Star Wars Saturday: Why Leia is still awesome 40 years later

Why Leia is still awesome 40 years later

          Being a huge Star Wars fan, I’m always looking for a new chance to discuss my favourite film series. With that in mind, I’ve decided to start Star Wars Saturday! Similarly to my Monday video game-themed editorials, biweekly on Saturdays I’ll select a Star Wars related topic, such as an overlooked aspect to the movies, some Expanded Universe content I’d recommend, be it canon or otherwise, or my reactions to the latest news from a galaxy far, far away.

          With the recent passing of the brilliant Carrie Fisher, I felt it right that the first ever Star Wars Saturday focus on the beloved Princess Leia and how she left her mark on movies decades after her first appearance.

          If you look back on A New Hope, Leia is basically the only major female character in the entire movie. The only other woman with more than a passing role that I can think of off the top of my head is Aunt Beru, who’s basically only in the first 20 minutes. In fact, until The Force Awakens relaunched Star Wars in 2015, the franchise was mostly seen as a thing for boys and only boys. Aside from Leia, the only other major female character in the original 6 movies is Padme, who, let’s be honest, was never given much to do overall.

          But this is actually one of the main reasons why Leia is still so great. When rewatching the Original Trilogy, you’ll notice that whenever she’s on-screen, she just dominates everything with her presence. There’s a reason why Leia is often regarded as one of the first truly great female characters, and it’s because while she did need to be rescued at first, once she was out of her cell she took charge of everything.

          The movie starts with Leia standing up to Darth Vader, lord of the Sith, without even breaking a sweat. Later on, as soon as Luke jailbreaks her in A New Hope, the two of them, alongside Han and Chewie, are cornered by Stormtroopers. Instead of cowering behind her rescuers like a stereotypical film princess would, however, Leia picks up a blaster and starts fighting back. She’s also the one who instruments their escape through the trash compactor.

          It doesn’t stop there, too. In Empire Strikes Back, Leia is the one who orders Lando to return to Cloud City to find Luke, hinting at her being Force-sensitive. She also plays a huge part in Return of the Jedi, single-handedly killing Jabba the Hutt and convincing the Ewoks to free her friends. She sadly doesn’t do much in The Force Awakens, but since Carrie Fisher has reportedly finished filming her scenes in Episode VIII, we can hopefully see our princess go out on a high note.

          The inclusion of a badass princess character who didn’t need men to protect her is one of the major things that propelled Star Wars into being a franchise that everyone, regardless of age or gender, can enjoy. Leia was also one of the first role-models for girls that told them they can be self-sufficient and not need to exist only for cleaning up after men. Remember, back in 1977 the only Disney princesses that existed were Snow White, Cinderella and Aurora, all of which have few character traits aside from “she looks pretty”. Whereas nowadays girls have a smorgasbord of awesome characters to look up to, back when Star Wars first released they didn’t really have that luxury.

          The reason we remember Leia all these years later is because she inspired girls everywhere to be more than they thought they could be. She took charge when no one else would, being a figurehead for the Rebellion and later the Resistance, fighting back against the forces of evil. But it doesn’t stop there. The story of Carrie Fisher is also one that’s worth hearing. Struggling with addiction and mental illness all her life, while her onscreen Star Wars character showed girls they can protect themselves, her real life showed them it’s okay to be different and still be yourself in any situation, because people will love you just for being you. Listening to her talking about her lifelong struggle and redemption is just incredible, and I’d recommend anyone who needs help with something listen to an interview with her.

          Both Leia and Carrie have inspired generation after generation to be more than they think they are, and I’m sure their message will continue to be passed down for years and years to come. We’ll miss you, Princess.