Unarguably one of the biggest hits on the juggernaut Disney Plus streaming service is the new Star Wars live action series called “The Mandalorian”. The first live action Star Wars series in decades delivers some fun moments, a lot of action, and the cutest soon-to-be-stocking-stuffer you’ve ever seen in “Baby Yoda”. People have declared that it “feels” more like Star Wars and are loving the series with only two episodes aired (at time of writing). However, people are starting to pick up that something is lacking in this series.
Women.
Twitter users have begun wondering where the women are in the series.
In a franchise that has given us women in lead roles in three of the latest four films, this hit series only has two women listed in the cast at this time. One of them plays the character of “Armorer” and is in for only one episode. The series does have two women directing episodes (Deborah Chow and Bryce Dallas Howard), but that’s their feminine claim to fame.
Speaking personally, it’s been rather refreshing to watch a Star Wars series that has a lack of drama off-screen. There isn’t a lot of bickering across social media, except what to name “Baby Yoda” because it’s not actually Yoda, and the praise for the series “brings warm feelings to my heart”. However, it will only be a matter of time before the critics begin circling the show, demanding to know where the minority characters are and claiming that the series is just for white fanboys who crave violence in their sci-fi viewings. For a brief period of time, people were allowed to simply enjoy a show and love the work put in by passionate people with worrying about skin color, gender, or sexual orientation. Fans across the USA and some points beyond (sorry UK, hang in there!) were able to just sit down and watch without second-guessing or judging.
That time may be rapidly drawing to a close.
We have a bounty hunting droid, but no women.
Don’t get me wrong, I love a good representation and making sure everyone gets a fair shot. Women have been largely underrepresented behind the camera and, in many cases, have been put in front of the camera if they appeal to the male demographic. Talent should be on screen regardless of what you look like. However, putting someone in a series simply because they check a certain number of boxes isn’t the right course to take either. Truthfully, the “But Brigade” will never be satisfied regardless of actor/actress choices. “You got a woman, BUT she’s not a woman of color.” “You got a woman of color, BUT she’s not LGBT.” “You got a woman of color who is LGBT, BUT she’s not plus size.” The list goes on and critics will always voice their negative opinion. When people spend their lives looking for the negative, eager to pounce on what they perceive as a problem, rest assured they will never stop until they come to grips with what they believe are their own inadequacies.
Star Wars fans can certainly have their moment in the sun and enjoy what they have, but the sharks are circling so brace yourself for the attack that is sure to come.
Our website offers some of the fastest news on the web from reliable sources!
Mobile users, click here!
10 Comments
Leave a Reply
Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Philip Gilbert
November 18, 2019 at 2:53 pm
Great article David. Clear and to the point.
Theresa
November 18, 2019 at 7:28 pm
It’s funny without this article I actually wouldn’t have noticed. I really don’t care if there are women in this series because they don’t show many women as bounty hunters. Inevitably there will be other chances for them I’m sure but we shall see. Great series though.
Jacob
November 18, 2019 at 7:53 pm
How dare they assume IG-11s gender.
Panda
November 18, 2019 at 9:13 pm
I remember when I was 12
I saw Star Wars
I remember Princess Leia
And Luke’s Aunt
Joe
November 18, 2019 at 10:12 pm
Ah I remember when movies, T.V. shows, and books didn’t have to be so political due to inbred thinking and opinion. The story was actually the only thing important back then. How about worrying about real issues like our homeless instead? Oh yeah, the demographic doesn’t have enough homeless women for these cherry’s to care. Go get a cat to bitch to about your “not enough attention growing up” issues.
Tom Weber
November 19, 2019 at 5:15 am
Wasn’t the Mandalorian Blacksmith a female character in the first episode? Nevermind she was wearing a helmet and armour. Should count for something. Give the series a chance. Yeesh.
Me
November 19, 2019 at 9:16 am
Exactly.
There’re very few characters in the show so far in just 1/4 of the episodes. “Slamming” a show without even seeing it completely is as foolish as wishing they had cast and written in a bunch of useless female characters just to fill a quota.
Plus, the show so far has a really simple story. Where the hell would you insert a woman in there?
Replace IG-11? That would be great by the end of the episode…
Michael M.
November 20, 2019 at 1:24 am
Have the complainers even watched any of the trailers? Cara Dune is a huge part of the trailers and is one of four of the available 6″ action figures the show has on the market – and two of the other three have no identifiable gender (Jawas and IG-11). So here you have a female merc/bounty hunter whose action figure makes up HALF the gendered figures on the market and SHE HASN’T EVEN BEEN SEEN YET!
Jamie Peake
November 21, 2019 at 2:56 pm
The Mandalorian is awesome! The Armourer is a great character. One I’m keen to know more about, but not at the expense of the story. I have no doubt women will make a strong presence in the upcoming episodes. People need to slow their PC roll and just enjoy it for what it is.
K. T.
April 12, 2020 at 5:04 pm
Having watched 3 episodes of the show, it’s ok I guess, but it’s just a fact that female characters are conspicuous in their absense for a group that makes up 50% of the human population.
People acting like female representation would have come “at the expense of the story” need to stop making excuses for this kind of thing. The idea that there is some kind of trade off between story and representation is a ridiculous false dilemma. The vast majority of characters in the show so far could have had their gender decided by coin flip and it would have made no difference to the story whatsoever.
I don’t believe for a minute that any of the guys saying “just enjoy it for what it is” would be doing the same if there had only been a single male speaking part in the first 3 episodes.