Rey's Power Level

I thought I was done discussing Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but I guess I'm not.

Today, during Panther Time (kinda like a home room class where you can go meet with teachers so you can get help) two young men were discussing the character of Rey. I am going to paraphrase their conversation. The names have been changed to protect the innocent.

John: "I mean, I like the movie and everything. I'm going to go see it again tonight for the fifth time. But, I don't get why Rey was able to beat Kylo Ren at the end, when she had never even picked up a lightsaber before."

Bill: "Oh, I know. That was weird."

John: "Cause Kylo Ren has trained a bunch as a Jedi and then trained as a Sith. So, he should be better than Rey."

Bill: "Oh, yeah. And Kylo Ren is like super powerful, so does that mean that Rey is more powerful than Luke Skywalker too? Cause Luke was like the most powerful Jedi in the universe and he had a train a whole bunch before we was powerful."

At this point, I interrupted these two students and asked them this question:

Me: "If Rey was able to beat Kylo Ren in that final battle, what does that tell you about the character of Rey and the character of Kylo Ren?" 

I really was trying to make this a teaching moment, using something that they love: Star Wars. Side note: I have seen a huge resurgence of kids who are in to Star Wars in the last few months. I believe it is because now it is cool to be in to Star Wars.

John: "It is messed up, Mr. Allen, cause Luke--"

Me: "No, hold on. Answer my question. What does this tell you about the characters of Rey and Kylo Ren?"

John: "I guess that Rey is more powerful than Kylo."

Me: "And..."

John: "Kylo isn't that strong. But that is messed up, Mr. Allen. Rey can't be stronger than Kylo Ren."

At this point the bell rang and these two students scurried off to the library, probably to play video games on the computers.

But that question hung in the air for me for a while. Why can't Rey be stronger than Kylo Ren, despite not having his training and experience? The answer is, of course, that she can. And she is.

The real problem that this student was having, and wanted to keep quiet, was the simple fact that Rey is a girl. What he really wanted to say was Rey can't be that powerful because she is a woman. 

THAT IS ABSURD!

Why can't we have a girl that is incredibly strong in the Force. No where in the lore of the Star Wars universe does it say that men are more powerful Force wielders. I would never want that to be the case. We need this strong female character. It sickens me to think that my daughters role models in popular movies will remain relegated to Elsa from Frozen, or Rapunzel in Tangled.  Those movie's plots aren't even that good, the character development and dialogue are flat. Why must we have two separate categories of movies--movies for boys and movies for girls? Why can't they cross the lines? Well, Star Wars: The Force Awakens does. I am not saying that there aren't great characters that the boys can latch on to, but we need a Star Wars character for the girls now. Up to this point all we had was Princess Leia, and I'm sorry, but she was a damsel in distress. I know, I love her too, but when you boil it down that is what her character is. And Queen Amadala? Give me a break. I don't want my daughter looking at her as a role model. So, I applaud Disney and Lucasfilm and J. J. Abrams and anyone else who was a part of this decision. We need a strong female Jedi!

Now that that is out of the way, I think we can have a more level-headed conversation about Rey and Kylo Ren. We need to spend some additional time looking at their characters.

Kylo Ren: Ben Solo is conflicted. That is one of his major character points. I've said in another blog post that this makes Kylo Ren an interesting character. He is being pulled by the two sides of the Force. We also know that Kylo Ren has yet to complete his training. He has had a little bit, but Snoke states that he needs to finish Ben's training towards the end of the film. Because of these two points, it is perfectly understandable that Rey would be stronger than Kylo Ren. He lets the conflict within him get in the way. When he is fighting Rey in the forest, he just killed his own father. I am sure that would effect him. He is constantly feeling the tug of the light side, the doubts within his own mind. Then, he does has a little training, but a little training does not a Jedi Master make, nor a Sith Lord for that matter. The fact is that Kylo needs more training.

