Star Wars Character Review: Finn

*Warning: This post contains spoilers about the new characters that were introduced to audiences for the episodes seven and eight in the Star Wars franchise. Read at your own risk if you have not seen The Force Awakens Or The Last Jedi.

There is something to be said about a well written, human character. They leap off the page and speak to us as if they were right in front us, as flesh and blood human beings, instead of fictional creations.

In this series of weekly blog posts, I will examine character using the characters from Star Wars to explore how writers can create fully dimensional, human characters that audiences and readers can relate to.

We all have pasts, it’s part of being human. Part of that past are mistakes that even years later, we regret making. In The Force Awakens (aka Episode 7 of in the Star Wars series), Finn (John Boyega) is introduced as a storm trooper whose inner Jiminy Cricket has kicked in. After refusing to kill innocent villagers on the planet Jakku and helping Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) escape from the First Order, Finn joins the resistance, in spite of his past.

In The Last Jedi (aka Episode 8), Finn wakes up from the coma to discover that the resistance is slowly being destroyed by the First Order. He again tries to run away, but is caught by Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran). They eventually form plan is to sneak onto a First Order ship and destroy the signal that is tracking the resistance ships through light speed. What starts out a simple plan quickly goes awry, but in the end, there is a faint glimmer of hope that Finn’s actions has helped the rebels to fight another day.

To sum it up: The fight or flight response is built into us as human beings. The question is, as a character, does one run from their past or they face up to it? In Star Wars, Finn eventually faces his past, making him a better man than he was if he had chosen to run away. As writers and human beings, we know that actions, both good and bad have consequences.

When it comes to creating a character who must choose the fight or flight response, the writer must follow the path that is true to the character. For if the character’s action feel untrue to the reader or viewer, it is unlikely that he or she will want to continue to follow both the story and the character.

Thoughts On The Opposition To Breast-Feeding

I am utterly convinced that logic and reason left Washington D.C. with the departure of President Obama.

Last week, delegates from various countries met in Geneva for a meeting of the World Health Assembly.  One of the topics that was to be discussed was the initiative to encourage mothers to breast-feed their children until the children no longer need breast milk.

It appeared to be a quick vote. Then the American delegation (no surprise there) shut down the vote and threatened sanctions if the topic was brought to the floor to be vote on again. Only when the Russian delegation stepped into to re-introduce the resolution did the threats from the American delegation stop.

I’m not a parent, nor am I a medical professional. But I know enough to know that breast-feeding one’s child not only provides the necessary nutrients, but creates the bond between mother and child.

When did America become the bully of the world? We are supposed to the be the leaders of the free world, but that was before you know who took over the position.

To the rest of the world on behalf of every logical, thinking American, I apologize. This is not who we are as a nation. Whatever you know who says or does, please do not abandon us. We still need you.

 

Throwback Thursday-High School Reunion (2003-2005)

Going to one’s high school reunion, for some, is like a blast from the past. For others, it is a night to dread.

For two years, between 2003 and 2005, the WB aired High School Reunion.  The concept of this reality was basically a one night high school reunion that lasts longer than any standard high school reunion. And, like any high school reunion/reality show, the archetypes play a role in the storytelling: the outsiders, the jocks, the popular kids, the band geeks, the goof balls, etc.

In terms of reality television, I appreciated the novel concept. I also appreciated that like any high school reunion, it gave the participants a chance to reveal who they are as adults outside of their high school personas. But, at the end of the day, it was just another reality show.

Do I recommend it? Maybe.

 

 

Those Who Save Us Book Review

For some of us, the past is the past. Who we were and the choices that we made at that point in our lives is no longer of consequence. That is, until the past rears is head back into our lives.

In Jenna Blum’s 2004 novel, Those Who Save us, Anna Schlemmer emigrated to America from Germany just after World War II with her American soldier husband and young daughter. Fifty years later, her husband is dead and Anna is determined to let the past remain in the past. But her now grown daughter, Trudy, is a professor of German history and curious about her mother’s past. Finding an old photograph of herself and her mother with a German officer, Trudy is determined to find out the secrets that her mother has been hiding for half a century.

This book is remarkable. While normally I would say that a slow narrative does not bode well for finishing a novel,  the slow burn towards the end of the story is well worth the emotional payoff that ends the novel. Adding to the suspense is the sometimes tenuous relationship between middle-aged Trudy and senior Anna.

I absolutely recommend it.

Another Straight White Man Is In A Seat Of Power

When Justice Kennedy announced his retirement two weeks ago, it was predicted by many on both sides of the political aisle that his chosen replacement would certainly be conservative in his political beliefs.

Earlier tonight, you know who introduced Justice Kennedy’s replacement. Brett Kavanaugh is to be the new associate Justice on the Supreme court, pending a hearing in the Senate.

I’m going to go out and say it, because there is no other way to react. And if sound like liberal, I am.

Another straight white man is in a seat of power. It’s not exactly a surprise that among the four front-runners, there was no one of color and only one woman, Amy Coney Barrett.

The government is supposed to be of the people, by the people and for the people. How is the government supposed to do this if those in power do not reflect the voters who put them in power?

