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Hux and TROS
Nov. 1st, 2019 06:47 pmvia https://ift.tt/2r6Nt5j
gamebird:
darthlenaplant:
abidos:
Having bought and read Tom Taylor ’s Hux’s comic (which is quite good and definitely worth the money) I’m back to feeling low-key anxiety over how Hux’s character will be handled in TROS.
My main worry is that Hux will be killed off in a cliché “irredeemable villain” way while Kylo will again be offered a chance at redemption, which he might take, or not. And the reason I dislike this so much is not just that it would be bad storytelling, but that it’s wrong on the one hand and sends out a terrible message on the other.
The reason it’s wrong is that Hux is not part of the FO order of his own volition (and Hux is very much a stand-in for the entire younger generation of the FO, officers and stormtroopers included). This is not just an interpretation of his background; it’s explicitly mentioned in the afterword of Hux’s comic.
“(…) he is what his upbringing and the galaxy made him (…) it’s difficult to see how he could have possibly become anything else, except perhaps a mere cog in the First Order wheel.” – Bria LaVorgna, General Hux, Age of Resistance.
Kylo, on the other hand, chooses the FO, not once, but three times already. He chooses to go to Snoke after Luke attacks him, he chooses to reject his father’s offer and kill him, and again when Rey endangers her life to give him a way out. And yet, the narrative treats Kylo as the only one worthy of a chance at redemption. Finishing the story by further reinforcing this trend would be right out wrong.
But that is not all, because movies don’t exist in a vacuum. Maybe, while reading the previous paragraphs, you were assailed by a feeling of familiarity. It should because this type of story is very commonly used right now. Let me rewrite it like this:
“(Hux and the FO) are born and raised in FO culture which is violent and criminal, so they are violent and criminal, and there is nothing to be done, so better to just kill them or put them in jail. (Kylo) is born and raised in light side culture, so any bad things he does are the result of some exceptional events and society should do all it can to save him, bring him back to the good side, and make sure this can never happen again.”
Sound familiar? Let me change it a little:
“(Hux and the FO) are born and raised in poor people culture which is violent and criminal, so they are violent and criminal, and there is nothing to be done, so better to just kill them or put them in jail. (Kylo) is born and raised in rich/middle-class people culture, so any bad things he does are the result of some exceptional events and society should do all it can to save him, bring him back to the good side, and make sure this can never happen again.”
Or maybe:
“(Hux and the FO) are born and raised in Muslim culture which is violent and criminal, so they are violent and criminal, and there is nothing to be done, so better to just kill them or put them in jail. (Kylo) is born and raised in Christian/western culture, so any bad things he does are the result of some exceptional events and society should do all it can to save him, bring him back to the good side, and make sure this can never happen again.”
Or, for Europeans:
“(Hux and the FO) are born and raised in eastern Europe culture which is violent and criminal, so they are violent and criminal, and there is nothing to be done, so better to just kill them or put them in jail. (Kylo) is born and raised in western Europe culture, so any bad things he does are the result of some exceptional events and society should do all it can to save him, bring him back to the good side, and make sure this can never happen again.”
And for our American friends:
“(Hux and the FO) are born and raised in Black/Latino culture which is violent and criminal, so they are violent and criminal, and there is nothing to be done, so better to just kill them or put them in jail. (Kylo) is born and raised in White/Asian culture, so any bad things he does are the result of some exceptional events and society should do all it can to save him, bring him back to the good side, and make sure this can never happen again.”
I’m sure, wherever you’re from, you could fill in the blanks for whatever “bad culture/bad people” bigots discriminate against in your country. The story is that there are bad people/cultures/ethnicities who are just bad and can only be killed and good people /culture/ethnicities who do bad things as the result of trauma and need and deserve help (with one or two examples of people of the bad culture who managed to not be bad (Finn) only confirming how bad everyone else is). I don’t think I have to point out how incredibly damaging this type of story, this type of thinking is. The idea that such a big company as Lucasfilm/Disney are anxious to push this worldview through child-oriented mega-productions is, frankly, horrendous.
It’s the truth and you should say it.
It is exactly how horrendous that would be as a message that makes me secure that Hux will survive.
They brought in Pryde and Palpatine so they’d have someone to kill off. They wouldn’t have brought in Pryde if they’d intended to have Hux fill that narrative function. They cast a young, attractive man full of delicate microexpressions as Hux on purpose. Or so I believe.