Rey: Rey is focused, organized, independent. She understands who she is and where she fits into the universe. Rey has a mission that keeps her eye trained on the prize. She does experience tragedy, but even despite that, her focus is incredible. And she is untrained, but I feel like her character traits make up for that. When Kylo Ren hurts Finn you can see the determination enter her face. Now, I would not go so far as to say that Rey fights like a Jedi Master in this battle against Kylo Ren, but because of her state of mind, she is able to beat Kylo Ren. She takes to it like a fish to water because of her focus and power level. Rey may just be the most powerful Force user in the history of the universe and that is more than okay. I have also seen some fan theories that Rey might have been trained too in her past, but just doesn't remember because someone wiped her memories. That is an interesting theory, but even without it I think we can explain to a satisfactory level why Rey could beat Kylo Ren.

Finally, let's talk about Luke Skywalker, since this was a major sticking point for these two boys. They made the argument that Luke lost to Darth Vader twice in the original trilogy. I assume that they are referring to the duel on Cloud City, which was a loss for Luke, and the duel in the Emperor's chamber, which I would actually say Luke won in the end, but anyway... They kept saying that Luke is supposedly this super powerful Jedi and he lost to Darth Vader, so that would mean that Rey is way more powerful than Luke. Now, first, Kylo Ren is no Darth Vader. He is supposed to make our brains think Vader, but he is not Darth Vader. Vader was a battle seasoned, war veteran, prodigy Force user who often would single-handedly turn the tide of battle. Vader had decades more experience than Luke. Of course Luke was going to lose to Vader. It was inevitable. His only chance was to turn his father back to the light side. He could never hope to stop Vader in combat. At the end of The Force Awakens, I am sure that Luke is an extremely powerful Force user because he has had thirty years more training than he did at the end of Return of the Jedi. But if you compare Rey at the end of Force Awakens and Luke at the end of Return, I would probably estimate that they are pretty much the same, maybe Luke would have the upper-hand because he trained a little. But a couple training sessions with Yoda are not all you need. Rey would have lost to Vader too. But, once again, I must emphasize that Kylo Ren is no way as powerful as Vader was at the end of Return.

Despite all of this, this topic was incredibly interesting for me to think about. Enjoy.

Opening Scene of The Force Awakens

In 1977, Star Wars: A New Hope opened with the above scene, and what a terrific scene. This opening has been analyzed a lot over the years as a great example of filmmaking. This scene shows the viewer everything they need to know about the Empire and the Rebels without using any words. You understand that the Rebels are being hard pressed. They are underfunded and on the run. Then you see the star destroyer slowly move into frame and you understand that the Empire is extremely powerful and rich. That they have this long arm that reaches across the galaxy to stop their enemies. This brilliant bit of filmmaking is such a perfect opening to this series. It lend gravity to the film and helps the audience to understand the serious nature of these movies.

George Lucas moved away from these types of openings in his prequel series, and now we come to Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

After the opening crawl, which sent shivers up my back when I first saw it, by the way, we slowly pan down and focus on the planet of Jakku. Then slowly, one of the First Order's star destroyers passes in front of the bright planet and very soon overshadows the entire planet, blocking out all light. Symbolically this shows the power of the First Order and how they are just terribly evil. So evil that they block out all light.

When I saw this scene it immediately put my mind at ease. I silently applauded J. J. Abrams because he did the right thing. He knew that this nod to the first scene in A New Hope would catch the attentions of Star Wars fans. I immediately saw what he was doing and then sat back to enjoy a movie that I knew would be good. I really wish that I could find a clip of this scene so I could share it on my blog, but once again you can't find clips from this movie because it is still so new.

At this point I feel like I have analyzed The Force Awakens enough. My blog has been Star Wars posts for about a month and I am ready to get back to discussing other things. But, then again, who knows. Star Wars: The Force Awakens was such a great movie. I have actually been hankering to go see it again in theaters recently.

Symbolic Lighting: Star Wars Movies Need Symbols

This post contains SPOILERS for Star Wars: The Force Awakens--You have been warned

The movies included in the Star Wars franchise find their strength from not only their well-developed characters and their deeply engaging story lines, but also from the symbols included within most of the movies. I would like to discuss the symbolism used within the characters faces in both Star Wars: Return of the Jedi and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Notably, the characters of Luke Skywalker and Kylo Ren.

At the end of Return of the Jedi, Luke Skywalker faces off against his father, Darth Vader, at the behest of the Emperor. They duel, but eventually Skywalker chooses the Jedi path, the path of non-violence and hides from Vader. Darth Vader reaches out into Luke's mind and we get this amazing closeup of Luke's face.

