Which Character Should Young Boys Aspire to in Force Awakens

sorry to dredge up this old thread (it showed up on my feed when i was doing a search for "wallpaper" and then i couldn't resist adding my two cents).

i despair at the racist, sexist, ageist bullarky in the world where concerns children and the weird limitations and assumptions people foist on their imaginations and development.

i was a dark child. i empathized with Vader; consequently i aspired to be Luke (Obi-Wan first, if was honest, then Luke).
i was a little colored girl in the 70s. if someone had told me i couldn't be Obi-Wan or Luke, i probably would have stayed in the dark the my whole life.
seriously people, this is why some kids do.

who should kids aspire to be in TFA? any and all of the heroes mentioned above, regardless of race, gender, or age.
goodness isn't bound or excluded by any of those things. and above all we should hope our kids aspire to be good.

[/end rant]

 

There are no good role models in the ST thus far with the exception of Luke toward the end of 8.

 

Young boys should be forced to dress up as whomever their parents see fit. They shouldn't be allowed to make their own choices because let's be serious, they're not real people with personalities and preferences. They should be taught that they can't be who they want and that their only option is the "ideal". This is the best parenting approach, and it should be followed with "If you were thinking about dressing up as X, you're bad/you're weak/you're confused. You must identify with Y instead, that's what good boys do". That's how "real men" are made.
(This is sarcasm by the way, I know some people have trouble reading it.)

And yes, I see your point with the female characters, but costumes can be changed to look masculine and the other way around. You could have a masculine Rey or a feminine Finn or Kylo. But altogether the question is ridiculous.

 

Kylo Ren! Grow his hair out

 

Literally anyone, regardless of gender or age. All of the characters in the Sequel Trilogy, with the exception of maybe Snoke or Hux, are good people at heart and have redeeming qualities.

 

Who should my daughter aspire to? I guess there is only Rey which seemingly results in fewer options than boys who have Poe and Finn.

Of course the implication seems to be that her having Rey is too much because boys haven't enough options apparently.

--- Double Post Merged, Jun 23, 2018, Original Post Date: Jun 23, 2018 ---

I had Leia figures always. Why wouldn't a boy have females, droids, Imperials, bounty hunters, and all kinds of side characters.

What I think that is actually weird is a kid so gender locked he can't have a female action figure. We all had Leia and in different guises too and nobody thought it was weird at all and this was in far less accepting times than today.

Some are making this a far bigger deal than it has ever been. In my day girls about never played GI Joe but kids had Barroness and Scarlett not because they were odd or would later prove to be gay or anything other than they were cool characters and part of the storis in the cartoons.

 

I'd say dress like whoever you want to be. Love the costume and Finn is a pretty cool character. The only thing bad that could happen is that somebody on tumblr accuses him of whitewashing but other than that he should be fine

--- Double Post Merged, Jun 24, 2018, Original Post Date: Jun 24, 2018 ---

Why the hell not? The whole purpose of wearing a costume is pretending to be somebody else so why not a girl?

 

My son dressed as Phasma to TFA (bought it for Halloween that year), but never wore the costume again after her disappointing screen time. Funnier still, when I suggested her costume for TLJ, he gave me the funniest FU look lol. In retrospect, probably better that he didn't after her demise and lackluster part in the movie. He does tend to identify more with the boys, but race really doesn't matter. I have no issues with him choosing who he likes best.

 

Why not Poe Dameron? He is excellent at what he does, fights for a great cause, looks awesome, flies and X-Wing (and can fly anything else) and, after learning a valuable lesson, becomes the leader of the Resistance.

 

TLJ Yoda is a great role model

 

Based on the FA. I would recommend that he dress up like either Poe or Finn and aspire to be like Rey for her self-reliance and perseverance. He can also think like Finn who learns to recover from his mistakes, over come his fears and decide when he can' t tolerate injustice.

 

Question:

Is the point of Star Wars to make sure that there is:
1. Character with the same gender as the audience (i.e. young boys)
2. Have said character teach good morals

I think when it comes to stories, the most important thing is to do the right thing through struggles and what not, or at least do the right thing at the end of the day.

I've said this before, and I'll say it again, Return of the Jedi's Luke is one of the worst heroes I've ever seen and terrible (and for most of the time, unfathomable) in his decision-making. However, he is (in general) placed as the pinnacle of heroism, despite some of that being repeated from TESB (and shortly later contradicted, it appears, in my opinion), and a lot of contradicting traits.

Let me be honest: (And this is coming from research and observation, to be honest.). Star Wars is a terrible place or film medium to teach kids morality. While some decisions aren't easy for the characters or are more "grey" decisions that are made (i.e. Obi-Wan letting Anakin burn.), these can be used for teaching. However, other scenes I don't think can, as they flip-flop around quite a bit and often don't make that much sense. (I.e. Luke's stand against the Emperor is later contradicted by Luke calling out for help, despite non-verbal signs and dialogue and [signs from production] of Luke daring the Emperor to kill him. Also, the question of whether Luke actually believed in Vader's goodness at that point, doing the right thing, or worrying about going to the dark side over a single action that he has done before.).

 

It really doesn't have to be something that is gendered. You can associate and envision yourself as whoever most strikes and inspires you.

 

This.

Why differentiate between 'dress up' and 'aspire'? I'd say if you want to dress up like Rey- go for it! No matter what. That recommendation as you call it ...I can't approve.

 

There is one character that boys can aspire to be like that I’m surprised no one is mentioning:
Rey.
Yes, I know, Rey is a woman. But to me there is absolutely no difference. Girls can be powerful and smart and perseverent, and Rey is the character who displays most of those traits in a single package. In an era where it is socially “ok” for girls to dress up as Superman (fake muscles included) and where boys think twice before being associated with anything female-related, let us remind ourselves that people are people. Boys can find inspiration and heroic qualities in their own mothers, grandmothers, sisters, aunts, etc... When I was growing up, I learned to be strong from my older sister and one of my favorite celebs was actually a female figure skater.
So, if anything else, boys have a lot to LEARN from the character Rey.

 

Not Rey....and Definitely not Anakin

 

he was comic relief and needed saving

 

Finn. Easily. He is able to what is right against all the odds

 

How have I never seen this giant blast hole of a thread before...wow

 

Unkar Plutt because he eats a lot of Mcdonalds. Eventually, the young boys will realize that their role model is too chubby, and will abandon him.