Thread by @ElectricDidact

Some thoughts about #RiseofSkywalker. thread.

#spoileralert

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I loved The Force Awakens. I loved The Last Jedi even more. Rian Johnson made something special, something that will last because there's so much Truth in it.

And I loved The Rise of Skywalker.

I feel for and with the people out here who are angry about JJ's decisions in RoS. And you know, it's frustrating.

Rian gave us a radical critique of the Jedi (which I wrote about here: medium.com/fan-fare/how-t…). And JJ seemed to walk that back.

Rian exploded the notion of heredity and the power of bloodline as Rey's search for her parents forced her to find herself in the here and now.

JJ wanted Rey to have a capital-O Origin.

I REALLY wanted this movie to openly acknowledge Finn and Poe's love with a frickin kiss! And it didn't happen, even though a side character got to be in an open lesbian relationship seconds before the PERFECT MOMENT FINN AND POE COULD'VE KISSED GAH!

BUT

but

I can't be angry at this movie! XD

Angry at JJ? Sure. F**k you and your delusions, sir. 🖕

Rian, you're a blessed saint. 💜

But Star Wars--the story, the myth, the meaning--doesn't get dictated by George Lucas or JJ Abrams or Rian Johnson (even though he a saint)

We get to interpret Star Wars. We get to own it and make meaning out of it (AND against it!).

Finn and Poe are definitely two men in love with each other.

Rey's origins really don't matter in the end. She gets her strength not from blood but from the community of the force.

Kylo Ren is destroyed. Ben and Rey kiss. Ben shouldn't have died. He should've lived. And we can own that tragedy. We don't have to accept that it is "good" or "meant to be" because it's "canon."

Ben Solo didn't deserve to die. full stop.

But Rise of Skywalker didn't throw out Rian's excellent work. It interpreted it. AND that interpretation is contestable even within the context of the story.

Rey's parents are still "nobodies," like we still don't know who they are and neither does she. In the end, she doesn't take ownership of that family. She adopts herself into the name Skywalker. And by doing so, she renders the familial meaning of the word secondary to its story.

I think for me, Ben's death is part of a really interesting theme in Rise of Skywalker about the moral ambiguity of the extension of life.

This power of giving up life to someone else is the secret. It is how Palpatine [thinks he] is immortal. Life can't be created. It can only be taken from life that already exists.

And for me, that was a fascinating way of tying this whole thing back into the story told by the prequels (which I also love despite their faults).

A recurring theme in Star Wars is revealing the dangers inherent in holding onto the fear of death, either of oneself or someone you identify with. One of the story's arguments is that one can achieve happiness, justice, and peace when one lets go of that fear.

In that light, Ben's death is maybe a little more complicated than just a dude throwing his life away, as dudes are expected to do in militaristic societies. It's still a problem, still something to get mad about. Still something to criticize.

But maybe we can read this moment as a resolution of the conflict: fear of death leading to anger, hatred, selfishness and, ultimately, more death.

Ben affirms the value of life and love by resuscitating Rey. At the same time he doesn't fear death anymore. It's a paradox.

(I don't know, this is how I'm reading it all right now. My readings of Star Wars have changed over time and they probably will evolve.)

I mourn Ben Solo. It's sad and it shouldn't be sad.

I also can't hate this movie or this story. But that's just me.

Love and lots of hugs to my friends who are still working through this. Star Wars is more than just movies for a lot of us. 💜💜💜💜