During her confrontation with Kylo Ren, Rey is not devastated by being a “nobody” because she’s not obsessed with being important like Kylo Ren is. Like any abuser, he tries to break her down by saying she’s a “nobody,” because for him that would be crushing. It obviously hurts Rey at first, as she’s still searching for significance, but as she’s coming to it with a much more balanced worldview, Rey finds self-worth through her contribution to the collective, through helping others. Rey is stronger with the Force than Kylo Ren because she sees the whole, and even more importantly she sees beyond herself. Rey has witnessed the folly of chauvinism, and as such, she’s not tempted by Kylo Ren’s fascist offer: changing who’s at the top doesn’t fix anything, one has to change the system. (Aaron Diaz)Diaz, Aaron. "Rey, Rose and Revolution: The Last Jedi." Indistinguishable from Magic (December 24, 2017)
Lutz, Catherine. "Troop Veneration and American Empire." The Dig (January 3, 2018) ["The protest movement against the onset of the Iraq War was countered by a call to “support our troops” from militarists on the Right. But venerating American soldiers is not about supporting actual American soldiers; it's a rhetorical device to preclude questioning or criticism of the wars they are sent to fight. In a face-to-face interview at Brown University’s Watson Institute, anthropologist Catherine Lutz discusses John Kelly’s recent diatribe, Khizr Khan, Trump’s attack on protesting NFL players, and the roots of it all in the Nixon administration’s response to GI rebellion against the Vietnam War. "]
Prager, Brad. "No Time Like the Present: The Edges of the World in Christian Petzold’s Barbara." Senses of Cinema #84 (September 2017)
No comments:
Post a Comment