The Mary Sue delves into the current sad state of toxicity online, specifically that aimed at the stars of what is meant to be the favourite entertainment franchise of those hurling the abuse. A thought-provoking investigation of the many elements that have become the furball choking the fandom, it’s well worth a read.
It’s tempting to paint a picture of online Star Wars trolls as middle-aged men fighting against the unfamiliar change that is the franchise’s necessary, if slow, realization that heroes aren’t all white men with floppy hair. The trolls, we tell ourselves, are just guys who watched Star Wars as kids and are now hacked off that women and people of color get to save the Galaxy. They are a “minority group who hate change.” Cue temper tantrums and hate speech.
But as my own research into the fandom’s past suggests, this isn’t necessarily the case. Don’t get me wrong—it may still be white men who hate change who are lashing out with hate, but the change itself isn’t what’s new; the level of hate that it’s attracting, on the other hand, is.
In film criticism and fanzines between 1977 and 1983 (covering the release of A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi), people saw Leia (Carrie Fisher) as a leader and role model, and were positive about Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams), the franchise’s first black lead. Indeed, writing in Film Journal, Candace Burke-Block enthused that “Billy Dee Williams is hip and funny as Calrissian, a felicitous addition to the otherwise familiar cast of characters. Carrie Fisher is marvellous as Leia, pretty, self-contained, proud, vulnerable and a superb commander.”