Only time will tell how Mr. Kavanaugh will vote on the cases that are presented to SCOTUS, if he is indeed confirmed by the Senate.  My hope is that he will vote with his heart and his legal head instead of blindly voting via partisan lines. But then again, hope often springs eternal, especially considering our current political climate.

Michelle Wolf Speaks Truth To Power

With the announcement of the retirement of Justice Kennedy two weeks ago, one of the questions with his upcoming retirement was if Roe V. Wade would remain as is or be dissolved.

In a recent episode of Michelle Wolf’s Netflix series, The Break With Michelle Wolf,  not only does she lay out the hypocrisy of the pro-life moment, but she also points out that the pro-life movement is anti-women.

Is abortion a choice? Not always. Sometimes aborting a pregnancy is the only way to save the mother’s life or prevent a child from not living a full life because of one or more potential disabilities.

The fact is that for many generations, women did not have choices like men did. We were supposed to marry, bear children and keep a home. That was it.

From my perspective, the feminist movement comes down to one word: choice. Whether it reproductive choices, career choices or any other choices that women make to take control of their own destinies, there are still far too many people (both men and women) who would prefer that women stay in our little boxes and not ask question about why we cannot make our own decisions about how to live.

 

 

Uncensored: My Life and Uncomfortable Conversations at the Intersection of Black and White America Book Review

The question of how to deal with the issue of race in America is at the very least, complicated and riddled with historical and political potholes.

Zachary R. Wood attempts to answer this question is his recently published biography, Uncensored: My Life and Uncomfortable Conversations at the Intersection of Black and White America.

For most of his childhood, Mr. Wood lived in two different worlds: the inner city where he lived with family and the elite (i.e. expensive) private schools that he attended where he was one of a handful of minority students. As he grew up and jumped back and forth between the two worlds, he came to certain conclusions on how we can finally face the thorny issue that is race in America.

I think everyone in America should read this book. The problem that Americans face these days is that we are so entrenched in our political and social beliefs that we are unable and/or unwilling to hear what the other side has to say about the argument. If we are to remove the barriers that keep us apart, we first must be willing to listen. Which is often the hardest part of the conversation.

I recommend it.

 

George and Lizzie Book Review

The boy meets girl narrative is as old as the beginning of storytelling. The question is, how do individual writers put a new twist on an old story?

Last year, Nancy Pearl published her debut novel, George and Lizzie.

George and Lizzie grew up in different households with two sets of parents who had different ideas of what parenting should be. George came from a loving and supportive household, raised by a dentist father and a stay at home mother. While Lizzie’s famous psychologist parents provided for her materially, there was an obvious lack of parental love. She was more akin to a ready-made psychology experiment than a daughter to her parents.

While their marriage is certainly a happy one, Lizzie is still feeling unfulfilled. Then a secret from her past comes back to haunt her. Will Lizzie choose the past or her future with George?

The book is interesting. While the author starts with the standard boy meets girl meet cute, the narrative becomes non linear.  While I appreciated the non-linear narrative and the effort it took to create, I found the style of the narrative to be a little hard to read.

Do I recommend it? Maybe.

Three Identical Strangers Movie Review

The question of nurture or nature has haunted humanity since the begging of our species. Are we simply the product of our environment or do our genes control our actions and our choices?

The new documentary, Three Identical Strangers, starts in 1980. Robert Shafran is starting his freshman year of college. As he is moving into the dorms, he is greeted classmates who are referring to him as Eddy. Robert knows that he was adopted, but he knew nothing else of his birth family.  This strange encounter leads to a twin brother, Eddy Galland. Neither Robert or Eddy knew that each other existed. The press gets a hold of this story and a third brother comes forward, David Kellman.

While the brothers are bonding and becoming media sensations, there are unanswered questions about the past.  Why were they separated? Why were the adopted parents not told about the other two boys? Who is behind the separation and could they have had less than honorable reasons for hiding the truth?

As documentaries go, this is top ten, if not one of the top five documentaries of the year. It’s the type of story that is almost too good to be true.  What makes this documentary compelling, at least from my perspective, is the unseen dark forces that shaped the lives of these men well before they knew that they had the ability to make choices.

I absolutely recommend it.

Three Identical Strangers is currently in theaters. 

Unfortunately, Racial Profiling Is Alive And Well in America

Imagine the following: you are a person of color in America. Being that it is summer (and by extension, warm outside), you don’t want to sit at home all day. You want to barbecue in a public park, your kid wants to sell cold drinks on the front stoop or you want to go to the town pool.

First there was BBQ Becky.  Then there was Permit Patty. Now there is ID Adam.

On July 4th, Jasmine Edwards decided to visit the town pool with her child to get a break from the oppressive heat. Another resident of the area, Adam Bloom called the police on her when he felt that she was not forth coming enough on proving that she had the right to be at the pool.

From my perspective, this is the very definition of racial profiling. Ms. Edwards was doing nothing wrong. But Mr. Bloom felt that he had the right to question her, simply based on her skin color.

The hopeful perspective on America was that we were past judging another based on their skin color, especially considering that President Obama was in office for eight years. But it is obvious that racism and racial profiling is still unfortunately alive and well and in America.