Luke's face is half covered by shadows and half illuminated by the light. I am pretty sure that this was not one of George Lucas' ideas, but rather the terrific work of a intelligent director. From a symbolic standpoint, Luke is being torn into two directions. He is feeling the pull of both the light side of the force and the dark side. At this point he needs to make a choice, and you can see it because of how his face is lit. You might not have noticed this while initially watching this movie, but your brain does. Our brains are very adept at picking up these little details, this is why directors include them.

Now, I cannot find a picture of Kylo Ren's symbolic face lighting in The Force Awakens--I assume because the movie is still in theaters--but I will try to describe it as best I can. This lighting is so very similar to the lighting in Return of the Jedi. Towards the end of The Force Awakens, Han Solo faces off against his son, Kylo Ren (or Ben Solo). He pleads with his boy to return with him, to be good again, to come back to the light side. Han asks Kylo Ren to remove his helmet and initially his face is shadowed very similarly to Luke Skywalker's--half in dark shadows and half in red shadows. Then as he decides to kill his father, Kylo Ren steps forward and his face fully becomes bathed in red light, symbolizing that he has fully embraced the dark side.

These two scenes are what Star Wars is about. This is what makes Star Wars good--little things like this. Unfortunately, George Lucas lost sight of these little things when he was working on the prequel movies. It really is a shame too because if he had focused on elements like these those movies would probably have found better long term acceptance.

You Spin Me Right Round: A Whirlwind Journey Around The Hero Cycle in Star Wars: A New Hope & Star Wars: The Force Awakens

by Scott Allen

SPOILERS AHEAD, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED

I mentioned in a previous post that many people are complaining about how Star Wars: The Force Awakens was essentially the same movie as A New Hope. Chris Stuckman has a great argument that all Star Wars movies follow a formula, but I would like to discuss this idea in further detail.

The reason that The Force Awakens and A New Hope (and essentially all Star Wars movies) have a similar plot is because of the Hero Cycle. Author's have been telling the same stories for generations. Star Wars is The Lion King is Indiana Jones is The Matrix is Beowulf. They all follow the same plot. So, I would like to analyze both A New Hope and The Force Awakens from this lens.

Ordinary World

• A New Hope: Luke Skywalker lives on the desert planet of Tatooine where he works for his Uncle on their family moisture farm. Luke dreams of leaving, joining the Rebellion, and generally making a difference in the galaxy.
• The Force Awakens: Rey lives on the desert planet of Jakku where she works as a junk scavenger, trying her hardest to simply survive. Rey dreams of the day when her family will return to retrieve her.

Call to Adventure

• A New Hope: Luke receives his call from a hologram of Princess Leia transmitted by R2D2--"Obi Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope." He feels compelled to help.
• The Force Awakens: Rey also receives her call to adventure from a droid--BB-8. BB-8 has secret information and Rey is invited to help him find his master.

Refusal of the Call

• A New Hope: Luke says that he can't go on the adventure several times--to C3P0 and to Obi Wan Kenobi. "I can't get involved."
• The Force Awakens: Rey points BB-8 into the direction of civilization initially and then tells him he can stay with her until tomorrow when he needs to be on his way. Rey has a moment where she is tempted to sell BB-8 to get food. Also, several times during her adventure she mentions that she needs to return to Jakku because she is worried that she might miss her family coming back to pick her up.

Meeting the Mentor

• A New Hope: Obi Wan Kenobi is the wise old man who mentors Luke in the ways of the Force.
  
• The Force Awakens: Rey is mentored by Han Solo, who really excels in this role. Harrison Ford just looks like he has seen so much and perfectly acts as the wise old man. Rey is taught that all of the stories of the Jedi are true and that she just needs to have faith in all of these incredible things she has never seen before. Just look at Han's eyes in the poster. He has seen things. He has experienced love and loss, war and peace, magic and reality. He is hardened by his experiences. I cannot think of a better mentor character, other than maybe Obi Wan Kenobi, but I think I might be partial to Han over Obi Wan.

