OPINION: The Last Jedi: A Challenge to Masculinity?
February 19, 2018
December 2017 saw the arrival of the latest Star Wars film, The Last Jedi. It has everything you would expect from a Star Wars movie: the Force, strange aliens, epic battles – the list goes on. However, an important question emerges from all the explosive entertainment: what is happening to masculinity?
As I came home from seeing The Last Jedi I couldn’t help feeling disappointed by the male characters in the movie. Sure, they had some high points. But did they have true masculine qualities? I didn’t think so.
Perhaps the greatest letdown was Luke Skywalker. For years he has been the hero who resurrected the Jedi Order, restoring hope to the galaxy. This hope carried on into The Force Awakens, where everyone was attempting to find the mysterious legend.
But when Rey finally finds Luke in The Last Jedi, he dismisses her pleas to teach her and to rejoin the interstellar conflict. Scarred by his past failures, Luke has become stubborn and disagreeable. However, Rey – who desperately needed Luke’s guidance before – trains herself in the end. Even when Luke has a change of heart, it is chiefly caused by Rey’s hope.
While Luke is obstinate, Poe Dameron is merely blind to the worth of the lives of others. Assigned to lead a desperate attack against the First Order, Poe continues the mission despite the fact his fellow pilots are quickly perishing. He goes so far as to ignore a direct order to cease the mission. For his reckless behavior, Poe is demoted by arguably the strongest (you guessed it) female character in the movie: General Leia.
One last example of feminism, though less glaring than the previous two, occurred with Finn and Rose. The two arrive at a casino city in an attempt to find aid for the Resistance. The beauty there enamors Finn so greatly that he does not see the corruption that also exists there. Rose notices this, though, and quickly points this out to her oblivious friend.
This dominant presence of feminism throughout The Last Jedi draws attention to the lack of trust in masculinity. Sadly, the majority of men today lack the virtues so necessary to masculinity. Chastity, temperance, self-giving love – these and many of the other foundations of masculinity are rejected and ignored. What remains when these qualities are removed can hardly be called masculinity. Lacking true men, society and popular culture turn to women to fill the void that has been left behind. The Last Jedi is merely one of the many examples of how the world calls for change.
All that remains is for men to turn back to their Christian values. The distrust in society will not relent until men return to the example given to them by Christ.
Guys, it’s your choice. You can take up your lightsaber and fight.
Or you can toss it over your shoulder.
Joseph McD • Mar 22, 2023 at 5:54 am
Good article. I think that having stupid male characters in a movie is alright because there are many in societies today. But “The Last Jedi” shows no good male heroes as you said, and goes with a Hollywood trend of feminism and anti Catholic behavior.
Marion Spiering • Mar 12, 2018 at 8:15 pm
You know, I almost agree with this. It is a good article. But its says to “Speak your mind” so I will. 🙂 I think that someone should call attention to the fact that at the end of the movie Poe Dameron is seen basically taking over the leadership of the Resistance from Leia. He learned from his past mistakes, and is stepping up to a leadership role better than ever before. Also, what if Rey was the one who inspired Luke to continue fighting? His ending battle was still amazing and if that is not a example of masculinity, what is? Women are supposed to inspire men to do great things. That is what the whole Medieval era had so right. Take Queen Isabela of Spain for example, she never actually fought in a battle, but she did inspire and recruit soldiers. Now I know that comparing Rey to Queen Isabela is a stretch, but my point is that it is no degradation of Luke’s masculinity to receive hope from the next generation and a women.
As for Rose and Finn, their time on screen was so stilted and badly written that they both looked bad.
You could also say that the movie exploited a women’s weakness when Rey thought she could “save” and “change” Kylo Ren. That is a classic example of a woman trying to change the “bad boy.”
All and all, I think masculinity wasn’t poorly represented, I think they did a fairly good job showing the strengths and weaknesses of both genders.
Dominic Humphrey • Mar 15, 2018 at 4:46 pm
Hi Marion!
Those are some good points! I agree with you that they didn’t completely throw masculinity to the side. Like you said, Luke had his moment in the end and Poe regained the trust of the others. For the majority of the movie, however, there was no strong masculine character, and with that lacking the female characters took the spotlight. It was n’t completely feminist, sure. But in my eyes, it did try to push feminism on the audience.
Thanks for your feedback!
Isolde Ramirez • Feb 23, 2018 at 2:21 pm
Okay, Dom, you really hit the nail on the head here. Thank you for addressing this.
Serena Fontecchio • Feb 20, 2018 at 11:43 am
I completely agree with this Dom! Very well put!
(That very last sentence had me laughing tho, even though it was very meaningful :P)
Sam Herbison • Feb 20, 2018 at 9:01 am
Great Article! This is the reason why the Last Jedi was so awful to me!