iRant: The Universe isn't racist

****Semi Spoiler Alert****

Star Wars Force Awakens and the racist galaxy.

I watched "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" a few days ago. I had little expectation of the movie being any good as it was made by Walt Disney. I'm not suggesting Disney is unable to make good films, as "Flight of the Navigator" is one of my favourite childhood movies, but Star Wars comes from a special view point of understanding...one that I didn't think Walt Disney could faithfully uphold and emulate.

They set themselves the cruel task of writing an additional chapter to the Bible and they failed, miserably.

My reluctance to view the movie before now wasn't easy, especially as the advertisements did a fantastic job of pointing out the story heavily featured a black actor as what could arguably be considered the protagonist role.

Seeing Boyega on the commercials, billboards and of course his interview tours really spoke to the ethnic minority in me. It's sad that this was a reality but lets face it, black protagonists in MAJOR saga based movies is about as rare as a 'non-racist' EDL member.

Even with this being said, I resisted, simply because I had no faith that Disney could do justice to this saga. If I'm honest the three films that came before it were representative of a declining general quality IMHO but I was, on the whole, still happy with the beloved Star Wars.

I had to dig into my blackness and say "I have to support the young brother, he was great in Attack the Block, although not a film of equal vintage or heritage as SW, Boyega's skills were not in question.

So I bit the bullet.

I'm sad that I cannot un-see things. Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a bag of shit.

I'm all for adding new dimensions to existing stories as a way of marking your influence on the narrative, (The Batman Dark Knight trilogy is proof of this) but Disney really really cocked this one up.

In the history of Star Wars there has never been a 'defective' Storm Trooper...NEVER. So they create a 'defective' Storm Trooper, cool! you are putting some twist in there...err why did he have to be black?

Star Wars historically has had a diaphanous relationship with ethnic minority characters a fact that was consistent with the era in which it was most prominent (apatheid), but even Lucas was delicate with how he cast Lando Calrissians character; Once a smooth talking hustler to a selfless leader of the fight against the empire. Fast forward to 2016 and your one black character is a 'defective' Storm Trooper.

It even creates a massive issue, because before now we'd never seen underneath a Storm Troopers mask, yeah we saw Luke Skywalker wearing a suit once as part of some infiltration, but we'd never seen what a Storm Trooper looked like, we just know they take instructions, don't eat and were basically slaves. Off pops a Storm Troopers mask for the first time and oh...he's black...so are they all black? Is this where all the black people of the Star Wars universe are, are they all Storm Troopers?

Can you see the problem? White people seem to think or at least want everyone else to think they are an abundant substance in the universe even if the opposite is true. They are the only ones (at least in majority) who get to Mars, travel at light speed to new galaxies and meet 'other intelligent lifeforms. Anyway bare digression.

Boyega acted his part well, very well in fact, but that was part of the problem. The part was for an unintelligent drone who would constantly 'impress' other characters with his 'knowledge/usefulness'. This gives credence to the idea that the other characters didn't have high expectations of his character, this sentiment was also echoed with the female main character; see a reoccurring rhetoric?

The only thing I can do to rid myself of this low point, is to watch the older films again and submerge myself in the force...the authentic force not this new Walt Disney take on it.

Big Big shout out to Boyega for making it.

#MayThe4thBeWithYou
P.s - I just realised Walt Disney used the 'Obama' method on me and it bloody worked. I must recalibrate.

iRant: Voluntary ignorance

The human condition is a pungent discharge.

We have a near mortal dependance to knowledge or the appearance of. Being 'wrong' or 'not knowing' has become the epitome of human fear.

We've attacked the offending idea with fervent fervor (a keen strategic positioning we think), because we can't admit that we don't know what we are doing.

Evidence of this can be found in the observation of the religious texts.

At some point in history our ego must have decided it didn't ever want to not know and so it created a story that would explain all that we marvel at in the world. Some might say thats also a good argument that the stories form some part of a true account as why would they continue to be told? Who knows...

What I know for sure is that when people lose sight of how something works, we conveniently make some unobtainable body responsible for it. Some cosmic ambiance, an almighty omnipresence, a complex contradiction of concepts designed purposely to make it hard to define or decipher. A body so powerful it could explain everything you recently realized you don't know. We cement the relationship by praising our creation instead of praising creation.

Our ability to consider our species as the centre of existence is exceptional.

So it really comes as no surprise that we could be caught in the following characteristic entanglement:

Certain members of the human species have developed an intense love of/for animals...they express this love by culturally assassinating their chosen animal of love. A curious contradiction.

If you asked "whats the culture of a dog", I consider the culture of a thing to be what that thing does with inherent perpetuance. It is therefore the culture of a dog to be a dog and a human to be human etc.

By loving a dog to the point that it is considered a member of your family you are culturally assassinating the dog, because you are by your actions completely ignoring what it is to be a dog and considering/treating a dog humanely. Dogs should be treated dogly.

When the dog does what we want it to, we consider it really clever and sometimes if the dog saves our life we might consider it an emotionally intelligent animal (not saying animals lack emotional intelligence...I really don't know).

I find it funny that if that same animal 'runs away from home' the 'owner' will put up posters imploring you, the 'conscious citizen', to help the vulnerable dog come home. Why is it never suggested that the emotionally intelligent animal is fed up of being treated like a human and so left home to go do some stuff it has been thinking about doing for a while? Why does the dogs intelligence suddenly vanish?

As if the dog example wasn't bad enough there are people that will debate about the relative intelligence between a dog and a cat. Cat lovers tend to consider cats smarter than dogs. So why in the molly frock would a cat owner ever put up posters for the missing cats return? I mean most cat owners know that cats need the ability to come and go as and when they want, so if the cat leaves and doesn't bother to come back, how comes the cat didn't just decide to leave and go live the cat life properly?

I'll be honest, I saw a 'missing cat' poster today and it just pissed me off.