I'm going to take advantage of this blog for a moment and post some of my thoughts about Episode III. They are not necesarily spoiler-ific, but I'm lj-cutting them, since that is the point.

(Having reread it, maybe it is a bit more spoilerific than I originally intended.)



Total Confession: I haven't seen Episodes I or II since they left theaters, although I did see them both twice.

I seem to recall, though, at least one very strong female character in both films. I remember a Padme (or Amidala) that was willing to get dirty, to fight, to be involved for what she believed in. I remember her carrying a blaster and shooting things.

I equally remember a Leia who did the same thing.

But then this movie comes along, and Padme entire roll for the film is as "Pregnant Lady who Cries A Lot". She stands around for most of the movie, talking about her babies and doing nothing as her life crumbles around her. She just watches, quietly, as the Senate gives full power to the Chancellor. And although she has all these doubts about whats going on, she shares them with no one, talks to no Senators (at least not on screen), and does nothing about her fears. She's completely passive in this movie. Even her daring flight to that planet that I can't remember the name of is simply so that she can be killed by her husband. There's no other real point to it.

She does nothing all movie. Nothing at all. And it makes me very very sad.

But that's not the only part that makes me sad.

Please name me any other female who had a speaking roll in this film.

I'll wait.

You can't, can you?

In reviewing the film in my mind, I can only come up with, at most, five female characters, including Padme. We've got that one person who is with Palpatine but never speaks, who may be female (I was a little unsure), we've got the Queen of Alderan (who is credited merely as that - no name for her), and two Jedis. Both of whom are the only Jedis to die without fighting. The first is a (forgive my spelling) Twileck, who dies before she can even reach for her lightsaber, just as turning around, and the other is a humanoid female on a speeder bike that is taken out without even realizing what is happening.
(In retrospect, Luke's Aunt. Beru? Again, no speaking.)

None of them speak.

I'm not one of those people who goes on and on about "feminist interpretations of movies". But I was really taken aback when I realized how these powerful, brave women were completely ignored. Children were shown fighting and interacting. Women were not.

That was just so... strange to me. I remember loving Leia as a child, and even though I didn't like the first movie at all, and the second movie not much, I liked Amidala. She wasn't just sitting around waiting to be rescued. Neither was Leia.

But that's all she does in this movie.

And that's not even discussing the whole bit where she "doesn't have the will to live" and just lets herself die for no reason. This woman led a group of armed people to reclaim her planet? What, did pregnancy eat her brain?


There are lots of other things I could say about the movie, but I think I shall leave it at that for now. I am eager to hear other opinions, though.