10 Reasons Rogue One Is The Smartest Star Wars Movie Ever
6. It's The Most Diverse Film In The Saga
I know that we all may love Star Wars, but let's face it, when it came to diversity it never really set an example. The trio of heroes from Episodes IV to VI were all white and predominantly male. Their adventures, blinkered in a heteronormative narrative, are still typical of Hollywood today. And if you're a person of colour, LGBT* or a woman, and happen to like Star Wars, then finding unproblematic representation in the saga has, until recently, proven to be difficult. Following a precedent set by The Force Awakens, Rogue One makes a bold statement in placing diversity front and centre to its message of rebellion.
If you tend to avoid that side of the internet that so so enjoys making deplorable behaviour synonymous with geek culture, then you'd be forgiven for missing the whole '#DumpStarWars' malarkey that erupted on Twitter following - sigh - Donald Trump's November 8th election victory.
Basically, like the decent human beings most creatives tend to be, the writers of Rogue One deemed it fit to label the Empire as a white nationalist group, which is true, because that's been of staple of Star Wars canon for a heck of a long time. (were those red, white and black flags not a big enough giveaway, guys?) Following this, they tweeted solidarity with POC and LGBT* Americans experiencing a disgusting spike in hate crime in the aftermath of the election, creating an image of a safety pin emblazoned across the logo of the Rebel Alliance. It wasn't long before everyone's favourite internet Nazis, the Alt-Right, caught onto this however, and thus the hashtag was born. Rogue One's diverse cast only vexed them further.
I don't know about you, but if you're p*ssing off Nazis, usually that's a sign you're doing something right. And of course, Rogue One has done something right; it's given Star Wars fans - a diverse group of races, sexes, genders and religions - heroes that break the mould of Hollywood's never ending love affair with pale, stale, male protagonists. It's important to remember that representation matters, and the significance of Rogue One's diverse cast is something all fans should be able to appreciate. After all, what is Star Wars if not a symbol against oppression?