. . .As these characters’ plots were continued in the film, fans also noticed other things from the Star Wars Hall of Fame that made an appearance. From a surprise Stormtrooper rescue, to a petite yet enigmatic Yoda parallel (in the form of Maz Katana played by Lupita Nyong’o), to an underdog protagonist from a Tatooine look-alike, even the new droid BB8 has a suspicious likeness to our friend R2D2. The plot points were recognizable, yet woven in in ways we hadn’t seen before. The Force Awakens certainly evokes a sense of nostalgia in fans, but it also opens up an opportunity for new, younger generations to become Star Wars lovers (just check the aisles at Toys R Us for 4-year-olds in Stormtrooper costumes). That being said, with confirmation of an eighth film that is already starting production, I, for one, hope that the nostalgia cuts back a bit. Despite all of my love for the original trilogy, we’ve paid tribute and it’s time to see where this new age takes us.
The new movie wasn’t entirely blasts from the past though. The casting of the three main protagonists as a woman and two men of color shows that Star Wars is stepping into the modern age. Primarily, it’s making up for the overly white-maleness of the previous six movies. In our new generation of Star Wars we meet Finn (John Boyega), a black Stormtrooper defying a broken system, Poe (Oscar Isaac), a cocky and confident latino Resistance pilot, and Rey (Daisy Ridley), an independent and resourceful girl from the planet of Jakku. Now, let me just say that I could go on about these characters for hours. We finally, finally have two things that I myself, along with many other movie-goers, have been craving: 1) A strong, well-written female character whose looks are irrelevant to her heroism and whose character development does not. . . caring, loving, platonic relationship between the male and female protagonists. Though some internet speculators still “ship” characters to their pleasing, Star Wars did right by me in showing us that platonic love is in fact an option in Hollywood.