In my presentation, I discussed how a lot fandom discussions involve issues of representation. I specifically explained how a big part of the material consumption that takes place in this fandom is from marginalized people consuming ancillary materials because that’s where they most frequently see themselves represented. My next series of posts will be news articles and interviews talking about the importance of representation in the SW universe. 

All across the galaxy, people look up to the First Order.

“Everything you’ve heard about me is true.” See Lando Calrissian in Solo: A Star Wars Story in theaters May 25.

“I’m gonna be a pilot. Best in the galaxy.” See Solo: A Star Wars Story in theaters May 25.

What digital technology means for fandoms on Tumblr: Pt 1

The nature of Tumblr and other social media means that you can directly comment on people’s posts, and most people receive notifications when their post receives a comment. There’s an interesting mix of interactions here that are unique to digital media. 1) People can either respond immediately and off the cuff OR take their time and make in-depth, thought-out posts. This means that responses can be made in the heat of an argument or they can be well-organized and filled with “receipts” and linked material; 2) You can choose who to follow on Tumblr, so some tendency towards a filter bubble might exist, BUT because you can track a tag, you can see posts from people you *don’t* follow and be exposed to the opinions of others who don’t share your beliefs. This means that posts can attract the attention of people with a wide variety of perspectives, making it easy for arguments to arise. These two features combined with the fact that people are notified new comments are made on their posts makes for a very volatile melting pot. Digital media facilitates and encourages a variety of interactions and approaches to creating and sharing content. This facilitation contributes to the current fractured, disparate nature of the Star Wars fandom

Disobedient. Disrespectful. Traitor!

remember when we thought rian was an ally because he wanted kelly to play rose, not another white brunette? of COURSE rian thought a chubby woc looked like the annoying character he'd imagined, not a skinny white brunette. because cool asian female characters can't be created by rian's tiny brain full of racist & sexist misconception. i still can't believe i had faith in rian for this.

People who want to ignore the stereotyping of Poe/Oscar Isaac as a hotblooded destructive Latino will either say “he was already like that” or “he didn’t have much of a personality in TFA” as if either of these things excuses what Rian did to poes character. They don’t.

First off, Poe was not already like that in TFA. What we saw was a kind, trusting man who, despite not knowing anything about Finn, saw fit to recognize his humanity and give him a name. He instantly befriended and clearly cared for someone who was meant to be the enemy. Not once was he cocky, rude, or haughty in places where he would have had a right to be (this was a stormtrooper and a rebel pilot). Instead, he’s encouraging and totally benevolent to Finn.

When Poe finds out he is alive, you know what he does? Rejoices. He’s happy that Finn–this man he’s only just met–is living and well. No snide remarks, not a mention of his being a stormtrooper, nothing. He only has concern for those he knows.

The logical conclusion to this would be “if he respects X, he must respect Y, his authority figure.” Poe doesn’t lament his position as something to blame on the poor planning of the higher ups. He works with Leia in the planning room and takes orders where he needs to take them. He doesn’t zoom ahead of his squadron and leave them all to die while arguing that the only thing they can do is blow stuff up or sit and wait for a faulty plan to work.

And even if what I said were true in TFA–even if Poe was a fiery latinx who couldn’t take orders–when the hell was that ever okay? Suddenly it’s right to do something racist like that in TLJ because it supposedly happened in TFA? Is this really your excuse? “It happened before, so it can happen again.” That’s racism. That’s literally just racism.

In The Force Awakens, Poe is a kind and caring man who looks past differences and is able to work well with others. In the Last Jedi, we have a rude, childish, stubborn, misogynistic (Don’t tell me a man walking into a room and screaming “Hey lady!” at a female authority figure isnt misogyny) “hotshot” pilot who has authority issues, does not care about team members, and refuses to work with others to complete a common goal. This is inconsistent. This is a stereotype.

When it comes to Poe Dameron, The Last Jedi is racist, plain and clear.

“let’s free the animals but not the slave kids”- the last jedi (2017) dir. rian johnson

Fandom focus: racism

Since one of the objectives of this blog is to document fandom activities, trends, discussions, etc., I want to focus on another big theme of discussion I’ve noticed in this fandom: racism. Whether it’s fans and critics pointing out racism in the media, or fans being racist/talking about racism amongst each other, there’s a lot of discourse about race and power. I’m going to reblog a series of posts that are emblematic of the first type of discussion I mentioned, that of fans talking about racism and stereotypes in the films, especially the most recent movie TLJ. They will all be tagged “racism” to reflect that they are linked to this blog post. 

