Boycott the War: A Long, long, Shipping Post

inert-pen-maid:

I speak only for myself, but my hype for The Last Jedi has been severely under-ripe. How is it that a minority of belligerent juveniles have succeeded in embattling us, from behind a keyboard – and with poor rhetoric – for the cause of some ludicrous ‘shipwar’? Finnreys and Reylos? Stormpilot and Kylux? I have seen people rally and respond to this war with eager bellicosity; committing abuses they would not dare without the anonymity of a url? It’s laughable. These insensate sheep are simply craven and disgusting. 

I personally champion subjective enjoyment: I don’t care for your personal proclivities, but I care if a deliberately inflammatory, steaming mound of loghorrea spoils mine. Rolling my eyes like a lotto ball every time I see the word ‘anti’ is getting exhausting. I am anti nothing. There are many relationships within Star Wars that function differently, for different reasons.

Any energy between any character at all, if written convincingly, is welcome.

I think ultimately (and am probably alone in this) that the characters we spend so long analysing are actually not as well rounded as we like to romanticise; many are merely skeletons with minimal upholstery. It is for this reason, only one film in, that I believe anything is possible: 

Rey and Finn –  clearly share something tender and significant. Initially, I believe that Rey’s feelings come from a place of compassion, in contrast with Finn’s evident infatuation. Though streetwise, in the same way an innocent child shows agitation over being teased about the opposite sex, she appears chagrined in avoiding Finn’s “Got a boyfriend? A cute boyfriend?” Her desires appear directed at different things: such as survival, family, and embroiling herself in the fantasies of rebellions, heroics, and Han Solo. We see this in her excitable admiration for Finn the ‘Resistance fighter’.  Any sexuality or response to physique appears dormant for most of the film. As the story progresses, Finn and Rey’s experiences deepen their bond  into one of compassion, and yes… love, in its flexible definition. The two would sacrifice the self for the other. As of the ending of The Force Awakens, I see no romantic reciprocation from Rey, but I believe that could very well change. The foundations are definitely there.

 Finn and Poe – I simply don’t think there is enough material involving the two to postulate. However, the two are initially thrown together by a common goal to escape, and upon their success solidify a truce – just before Poe’s premature ‘death’. The perpetuation of Poe’s jacket as a symbol is not only Finn’s homage to the pilot’s bravery and skill, but also represents Finn’s fresh fealty to the Resistance. In donning the jacket, he now has the shoulders of a new and better man. When they are reunited, there is clear fondness. I see how this could become the foundation for a successful fraternity / romantic relationship. 

Kylo Ren and Hux – The two uncomfortably inhabit a professional relationship fraught with rivalry, powerless to their referee, Snoke. It is hilarious. Whether there is a latent sexual push-pull between them, who knows?

Kylo Ren and Rey – 

The fact that I am most interested in Kylo Ren and Rey doesn’t mean I explicitly ship it – but whether romantic, platonic or antipathetic,  ‘Reylo’ is the most pervasive dynamic. Even prior the ‘inevitable’ collision of the two, there is an innate awareness of the other “in a daydream…or a nightmare”. The attrition between the light and the darkness has evolved into an attraction, a fixation, a ‘calling’; the Forces are outliving their entropy, and are returning to singularity. It is undeniable that this dynamic, not unlike a force bond, has great influence on the progression of the latest Star Wars lore. 

While there are prolific allusions within the core material, perhaps the most interesting aspect of the dynamic is that it is the only one that truly emphasises its room for revelation: mystery exists here. It is deliberately enigmatic, its function unexplained, alluded to only by metaphors of light and dark; an allegorical rebus, which we must articulate ourselves. But to what does it point?

Additionally, the writer chooses to explore sexual semantics in both language and action – perhaps a clear exploit of the villainous crush trope? In juxtaposition with his capture/acquisition of her, he feigns his regard of her as a ‘guest’ in order to disrupt her compass of judgement. But in his failure to ‘take whatever he wants’, as he had in his abduction of her, he becomes fascinated and enamoured to her organic power. This is later shamed by Snoke as ‘compassion.’ A quick escalation from fascination to compassion, no?

In The Force Awakens, I believe Rey is rightfully repulsed by the actions of Ren, and Ren’s abstract existence. As earlier stated, her sexuality does not literally centre at any point, appearing dormant, tabula rasa – that is, until the speculative moment she is visibly taken aback by the unmasked face of Kylo Ren. The knee-jerk reaction is literally provocative. As of current The Last Jedi teasers, it appears that she is becoming more and more harassed by her own curiosities concerning the Dark Side.  The two arguably exist on a precipice only the other can tip – Rey standing between her training and resisting the call to darkness, and Ren conflicted between his training and the call to light.  

Just as I cannot rule out the possibility of Rey falling for her beloved Finn, I cannot deny the salience of this burgeoning relationship. It is my belief that the light and the dark shall converge, each a device for encouraging the development of the other (for better or worse). Or perhaps there shall be no romance at all, and only redemption?

Nevertheless, whatever the events of The Last Jedi, the ‘shipping’ doesn’t matter. Shipping, once harmless, is becoming is a serious corruption in the spirit of our ‘enjoyment’ of this fiction – stop the hate. I just want some coherent writing, and characters worth their salt. 

#BoycottTheWar, folks. 

~Inertpenmaid