Crossing the First Threshold

• A New Hope: Luke crosses the threshold into the world of adventure (world of fantasy) when he, Obi Wan Kenobi, Han Solo, and Chewbacca, in the Millennium Falcon, get caught in the Death Star's tractor beam and get pulled into the space station. There is a literal moment of crossing that threshold because the ship gets pulled in through a door. And now our heroes find themselves in a strange world that is different than anything they are used to.
• The Force Awakens: Rey's crossing into the world of adventure is a little simpler than Luke's. Because Rey has spent her life on Jakku being a scavenger, her crossing is when she leaves Jakku in the Falcon. She then is thrust into this new world that is different than what she is used to. 

Interesting that both crossings involve using the Millennium Falcon. Like the Falcon is a vehicle for taking heroes into the world of fantasy. I might need to do another blog post about the Falcon as the vehicle into adventure. Hmmmmm.

Tests, Allies, Enemies

• A New Hope:
• Tests: Luke trains with the combat remote. He has a test in the Mos Eisley Cantina. And all of these tests come to a head when he enters the Death Star and he is faced with the choice of staying and waiting for Obi Wan, or going out himself to find and save Princess Leia.
• Allies: Han Solo, Chewbacca, R2D2, and C3PO--some of the best allies in the galaxy.
• Enemies: Stormtroopers, Darth Vader, Imperial Officers
• The Force Awakens:
• Tests: Rey tests her budding Force powers on an unsuspecting Stormtrooper. She experiences a fairly serious test when Kylo Ren was trying to pull information out of her mind. You could also say that running from explosions on Jakku with Finn was a pretty significant test.
• Allies: Han Solo, Chewbacca, Finn, BB-8
• Enemies: Kylo Ren, Stormtroopers, Imperial Officers

Approach

• A New Hope: Luke winds his way through the Death Star looking for Princess Leia. Specifically, Luke approaches the cave when he walks down the corridor what Princess Leia's cell is located in.
• The Force Awakens: I believe that this would be when Rey enters the snow filled forest on Star Killer base.

Ordeal, Death, & Rebirth (The Cave)

• A New Hope: Luke and friends dive down into a garbage chute and then Luke gets pulled under the water by some sort of garbage monster. For a while it looks like Luke is gone, that he has died. But then he returns.
  
• The Force Awakens: In the forest on Star Killer Base, Rey and Finn face off against Kylo Ren. At the very beginning of the battle, Kylo uses the Force to throw Rey into a tree. She gets knocked unconscious and Finn goes to her. In the way Finn holds her head and looks at her, it almost looks like she is dead. And if she weren't the main character, and if this story didn't follow the Hero Cycle, we might actually believe that she was dead. Later in the battle though Rey reawakens and seems to be reborn, more powerful in the Force than she was before.

Reward, Seizing the Sword/Elixir

• A New Hope: The reward is the Force. Luke begins to use the Force to stop the evil at the end of the movie where he clears his mind and takes the kill shot against the Death Star.
• The Force Awakens: Once again, the reward is the Force. Rey begins to use the Force a little earlier than Luke, but after she has her rebirth she is very powerful and uses this power to stop Kylo Ren.

Magic Flight

• A New Hope: Luke uses his X-Wing, accompanied by the Falcon, to flee the destruction of the Death Star.
• The Force Awakens: Rey uses the Falcon to flee the destruction of Star Killer Base.

Crossing the Second Threshold (Returning Home)

• A New Hope: Luke returns to the Rebel base, which has now become his home.
• The Force Awakens: Rey returns to the Resistance's base. It doesn't really seem to be her home. Rey's new home would be with Luke Skywalker to engage in training.

Return with Sword/Elixir

• A New Hope: Luke returns with a little bit of power with the Force.
• The Force Awakens: Rey returns a fairly accomplished Force user and seeks training with the last remaining Jedi in the galaxy.

The end of the cycle is where these two movies begin to break the pattern. It has a lot to do with the fact that Star Wars movies have sequels and the cycle is just going to pick up again in the next movie.

Conclusion

In writing this, I saw even more similarities between The Force Awakens and A New Hope than I did before. But that does not make The Force Awakens a bad movie, or even a lesser Star Wars movie. This proves that The Force Awakens is a great movie. The Hero Cycle keeps cropping up in our books and movies because it is a good story. Ultimately, it is every man's story. Our cycle might not be as epic as Luke Skywalker's or Rey's, but it is still our Hero Cycle. We will follow the same path. There is some semblance of peace in that. We like this pattern because it reminds us of our own story.