I think that the digital nature of fandoms have a lot to do with its ‘addictive’ qualities. The fact that computers and smartphones are fast enough to imitate synchronous conversation but obviously also allow for asynchronous communication means that we can *always* access new content, whether it’s ‘new’ as in just-published, or ‘new’ because we haven’t seen it yet.  Because we know there’s always more out there and that we can interact with the content and the people behind the content, we slip into a kind of habit of always interacting or always consuming without doing it carefully or purposefully. Because digital media amps up the participatory aspects of participatory culture, we can channel all of our emotions and thoughts, even negative ones that aren’t good for us, into fandom activities. Whether it’s losing yourself in a fic or working out your issues through art or making headcanons to justify a character’s mistakes, fandoms allow us to engage with ourselves on an another level. Sometimes we do that to the point of excess just because we have the capability. Because we can, we start to feel like we have to.  

i don’t think people talk enough #onhere about how fandoms can be addictive. 

like there’s a lot of “hahaha why don’t other people have obsessions like i do with these fictional characters” humor on this site and it kind of makes me cringe

because healthy levels of interaction with stories and fandom and characters exist and most of y’all are not at it, you’re way beyond

i can talk as someone who has totally used fandom as a completely unhealthy coping mechanism to try and escape from how shit my life was

i don’t blame anyone who is at that stage – i’ve been there, i know how hard it is

but ultimately, if you’re gonna get better: 

that means separating yourself from fandom if you need to 

it means developing limits on how much time you spend on tumblr or reading fic or making gifsets or whatever

balance is good, balance is key, for almost anything

too much of anything is a really bad thing for you

and there’s a culture here of thinking that someone saying that very true fact is shaming you

no shame, guys. 

fandom, in moderation, is a really cool thing – but it, like anything really cool and fun, is completely fucking addictive, and addictions are unhealthy. 

Fandom Focus: Meta and discussion of themes of sexual awakening and the sexual imagery in TLJ

The title is pretty descriptive, idk what else you want from me. Obviously, the fandom has been really busy discussing TLJ. Lately, I’ve noticed a lot of posts on discussing the sexual and romantic themes in the film. Reylo has been a hot topic of discussion and debate since TFA, but meta posts about the ship have increased in number and specificity since the release of TLJ. Here are several pieces of *very* in-depth meta:

Sexual Imagery and Themes in The Last Jedi – Part 1: Introduction

and a response thread with even more meta

“a long and specific The Last Jedi meta”

Kill the King and take the Crown: Kylo Ren, Rey, and the Usurper/Holy Mother

On hunger and Kylo hunting his p®ey

Rey and Kylo Ren as Adam and Eve: Return to Jedi Eden (part 1; NSFW) Rey and Kylo Ren as Adam and Eve: Return to Jedi Eden (part 2 - NSFW) Rey and Kylo Ren in The Last Jedi: Sex and Force Bonds

not to mention the tons and tons of posts with meta commentary like this one

The combined hundreds of thousands of notes and views these pieces have, despite being on a very recent, niche topic, is evidence of the degree to which people just plain love talking about SW. These posts alone represent hours upon hours of labor; hours spent watching the film, dissecting it, researching, rewatching, discussing, planning, typing, formatting, and sharing. It’s obvious that these fans have put a great deal of time and effort into nurturing their relationship with SW. The meta they produce adds meaning to the source material for both the writers of such meta and the readers. 

The big bad canon

Star Wars fans have been around the block a few times when it comes to canon/fanon shakeups. The universe has been restructured quite a few times since A New Hope was released in 1977, and different works, games, shows, and books, have moved in and out of what is considered the official canon. Most recently, on April 25, 2014, Lucasfilm announced that all Expanded Universe material is now reorganized under the non-canon "Legends" banner to make way for the "new canon" to take place. Star Wars Rebels the animated television series was the first new canonical piece on screen, and  A New Dawn was the first new canonical novel. “Under the direction of the Lucasfilm Story Group, all elements of Star Wars canon now operate in a unified and collaborative storytelling setting.”

This announcement was a huge upset for fans, many of whom had spent decades reading, learning, and poaching material that now isn’t even canon. Jenkins explains that “Fans recognize that their relationship to the text remains a tentative one, that their pleasures often exist on the margins of the original text and in the face of the producer's own efforts to regulate its meanings. While fans display a particularly strong attachment to popular narratives, act upon them in ways which make them their own property in some senses, they are also acutely and painfully aware that those fictions do not belong to them and that someone else has the power to do things to those characters that are indirect contradiction to the fans' own cultural interests” (Textual Poachers, 24). No doubt, SW fans felt that pain when previously canonical works were moved aside for Disney to make its own canon, freeing it of any obligation to abide by the facts and lore established by the earlier works. The site Wookieepedia formulated a complex canon policy to explain what works are canon, what works are “legends,” and what works are neither. You can read this policy here