Just as you’ve also hit the nail on the head with the casting of a black man to represent the stormtroopers (who were always POC-coded), who will also be saved.
gamebird:
darthlenaplant:
abidos:
Having bought and read Tom Taylor ’s Hux’s comic (which is quite good and definitely worth the money) I’m back to feeling low-key anxiety over how Hux’s character will be handled in TROS.
My main worry is that Hux will be killed off in a cliché “irredeemable villain” way while Kylo will again be offered a chance at redemption, which he might take, or not. And the reason I dislike this so much is not just that it would be bad storytelling, but that it’s wrong on the one hand and sends out a terrible message on the other.
The reason it’s wrong is that Hux is not part of the FO order of his own volition (and Hux is very much a stand-in for the entire younger generation of the FO, officers and stormtroopers included). This is not just an interpretation of his background; it’s explicitly mentioned in the afterword of Hux’s comic.
“(…) he is what his upbringing and the galaxy made him (…) it’s difficult to see how he could have possibly become anything else, except perhaps a mere cog in the First Order wheel.” – Bria LaVorgna, General Hux, Age of Resistance.
Kylo, on the other hand, chooses the FO, not once, but three times already. He chooses to go to Snoke after Luke attacks him, he chooses to reject his father’s offer and kill him, and again when Rey endangers her life to give him a way out. And yet, the narrative treats Kylo as the only one worthy of a chance at redemption. Finishing the story by further reinforcing this trend would be right out wrong.
But that is not all, because movies don’t exist in a vacuum. Maybe, while reading the previous paragraphs, you were assailed by a feeling of familiarity. It should because this type of story is very commonly used right now. Let me rewrite it like this:
“(Hux and the FO) are born and raised in FO culture which is violent and criminal, so they are violent and criminal, and there is nothing to be done, so better to just kill them or put them in jail. (Kylo) is born and raised in light side culture, so any bad things he does are the result of some exceptional events and society should do all it can to save him, bring him back to the good side, and make sure this can never happen again.”
Sound familiar? Let me change it a little:
“(Hux and the FO) are born and raised in poor people culture which is violent and criminal, so they are violent and criminal, and there is nothing to be done, so better to just kill them or put them in jail. (Kylo) is born and raised in rich/middle-class people culture, so any bad things he does are the result of some exceptional events and society should do all it can to save him, bring him back to the good side, and make sure this can never happen again.”
Or maybe:
“(Hux and the FO) are born and raised in Muslim culture which is violent and criminal, so they are violent and criminal, and there is nothing to be done, so better to just kill them or put them in jail. (Kylo) is born and raised in Christian/western culture, so any bad things he does are the result of some exceptional events and society should do all it can to save him, bring him back to the good side, and make sure this can never happen again.”
Or, for Europeans:
“(Hux and the FO) are born and raised in eastern Europe culture which is violent and criminal, so they are violent and criminal, and there is nothing to be done, so better to just kill them or put them in jail. (Kylo) is born and raised in western Europe culture, so any bad things he does are the result of some exceptional events and society should do all it can to save him, bring him back to the good side, and make sure this can never happen again.”
And for our American friends:
“(Hux and the FO) are born and raised in Black/Latino culture which is violent and criminal, so they are violent and criminal, and there is nothing to be done, so better to just kill them or put them in jail. (Kylo) is born and raised in White/Asian culture, so any bad things he does are the result of some exceptional events and society should do all it can to save him, bring him back to the good side, and make sure this can never happen again.”
I’m sure, wherever you’re from, you could fill in the blanks for whatever “bad culture/bad people” bigots discriminate against in your country. The story is that there are bad people/cultures/ethnicities who are just bad and can only be killed and good people /culture/ethnicities who do bad things as the result of trauma and need and deserve help (with one or two examples of people of the bad culture who managed to not be bad (Finn) only confirming how bad everyone else is). I don’t think I have to point out how incredibly damaging this type of story, this type of thinking is. The idea that such a big company as Lucasfilm/Disney are anxious to push this worldview through child-oriented mega-productions is, frankly, horrendous.
It’s the truth and you should say it.
It is exactly how horrendous that would be as a message that makes me secure that Hux will survive.
They brought in Pryde and Palpatine so they’d have someone to kill off. They wouldn’t have brought in Pryde if they’d intended to have Hux fill that narrative function. They cast a young, attractive man full of delicate microexpressions as Hux on purpose. Or so I believe.
Just as you’ve also hit the nail on the head with the casting of a black man to represent the stormtroopers (who were always POC-coded), who will also be saved.