This guy might just have it.

Chris Stuckmann's Critical Review of The Force Awakens

Very soon I will be posting a critical look at how we can see the Hero Cycle in The Force Awakens. I have been working very hard on it, I think it is pretty good. But many of my ideas have come from this video by Chris Stuckmann on Youtube. Check it out.

John Green Discusses Star Wars

I think I like John Green more than his brother. I feel like I could be really good friends with John Green.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Spoiler Filled Critical Review

I went and re-watched Star Wars: The Force Awakens last Thursday with a buddy of mine who hadn't seen the film yet. So, after two viewings, I believe that I am ready to discuss this movie. I have a lot to say about this too, so I think I will be doing several posts discussing aspects of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. This one, in particular, will be more general in scale. But, be warned that this post will be filled with SPOILERS. If you have not seen the movie yet, and have not already had the movie spoiled for you, then go watch it and come back later.

SPOILERS FOLLOW

Plot: Many people on the internet right now are complaining that Star Wars: The Force Awakens is not an original movie. That it is essentially a retread of A New Hope. First, they are absolutely right. The Force Awakens does have a plot that is very similar to A New Hope, but that isn't a bad thing. In an interview, while he was developing the Prequels, George Lucas said the following:

So, George Lucas says that they "rhyme." I would have preferred the word echo, but rhyme is fine too. These movies are supposed to be like each other. They were patterned after the radio serials of old that George Lucas loved growing up--Flash Gordon and the like. Those programs weren't original week to week, they followed a formula and the Star Wars movies do as well. And I would like to explore this idea more in another post, but Star Wars movies don't follow a formula just because George Lucas says so, they follow a formula because all good stories do.

For me, the plot was everything I hoped for. It had all of the elements that I enjoy in a good Star Wars movie. There was a lot of action. People running away from evil. Lots of spaceships. It was a hyper space opera, which is what Star Wars is supposed to be.

I am not going to spend all this time rehashing beat by beat what happened in the movie, but it was a top notch Star Wars plot.

One part in particular I would like to discuss though. I thought that Han Solo's death scene was handled perfectly. As soon as he walked out on that path hanging over the chasm, I knew what was going to happen. Symbolically it hearkens back to Empire Strikes Back when Luke faces Vader and learns that Vader is his father. It had that same emotional resonance too. But I loved how it was handled. Han Solo went out wonderfully, trying to save his son. I love that.

Characters: The movie really shined in this aspect. Han Solo and Chewbaca were great, but I would like to focus on the new characters because they were what I was the most worried about. 

 Rey was everything you are looking for in a hero. She is the every woman that you need to be able to follow a movie set in a strange Sci Fi universe. When you meet her you understand her plight, she is waiting for her family to return, but she isn't weak or incapable of taking care of herself. She has heard stories about what happened during the Rebellion and destruction of the Empire, but she doesn't know if those stories aren't just myths. As she is thrust into the action of the story, she helps to guide us and help us understand what is happening. This is what the originals had in Luke Skywalker, but the Prequels failed in. I loved how powerful she is; a great female character for my daughter. And who cares who she is related to. I have my theories, but everyone might be totally wrong. Rey might not be related to anyone. And if that is the case, then I would still be perfectly happy.

Finn...hmmm. I liked Finn, but I liked Rey more. Finn is set to take up Han Solo's role in the original movies as the lovable scoundrel. And I think he will do a bang up job. I loved how the movie humanized a stormtrooper. Before they were clones, or soldiers, or who knows. But now, they are humans. They have feelings. They can make mistakes. I loved how right at the beginning, Finn watched his friend get shot and die and his friend wipes blood on Finn's helmet, marking him. Even with the helmet on you could tell that the character was affected by what he was witnessing. It made the character of Finn interesting, it gave him depth. He is conflicted an that continues throughout the whole movie. He wants to help, but he is also scared and not confident in his abilities to be successful. That makes for a good character.

