#especially on the heels of yknow
I’ve seen some of the criticism about Reva’s actress now, aside from the racism thing that is, and it’s like oh, she’s so stoic, she has a poker face, she doesn’t emote… and somehow, that’s bad acting.
Except… is it bad acting if that’s the character? Because I watched the first three episodes before seeing that criticism, and my take was that yeah, she’s stoic, she’s keeping her emotions under tight control. There are scenes where I certainly saw her struggle to do so - it was subtle, but it was there, and to me, that’s good acting.
I don’t actually likethe character much myself, because lbr she’s not a very nice person so far, but that’s in-universe. On a narrative level I think she’s fine. I don’t think she takes focus away from Obi-Wan, either. She’s the antagonist, we do need to know what she’s up to, otherwise there’s no tension.
And it would never have occurred to me to criticise her for a lack of emotion. She’s surrounded by people who would clearly immediately exploit any weakness and who see emotion as weakness, of course she’s not showing any. Or rather, trying not to show any. It makes perfect sense. Having seen the criticism now, I’ve gone back and thought about whenshe could have shown more emotion, which scene would’ve been improved by it, and honestly, I’ve got nothing.
I just can’t help thinking… if shewashe, would that be an issue? Not to say people are being actively misogynistic, I just think that maybe some of us just subconsciously expect women to behave differently? To be more emotional? If Reva was a guy, and nothing else about the character’s behaviour or acting changed, would the actor also be bad, or would we just accept the character as being stoic?
Because on the other side of this coin, you have the Mandalorian, who never even takes off his helmet and speaks more or less in a monotone. Not to say he has no emotions, of course he does, but he’s also stoic, and his displays of emotion are subtle. And no one seems to think that’s “bad acting”. Or that the character is written badly. In fact, he’s a fan favourite.
Vader strutted around the entire OT with his helmet on as well, and he never showed any emotion either. Boba Fett barely had any lines, no emotion whatsoever, and he wound up with a dedicated fanboy following.
On the other hand, both Anakin and Luke have gotten shit for being too emotional. Characters like Leia and Padmé, not so much. So there’s definitely a trend here.
I just feel like maybe, gender has something to do with how people see this character. She’s strutting around with confidence and a poker face, the only emotion she ever shows is anger, she’s… acting like a bad guy. And I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bad guyget criticised for a lack of emotion. Would we be happier if she was wearing skintight leather and trying to seduce her superiors rather than simply stabbing them in the stomach, maybe said a few suggestive things to Obi-Wan, and y’know, smiled more? Is that what we were subconsciously expecting, maybe? Is that really where we’re still at?
Again, not saying it’s necessarily people being sexist on purpose. I just think that if it bothers you that she’s stoic, maybe examine why and think about how it’d be if she was a guy and what exactly the difference is.
