While I was out doing stuff over the weekend, apparently the Internet had a collective hemorrhage over another new Star Wars trailer that came out. That really sucks for me, as I was trying to go a full three months without having to write a post like this. But here we go again: apparently, a couple of trolls on some page called End Cultural Marxism wrote a few posts about how the movie is promoting white genocide because none of its main characters are white males. Which I think is probably true. I always knew there was something fishy about that JJ Abrams fella...
But seriously. Most people are obviously not so stupid as to believe this movie is promoting white genocide or any anti-white fervor. Most people just take it for what it is, a film. Most tweets about it are very much against racism and against this ridiculous hashtag "boycott" that's apparently going to happen. The racists who actually are angry are only a vocal minority, nothing more - which, to describe them as a minority, is acutely ironic and humorous actually. Now I want to do it more often. I think I will.
It's tempting to give into that and go on this big rant about how wrong racism is, but I don't really think it's necessary. Of course racism is bad. And it feels good to rave against those who promote racist ideas. It releases sweet brain-chemicals that make us feel vindicated. We all need a target to shoot at once in a while. But I think mostly it's fine, and we have nothing to worry about. The racists will go back to their holes and Abrams, Disney and the other producers behind the movie won't hear their cries over the sound of all that sweet, sweet green gold coming in truckloads to their mansions the hour after the film's debut. The movie is in no danger, nor is Star Wars as a franchise, from this nonsense.
But I can't help myself: If people are really pissed about the fact that there are minorities in leading roles in a Star Wars film, they're actually more thin-skinned, weak-willed pussies than any of the so-called "SJW" types they constantly call out for being overly sensitive.
Ahh, yes. Wash over me, sweet, sweet feelings of vindication. Now that I've said my piece against racism, my day is complete.
It's good that we have a new Star Wars film with a diverse cast. That's important. I'm not sure the movie will be anything all that exciting; probably it'll just be a decently entertaining blockbuster, nothing more. But it's about time we had more big action movies with better and more diverse casts. There are enough movies with white dudes as the main characters. Why not shake it up? Even if you don't care about racial progress or social justice, the fact is, it's just more interesting to have a wider variety of people in a movie.
This is the wave of the future. For a long time, minority actors couldn't get any good roles in big movies. They were bit parts, supporting casts, caricatures whose whole identity was based on race. Now that's changing, and not only can a better selection of promising actors get more interesting roles, but kids can have heroes that look like them in movies. That's important, too. I believe we're making progress in this area. There will always be detractors and those who are uncomfortable with change. Let's keep going, and don't let a bunch of racists drag that down or distract from how much progress we've made.
Plus, the actor in question, John Boyega, was in a kick ass movie called Attack the Block a few years back. That shit was awesome. We should be glad he's a part of this.
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