Now, if conflict and depth are what you want, then we get it in spades with Kylo Ren, a.k.a. Ben Solo. I loved Rey, but I absolutely died for Kylo Ren. He is such a great villain and I have always been such a sucker for the bad guy. Darth Vader will always be one of the greatest characters in all of history, but I feel like Kylo Ren has so much depth already after just one movie. He is so conflicted. He feels the pull from both the light and dark sides of the force. He is really into his grandfather, Darth Vader and wants to be like him, but gets angry when he messes up. He isn't fully trained like Vader was, yet he is very powerful. You can see the conflict within him, even when he has the mask on. Ever since I saw Kylo in a photograph I loved his look and the suit and everything, but I was really hoping that he wouldn't just be a throw away character like Darth Maul. Kylo Ren is most definitely not a throw away character. I applaud his creation and Kylo Ren's story is probably what I am most looking forward to in the subsequent two movies.

In a recent review of his own, Chris Stuckman, discussed how Kylo Ren's lightsaber is perfect as well. Ren's saber looks unfinished, it looks unstable--very much like his character. It is volatile and may blow up at any moment. I thought this was a perfect symbolic choice for this character.

Acting: Unlike the Prequels, the acting in this movie is also superb. The Prequels were haunted by cheesy dialogue and long monologues about inter-galactic politics. More often than not, I was very bored in the Prequels. The Prequels were also plagued by telling rather than showing. The Force Awakens corrects these problems. No more scenes of people walking on a green-screen discussing what just happened, or what they are about to go do. One of my favorite shots is one of Rey watching a space ship blast off the planet (Jakku) where she lives. You look into her eyes and see how the features of her face soften, and you can instantly tell what she is feeling. She wants to leave. She dreams of the day when she will be rescued from this "prison." She longs for the rush of boosters beneath her as the blasts off Jakku with her family. That moment is what I am talking about. Show us what a character is feeling rather than tell us. And that is what this movie does. 

Filmmaking: J. J. Abrams knows his stuff. This may just be his best movie. He knows how to shoot a Star Wars film. Big wide shots that show us all the action that is happening. Practical effects in most cases. A focus on the characters rather than panning away to show how cool the explosion was. Abrams does so much with light and color that you might have missed, but your brain didn't. This was a huge strength for the movie and a return to form for this franchise, because Star Wars movies used to be very symbolic. I will return to this subject in a few more blog posts later.

Didn't you dislike anything?: Well, yes I did. The movie is not perfect, there were problems. 

• In both cases, I didn't like the CGI characters. Both of them took me out of the movie. I could tell that they were fake. With all of the practical effects in the movie, they just seemed out of place. Maybe you don't need your bar owner with a heart of gold character to be a little alien. Why couldn't she be a normal sized alien?
• I felt like the characters were never given time to breath. They were running from beginning to end. I mean at the very very end they were resting, but the rest of the movie was an octane filled race to the end. It made the movie very exciting, but sometimes it is nice to get a breather at an audience member and feel like the characters are safe for just a moment. But some people complain if there is too much down time and say that the movie was boring. That balance is difficult to achieve.
• I was disappointed with John Williams' score. I am listening to it right now as I compose this blog post and there are really only two new themes that I really like--Kylo Ren's theme and Rey's theme. I mean I enjoyed with the old themes would resurface in the movie, but I would have loved some really catchy new Star Wars tunes, like Duel of the Fates from The Phantom Menace (arguably the best part of that whole movie was that one song).

Overall, Star Wars: The Force Awakens was a tremendous movie. Well worth the price of admission in both cases. I am really looking forward to adding this DVD to my collection and enjoying it with my family for years to come. In the end, I would give Star Wars: The Force Awakens a 5 out of 5.

On Star Wars: The Force Awakens

I have seen the movie and I want to write a proper review of it. But I need some time. I need that time for two reasons. First, I want to give people time to go out and watch the movie. This film is one of the greatest movie going experiences I've ever had and that is because I went in without being spoiled. I want to respect that experience and let people go out and experience it. Secondly, I would like to watch the film a second time before I post a review. But I will be doing at least one post about this movie...soon.

With all of that being said, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is good. It is marvelous and wonderful. If you are a fan of the original Star Wars Trilogy you will love this movie! Go see it.