Race & Gender in a Galaxy Far, Far Away: Challenging Stereotypes in Star Wars

First we will discuss the -isms present in our world (racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia), in order to have a good working definition. 

Using Google slides, I will present and we will discuss problematic issues with race and gender in the Star Wars saga, beginning with the original 1977 trilogy. 

1) The “Dark Side” of the Force vs the “Light Side“ - compare to “The Doll Test”
2) Lando Calrissian: Lack of racial diversity In original characters. Only black character in first trilogy. 
3) Darth Vader: Voiced by a well- known black man, revealed to be white. 
4) Gender: Lack of agency for female characters, and even moreso for female actors

Then we will discuss the prequel trilogy (where things went downhill fast):
1) Watto: Jewish stereotype
2) Ninguans: Asian stereotype
3) Sandpeople: Arab stereotype
4) Jar Jar and the Gungans: Black stereotypes
5) Shmi and Padme: female disposable plot devices

Our discussion of the most recent trilogy will focus mostly on the fandom’s responses to the efforts on making Star Wars more inclusive:
1) Finn (FN-387) and the White Power #BoycottStarwars movement
2) Responses to Rey, a female protagonist
3) Rose Tico - driven from the fandom, and ultimately practically cut out of the last movie because of racist fandom. 

So what can one person do? To help answer in our fight against racism and sexism, I’ll introduce Sabine Wren, a character from Star Wars Rebels. A Mandalorian, she used the epic “darksaber” to pursue freedom from oppression. 

Then, in the real world, I’ll show the speech given by John Boyega, the actor who played Finn, at a Black Lives Matter protest in London, along with some responses to his speech from other media and actors. 

We will close with some recommendations from experts about what we can do, whether we are allies or marginalized ourselves. How can we keep the conversation alive?