I’m rewatching Shadow and Bone, and in episode 5 when Kaz is walking down the hall at the Little Palace and he stops for a sec to rub his leg cause it hurts, we hear Inej saying “You should have one of us with you.” And Kaz is like “I’ll manage,” but he says it in a very hard tone, doesn’t he? And then the catches himself (cause, hey, that’s INEJ you’re talking to, sir, better watch your tone) and says in a softer tone, “You can’t blow your cover this early, and Jesper needs to plot our escape route.” PLEASE I love this show and I love these characters and LOVE AMITA AND FREDDY FOR BEING THE PERFECT INEJ AND KAZ!!
Star Wars may be heightened fantasy, so the situations that the characters are in are extreme for dramatic effect but the emotions of the characters are still very human. When we watch a film, we as the audience “put ourselves in the character’s shoes.”
That’s why the opening scene of the Last Jedi is so effective in getting the audience invested in the stakes of the film. Rian Johnson said that “Star Wars wasn’t about space ships but about the people inside the space ships.” Because while it’s really hard for an audience to care about “the galaxy” being at stake if the heroes lose. When a movie gives us character’s that we can connect with and relate to, then it makes it easier for the audience to care. For example, I care about what happens to the resistance because Rose is part of the resistance and I care about Rose because Rose lost her sister and clearly loved her, I can relate to this idea because I have two sisters and would be devastated if anything happened to them.
I think this human element is what makes memorable and inspiring films.
No film illustrates this concept of the emotional connection between the characters and the audience better to me than one of my favorites, “Saving Mr. Banks.” (Which also just so happens to be about writers misunderstanding a redemption story and is also a Disney movie)
“She’s as real as can be to my daughters. And to thousands of other kids. Adults, too.” - Saving Mr. Banks (2013)
In fact, studies have shown that the relationships that we feel for fictional characters are very real and we can feel very strong emotions for them. “The interesting thing is that our brains aren’t really built to distinguish between whether a relationship is real or fictional, So these friendships can convey a lot of real-world benefits.” Those can include self-esteem boosts, decreased loneliness and more feelings of belonging.”- Jennifer Barnes (Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Oklahoma)
This is why fiction can feel like such a personal and intimate experience. I find it interesting that the writers of “The Force Awakens”, chose to make the villain of the series the son of Han and Leia two characters that audiences growing up watching the original trilogy loved and connected with. What is interesting is that OT Audiences are now Han and Leia’s age in the sequel trilogy and many have their own adult children. I believe that this was done intentionally because the audience is suppose to feel sympathy for Ben and see him as “their own child” in a sense. The audience is suppose to consider “what if this was my own child and they were struggling? What would I want to happen to them?”
And that is why I can’t support this interpretation of Leia’s character:
“Why did you have to make him so cruel? He was not a monster! You all have children, yes? And do those children make letters for you? Do they write letters? Do they make you drawings? And would you tear up those gifts in front of them? It’s a dreadful thing to do. I don’t understand. Why must Father tear up the advertisement his children have made and throw it in the fireplace? Why won’t he mend their kite? Why have you made him so unspeakably awful? “In glorious Technicolor”? “For all the world to see”? If you claim to make them live, why can’t he… they live well?”-Saving Mr. Banks (2013)
I can’t view Ben’s death as this hopeful positive thing that they’ve been trying to portray it as. Parents want what is best for their children, they want to see them succeed. What parent wishes for their child’s death? Especially after he’s just found hope. Now that they’ve “seen the light” wouldn’t you want them to live their life to the fullest?
“I swear that every time a person goes into a movie house – from Leicester Square to St Louis, they will see George Banks being saved. They will love him and his kids, they will weep for his cares, and wring their hands when he loses his job. And when he flies that kite, oh! They will rejoice, they will sing. In every movie house, all over the world, in the eyes and the hearts of my kids, and other kids and their mothers and fathers for generations to come, George Banks will be honored. George Banks will be redeemed. George Banks and all he stands for will be saved. Maybe not in life, but in imagination. Because that’s what we storytellers do. We restore order with imagination. We instill hope again and again and again.” - Saving Mr. Banks (2013)
Star Wars has many themes, but the most prominent are redemption, compassion, family and most importantly of all… “Hope”
The reason we love redemption arcs is because they give us hope that anyone can change. They can inspire us to turn our own lives around and hope for a better future for ourselves and our family. The way TROS ends, with Ben’s death, creates a disconnect with the films message.
