Warning: Mild Force Awakens Spoilers Ahead
Had this argument again today, and apparently some people are just too angry and irrational to think or listen at all, so I’m setting the record straight, even though only three people will probably read this.
Rey from The Force Awakens isn’t a mary-sue because of her gender; she’s a mary-sue because she can do no wrong. Because she can do anything better than anyone with no knowledge or training: flying a ship, shooting a gun, using advanced force powers, out-dueling a sith lord. If you actually listen to people who make this argument, you’d understand where theyre coming from and that they’re not frothing-mouthed misogynists.
“You know what you call a male mary-sue? A protagonist!”
Wrong. Stop using this argument. Again, the term applies to any character who can do no wrong and is the center of the universe. Golden age comics are filled with male mary-sue types. But even Steven Seagal characters establish they are highly trained in everything they do so perfectly; Rey does the opposite and establishes her inexperience/ignorance, then proceeds to do it absolutely perfectly anyway. If Seagal is a better writer than you (JJ Abrams), you’re doing it wrong.
You can still enjoy Rey’s exploits. Not saying you can’t. I’m saying you can’t call her a good character when she clearly isn’t (neither is anyone else in the movie), and you can’t pull the gender card whenever people criticize her…at least, not if you expect anyone to continue conversing with you. Be an adult and stop taking it so personally.
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