

No doubt the Disney era is more female friendly, but I’d stop short of saying they’re catering to girls. Including is more how I see it. There is a character for everyone now and I think that’s great. No reason why all cant be part of our nerddom.

If they were truly catering to girls, they’d be doing a Mara Jade anthology film or series and sticking to the way Zahn wrote her. Which, by the way, I would love to see.

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harold3 said:

pretty sure when Kathleen Kennedy wears a t-shirt that says “The Force is Female”… lol

PR stunts are not the same as a billion dollar movie machine actually caring about the issue.

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JediKnightFay said:

Is this right? lol. I only got into the series because of that shirtless scene with Kylo… I am complete casual fangirl trash.

At least you’re admitting it. And besides, if you’re willing to watch every single movie, I think you’ve earned the right to call yourself a fan.

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I find the question kind of strange. Star Wars has, does, and will continue to cater to as broad an audience as possible.

The Person in Question