George Lucas believed that it was possible for lost people to find their way again and make a difference. But killing Ben Solo off after he’s done one good deed, goes against this message. If you want people to change, you have to let them live to correct their mistakes.
“Character like Finn & Rey are examples of doing right. But you have to speak to the lost ones too if you want them to come home. “ -Unknown.
*Again I hope this makes sense, I have a lot of thoughts!
I don’t know how to express this well but I really like how flowers and ribbons are motifs that Bardugo emphasizes especially in Kaz Brekker’s backstory and Nikolai’s life which I feel are sort of foils of each other. Both of them mask their feelings for their crush - Nikolai with humor and Kaz by not addressing them at all. While Nikolai came from wealth and Kaz from destitution, I feel they both desire the same simple things. To have their loved one safe and to maintain some sort of power but not abusing their power (Kaz taking Haskell down) (Nikolai trying to choose a rightful leader). They both have a sense of moral and justness that they cling to.
Kaz remembers the detail of Saskia’s red ribbon. It’s a symbol of his lost innocence, childhood, his love for life and others. I thought it stood out because this was a detail disclosed to us in a flashback but Kaz didn’t verbally share it with us , the readers. It is only when he repeats this detail to Pekka when we realize this red ribbon is personal to him and deeply affected him. Kaz is a deeply sentimental person at heart and he is still a child hurt by the loss of losing everything that made him happy. He lost the red ribbon. And you see why he is so deeply vengeful. He remembers everything he lost.
For Nikolai. he seems to have this sort of fetish . Well I don’t like fetish word. But obsession with Zoya’s ribbon. It’s Something that signals his crush on her throughout the book.
Geraniums, Inej’s mother’s favorite flower, comes up a lot. And right after Inej talks about Kaz and how he won’t give her flowers. But obviously Kaz is this man who is providing for her. He gives her a ship. He thinks of what she wants. We do get a flower moment in CK when Kaz dumps the geraniums into the canal and swoops a cloak around Inej like a phantom in the night. It’s sweeping. It’s romantic and over-the-top.
Not sure about other flower moments but it is mentioned quite a lot in the books like the blue irises for Alina as a symbol of the Darkling’s manipulation and Mal’s care for her.
I love how flowers symbolize the thought and care that the partner shows for the other. I guess that’s usually what most people use flowers for in books but I like how its mentioned consistently through different relationships in the books.
I noticed a few interesting similarities between Mother Miranda and Ravenna from Snow White and the Huntsman / The Huntsman: Winter’s War that I want to share with y'all. They not only have in common that they are stunning blonde beauties.
1) The talons! Ravenna wears this hand jewelry on two fingers. Also, in one scene she eats a bird’s heart, which reminded me of the scene where Miranda rips Ethan’s heart out.
2) Shape shifting … I don’t think I need to say much about that.
3) Dissolving into crows - This one is also pretty obvious.
4) Black roots, tentacles … Something growing out of Ravenna’s back. (Not to mention that Ravenna and Miranda are both ruthless and cruel and use these against other people. )
5) Ravenna doesn’t have a gold mask, but she and Miranda both share a classy gold/black design in clothing and accessories.
6) Dark substance running from eyes – or mouth.
7) In addition to their cruelty, both have charming manipulative personalities. Both seem delusional. In the 2nd movie, it seems that Ravenna has gone crazy because of an unfulfilled desire to have children. Miranda does everything she can to win back her lost daughter Eva.
8) Ravenna and Miranda have a younger appearance than they actually are. (It is not confirmed that the hag is Miranda’s true appearance. I used the image as a placeholder, please don’t hit me. )
