'Star Wars' calls out racism after attacks on Moses Ingram

[groundloop]

Source: CNN



The "Star Wars" franchise is sticking up for actor Moses Ingram after she revealed she had received hundreds of racist messages and comments on social media.

The franchise tweeted that it was "proud to welcome" Ingram, who just made her debut as Reva in the Disney+ series "Obi-Wan Kenobi."

"If anyone intends to make her feel in any way unwelcome, we have only one thing to say: we resist," the "Star Wars" account tweeted. "There are more than 20 million sentient species in the Star Wars galaxy, don't choose to be a racist."

Ingram posted multiple examples of racist messages and comments on Instagram, noting that she has received hundreds of messages, some of which included the N-word.



Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/31/entertainment/moses-ingram-obi-wan-kenobi-racism-cec/index.html

---

This country is seriously fucked up, and it got much worse after 45* made it ok for racists to come out from under their rocks.

[bmichaelh]

1. Toshiro Mifune

What a lot of these people do not realize is that the original Star Wars was inspired by a Japanese samurai film, The Hidden Fortress and that Ben Kenobi role was first offered to the the star of The Hidden Fortress, Toshiro Mifune.

[link:https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/toshiro-mifune-turned-down-star-845721/|

[AZSkiffyGeek]

2. Apparently it took a lot of convincing to get Alec Guinness on board as well nt

[LonePirate]

3. I thought the actress was fine in her role. Her character was maybe the most interesting one so far.

I didn't see any racist posts or messages about her; although I have no doubt there were some/many given how John Boyega and Kelly Marie Tran were treated in the past.

However, I did see some people dislike her character. Personally, I thought her character was simply doing her job, a job she was damn good at doing, despite being held back or restrained by her white supervisor. Talk about art imitating life and not the other way around.

[FSogol]

6. Held back by a white supervisor? He merely thought kidnapping

The children of Senators was a step to far. While she might have had unflinching determination, her actions were clearly evil. No one is supposed to like her character. That said, the actress did a great job and doesn't deserve any racist bs from crappy fans and the internet.

[LonePirate]

8. She portrays an evil character. They are expected to do evil things. That's exactly what she did.

I stand by my belief that she was good at her job and restrained by her boss.

[exboyfil]

10. Was she good at her job though?

but their are very good reasons not to escalate with the governed worlds at that point. They even say it in A New Hope - Palpatine thought he was able to secure absolute rule with the creation of the Death Star. Before that there were checks on his power. Organa has his own power base which he didn't want to use for fear of revealing Leia's parentage.

I didn't like how the writers destroyed the dramatic tension in the opening Inquisitor scene with her actions. There was a time and place for her impulsiveness, but that probably wasn't it.

We are just two episodes in, but right now she is behaving like Kylo Ren one of the worst Star Wars villains in my estimation.

[LonePirate]

11. She flushed out the jedi at the cantina and she nearly captured Kenobi.

You may not like her methods but she's effective. This isn't figure skating where she would receive style points. She's there to obtain results and she's trying to do just that. Laws and rules don't apply for characters like hers, especially if the rumors are true about her orders.

I have no issues if she is simply another manifestation of the lack of characterization effort that people believe hampered Kylo. I was largely indifferent to him but I don't begrudge anyone who did or did not like him. At this point, we simply don't know enough about Reva and I am willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. She's resourceful and isn't beholden to norms which are fine qualities to have with a villain.

[Polybius]

17. I hope Obi-Wan has the last word with her

I don't want her to repent.

[Polybius]

16. The Grand Inquisitor isn't even human, let alone white

His species is Pau'an.

[Polybius]

15. I hated the character that she played

Reva constantly disobeyed orders. She was so ruthless that even The Grand Inquisitor called her out for it. Which means that the actress played her part extremely well.

The Grand Inquisitor is not white, he's a Pau'an. He's also ger boss. Is it ok for a colonel to disobey the general? Or a general to disobey Biden?

