This may be the worst thing Lucasfilm has done so far and they’ve really been guilty of some awful, awful things. Just a quick review, they shrunk the image of an African American actor on a Chinese movie poster in a likely effort to hide a darker skinned person from Chinese audiences, they mocked Star Wars fans who were emotional at Luke Skywalker’s triumphant return in The Mandalorian, and they have mismanaged Star Wars to such a degree that there are zero movies under active production for the once-biggest franchise in the world.
Lucasfilm warned #ObiWanKenobi star Moses Ingram about racist Star Wars fans
"[It] will likely happen"
(via @Independent) pic.twitter.com/73hJBNYZde
— ScreenTime (@screentime) May 23, 2022
But what you are about to read… it’s the worst.
Based on supposed racially-motivated negativity aimed at the characters portrayed by John Boyega and Kelly Marie Tran, which I can find no widespread movement or evidence of such movement in that regard, Lucasfilm is portraying its fans as racist prior to the debut of Obi-Wan Kenobi. The way there doing so is truly sneaky and cunning. There is already word that the inquisitor character of the upcoming series will act in a way that retcons the original Star Wars movie, A New Hope, and which will reportedly act in a way that elevates the inquisitor character morally and competently above Obi-Wan Kenobi. This rumor has resulted in a significant backlash to the series prior to its release. The inquisitor character also happens to be played by a woman of African descent. Therefore, what appears to be happening, is that Lucasfilm is getting ahead of the criticism by claiming that negativity directed at the character, the show, or the actress, is all proof of racism. Thus, critics of the show will be labeled in a negative manner. This is truly gross.
From Indie Wire:
Moses Ingram, who plays a villainous Inquisitor in upcoming Disney+ series “Obi-Wan Kenobi” hunting the Jedi trainer (Ewan McGregor), revealed that Lucasfilm was proactive in media training ahead of the series premiering May 27.
“It was something that Lucasfilm actually got in front of, and said, ‘This is a thing that, unfortunately, likely will happen. But we are here to help you; you can let us know when it happens,’” Ingram told The Independent.
Ingram noted that “Obi-Wan Kenobi” director Deborah Chow has been “putting the proper systems in place so I feel safe as we do the work” throughout production. “Of course, there are always pockets of hate,” Ingram said. “But I have no problem with the block button.”
In essence, before we can even get to the debut of this series, Lucasfilm is sliming its fans. We all know there are awful, bigoted and racist people in this world. They watch all the stuff on television and in the movies, just like they always have. And we hope that the number of awful, bigoted and racist morons out there in the world are less than ever before. But to nail your fanbase with this sort of pejorative, as if Star Wars fans are different than any other fanbase, before there’s even an incident… it’s just awful. It would be like a Stranger Things actor coming out and saying that the studio warned them there would be animal sacrifices made by fans of the show. Why in the world would you say such a thing and especially when it hasn’t happened?
Well, you would say it if you suspect there’s going to be backlash to your narrative and you need to reframe that backlash. Reframing so that people who don’t enjoy your property are de facto racists… that’s just awful, despicable and disgusting.
Shame on Lucasfilm.
And what in the world is going on with this quote about Deborah Chow having to put systems in place to keep people safe? Are we talking about physical safety? Is someone trying to physically harm Moses Ingram? What in the absolute world are they talking about? Is this about social media? If it’s about social media, who is giving credence to social media accounts that might comment on a celebrity’s account? Half of those are probably bots and not even humans!
I think all of this just goes to show us that Lucasfilm is the exact same cesspool it has been since George Lucas left. Listen, if somebody is legitimately out there expressing racist comments or expressions towards any actor on any movie or show, that person is garbage and needs to be ridiculed for the horrible bigotry they have adopted. But if we’re conflating criticism of entertainment with bigotry, that’s not even close to the same thing. When that becomes used as a company strategy to protect controversial decisions, that’s propagandistic maliciousness.
Star Wars fans, and in fact all human beings, deserve to be given the benefit of not being maligned for actions they have yet to commit. And given the history of Lucasfilm, they’re really not in the position to talk about any of this in the way they seem to feel entitled to.
Last time I checked, criticizing a character’s existence because it looks sloppily done isn’t racism.
Lucasfilm’s definition of racism seems to be if you don’t like <insert diverse character here> they’ve just tossed into the mix.
— La Reina🇺🇸Creole🇩🇴🇯🇲🇵🇷🇹🇹🇨🇺🇭🇹🇲🇽🇨🇴 (@LaReinaCreole) May 23, 2022
There is no significant racist hate.
Lando is one of the most beloved characters still… Always was. And people loved Mace.
Now, having DUMB characters that happen to be minorites and are hated ( [cough] Rose [cough] ) isn't racism.
For shame, @disneyplus, @Lucasfilm https://t.co/ispfsIcHpH
— Gomble Games (@gomblegames__) May 23, 2022
Lol wut!?, Lucasfilm warned one of its stars that "hey listen, our customers are racist". Is this even real?🤣 I call BS
— Primal Jay (@rollinroninjj) May 23, 2022
The problem is that all of this feels ideological. Lando came out in the eighties, much closer to the time of segregation, and I don’t know of anybody who dislikes Lando based on race. He was one of the most popular Star Wars characters prior to Disney’s purchase. Carl Weathers was in The Mandalorian. I have never heard of a single person who disliked his character or his acting. Not a single person. It seems that the only time this sort of things comes up is when fans dislike something that is happening. And in that situation, rather than learning anything by Star Wars movies having all dried up, the company appears to default with the worst and most vicious labels for the people they should be reaching out to.
Yuck to it all.
So there you go, Star Wars fans. You’re so awful that actors who work on Star Wars properties have to go through special training and be protected during production. Enjoy the new series on Disney+ and have fun giving them your money.
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