Review of Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) by Daveswallace — 29 Dec 2017

A violation of meaningful archetypes, the need for teachers, and the internal struggle against evil and corruption breeds a meaningless, false narrative where a suffering hero re-emerges to transcend to nothingness and a new hero needs no guidance nor explanation. That is not a celebration of gender and diversity but a crude devaluing of femininity to a fantastical, utopian idealization and white males to power-hungry, fearful mongrels. This is no better than a film which objectifies women.

Luke 1980: "I see good in you!" Luke 2017: "I must purge the evil in you!" He spends years in purgatory (a shamanic/Christ/hero idea) but when he re-emmerges he doesn't lead, challenge, teach (yoda), transcend (Obi-wan), or any of it - he just vanishes after performing the most powerful act yet seen in the universe and not even defeating his darkside counter, but just stalls for the saving of some 40 odd people. A weak symbol of white male irrelevance passing away without the transfer of a mantle. Masculinity, especially caucasian masculinity, is portrayed as wholesale bad, incompetent, or weak in the film. This is the opposite of true diversity and modern diversity interventions. The crux of the hero meaning is that women already encapsulate the fullness of the deeper meaning of religion, and that any pull evil has on her is resolved as just curiosity. She is perfect because well, she just IS. She doesn't require teaching or guidance. That's a false, utopian archetype and a betrayal of both genders.

That's what this film is - a betrayal.

The Hero archetype is only present in Finn, who is on a path to overthrow his former oppressor (this is the only story path which feels correct).