ThrowgnCpr said:
You don't want to discuss Mary Sue, but post a video entitled "Mary Sue" edition?
You're treading on thin ice here...
I know - and I know it's a sensitive topic... not sure if people can eat the meat and spit out the bones, but the video makes an interesting comparison. It's unfortunate to lose the point that the video makes because of the title.
It'd be nice to compare and discuss Rey and Luke's character developments as they're written - how they're similar and how they're different. If they are both 'good' and just different, or if one is better from an objective standpoint. Get into the writing and presentation from a critical eye and see where improvement can be made from a story-telling perspective - wanting to tell
better future stories. Things that are good, things that don't work, etc.
To compare to another heroic female-led movie: I really like Moana. The first time she takes out the boat, she fails. She thinks she knows better but is wrong. When she tries to find Maui, she fails. She can't handle the task by herself. She's headstrong when fighting Tafiti and suffers a major defeat, she think she needs Maui, but he leaves - and in the end, she overcomes all of that. She stands up to her fears, knows she'll never be at peace unless she gives it everything she's got - and triumphs in the end. She learns perseverance in the face of hardship. That's a character journey that I can relate to.
I feel the same way about Luke in the OT. He's a relatable character the way he's written. He constantly needs help and fails. (and makes at least 1 very bad decision according to 2 of his teachers) Rey's journey feels nothing like that. Time and time again we're shown that Rey doesn't need help - she's regularly put in circumstances where she succeeds by her own volition. The only failure I see in TFA is getting captured by Kylo. (that video shows the Luke/Rey ANH/TFA comparison pretty well)
I like the idea of Rey and how she's presented - I like the premise of the character and how Daisy plays her - I just wanted more character flaws that make her more relatable and was expecting that in TLJ. I was hoping that TLJ would show her NEED to be trained by Luke, how there were things she didn't know that she needed help with - and in the end, lose in a battle to Kylo or some other twist with her failing. (her "failing" to turn Kylo isn't quite the same - that's someone else's failure more than hers) Then we'd be able to root for her in Ep 9 to redeem herself and have a place to come back from. We all love the underdog story...
Do you all find her relatable as she's written? The journey her character has gone on seems similar to your own life journey? Do you think she and Luke have similar journeys?