[YoshidaYui]

4. NEW Star Wars, Reeva, Moses Ingram Drama - My Take

[paleotn]

5. Not surprised.

Remember all the misogynist bullshit the cast of the Ghostbusters remake had to deal with.

[oldsoftie]

7. Social media once again rears its ugly head to allow online bullying.

[exboyfil]

9. Is being critical of the writing and her performance considered racist?

So far through the first two episodes I have not been impressed with her character. I haven't seen any of her other acting credits to know if she is a good or bad actor. To me the character has many of the one note problems that Kylo Ren had in the sequel trilogy. For example the introduction of the inquisitors was an awesome scene - similar to the introduction of Vader in A New Hope. Then her character took the scene off the rails.

In some ways Disney primed the pump for this by implying criticism of her performance would be racist. Not a good look for a studio. Their writing and direction already messed up John Boyega's Finn who could have been an awesome new character. They also trashed several other characters both old and new along the way.

I am not going to comment on the spoiler stuff that is swirling around, but, if it is true, it sounds like a repeat of the mistakes that were made in the sequel trilogy.

My comments don't excuse any comments that were made directly at the person of Moses Ingram. Those are unwarranted, vile, and, in some cases, racist. Even if she was a bad actress only her performances should be criticized and never the person.

I am hoping that the writing will get better for her character (and the show in general) as it goes along. We have already seen the child in danger overplayed in The Mandalorian/Book of Boba Fett - now we have returned to that once again with young Leia.

I am currently watching Macbeth where Ingram plays Lady Macduff. I will also put Ambulance and The Queen's Gambit on my watch list.

[BumRushDaShow]

13. As a long time Star Wars fan since 1977

(and I haven't delved into any of Disney's streaming offerings yet), but the "universe" has had a dearth of "overtly-looking" black females in it and the few black actresses who were in it were in alien makeup and costumes or did voiceovers for CGI characters like Lupita Nyong'o who did the voice of the character "Maz" in "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" -



I believe the very first "humanoid" one was in one of the side story films that released after the original 3 trilogies and Rogue One, and was also a prequel - "Solo: A Star Wars Story", with the actress Thandiwe Newton playing the character "Val" -



(she was pretty badass )

So it took 41 years for the franchise to do this.

In fact, sci-fi films have always had very few black women actresses, for some reason always preferring to showcase black men, white men and white women, whether as aliens or humans or humanoids. The tiny exceptions might be with "Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome" which had Tina Turner as "Auntie" -



and the various Star Trek films and series did try to feature at least one in there somewhere. Aside from the obvious Nichelle Nichols, there was Whoopie Goldberg, and in the reboot films, Zoe Saldana (as the young Uhura) -



Otherwise we have been invisible.

It's hard enough keeping track of the extended Star Trek series and now we have these Star Wars ones - The Mandalorian, Boba Fett, and Obi-Wan Kenobi.

And the problem that will often crop up because of this lack of having such characters, is that when they do get around to it, they are often written in a stereotypical manner. So we definitely still have a LONG way to go in "Hollywood".

[exboyfil]

18. Dominique Tipper as Naomi in The Expanse

A very well written character and an excellent series

I like Celia Rose Gooding as Cadet Uhura in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Sonequa Martin-Green as Michael Burnham in Star Trek: Discovery. I have to say I liked her role better in The Walking Dead.

More historical roles:

Kandyse McClure in Battlestar: Gallactica

Gina Torres in Firefly

Freema Agyeman in Doctor Who

Lourdes Benedicto in V

Angela Bassett in Strange Days

Rosalind Cash in Omega Man

Penny Johnson Jerald in Deep Space Nine

Jasika Nicole in Fringe

Genelle Williams in Warehouse 13

X-Files, TNG and Babylon 5 all could have done a better job on representation for black women.

Throw in historical superhero movies and tv and you have the following:

Eartha Kitt in the Batman TV series
Halle Berry in the X-Men movies


You are right that black characters were mostly invisible in science fiction and comics until the 1970s. It took movies about the same time to catch up as well. Really until Alien it was rare that a woman was the principle in a science fiction movie. Without Edwina Carroll playing a stewardess you wouldn't have known the 21st century (2001) contained black people.

I would love to see a Storm solo movie focusing on before she was called by Xavier. Fantasy movies should explore African myths (Gaiman did it some with American Gods) and have an all black cast. There is an opportunity with Wakanda in the MCU, but unfortunately the death of Chadwick Boseman has made that more difficult (great character and great actor - RIP Mr. Boseman). You have the excellent Watchman series. Also Lovecraft Country which wasn't quite as good.

I have to admit I haven't done a good job keeping up with modern science fiction and fantasy writers. I know that N. K. Jemisin won three Hugos in a row (an unprecedented achievement), and I have meaning to read that series which has been optioned by Sony for a series of movies.

[BumRushDaShow]

20. Yes the lesser-known series (and as noted - Trek)

have been in the lead. And you noticed I didn't even list those Trek ones (Lower Decks, Picard, Discovery, Strange New Worlds). It's bad enough that I have all the episodes of the first 6 series (including the 1973 Animated one) on VHS and/or DVD down in my basement.

And since you mentioned X-men, and if you want to expand out to Comic and Fantasy, then I think the ultimate breakout was obviously Black Panther. The sequel "Black Panther 2: Wakanda Forever" is expected to release this fall. Of course the Marvel (and DC Comics) Universe is huge.

I don't think the loss of Boseman is going to have as much of an impact considering how many actors have played characters like Spiderman and believe it or not, the character's sister Shuri (and Letitia Wright) has been the "breakout" character of that series.

And I was chuckling that you mention Kandyse McClure in BSG because she wasn't even born when the original series ran, which had Sheila DeWindt (Willis) as Lt. Deitra -





I don't know how the hell to keep up with this because I would literally have to be here watching 24/7 to catch all the stuff out there.

[Ursus Rex]

23. I said pretty much the same thing elsewhere and got grief for it.

My take is that the CHARACTER is written as a presumptive badass but the ACTOR isn't delivering that the role. That could be bad direction, lame writing (don't even get me started on the "chase" scenes, like the one with the grownups who couldn't catch a child on open ground, or the one with Needless Extra Fierce Force Parkour™) - the actress has also said she was unfamiliar with SW when she got the part. I thought she was great in The Queen's Gambit.

If they want a kids' movie, with scenes created and acted for children who buy toys, that's fine, make that movie (Spy Kids was great!) and sell TF out of cheap toys. If they want a serious character study for adults who may or may not buy toys, make that one, and let the $$$ toys flow. Right now, though, they're trying a balancing act where they seem to be doing one and calling it the other. They also seem to be trying to get ahead of genuine critique by saying that any criticism of A ROLE played by a BIPOC is racist in nature, and unfortunately, they do seem to have plenty of evidence for that.

[obamanut2012]

26. Her character is terrific, and the acting and writing is solid

Seeing the Third Sister aka Reva on screen is like Christmas morning.

Your opinion is yours, but the acting, writing, and direction is A+.

[LonePirate]

12. Ewan McGregor has also voiced his support of Ingram and called out the racists. See the video below.

Link to tweet

[moonshinegnomie]

14. as a star wars fan and member of the 501st legion (the official star wars costume group)

I have a simple 2 word message to the racists ripping on her

Fuck You.

[TlalocW]

19. WHAT? WHAT THE F*CK IS THEIR PROBLEM?

Hey, a 7 foot walking shag carpet is great and even believable but a force-sensitive Black woman isn't? Jeeze. I don't get these people - science fiction, and I'll include comic books in this, is often, especially Star Wars and Star Trek, about finding the best in ourselves. The hero's journey where the hero and friends want to right wrongs in Star Wars; becoming better as a human race in Star Trek. Comics are a great way to open our eyes to other places and people. I've never been to New York, so the media representation of it is all I have, and Black Spider-Man or a Muslim teenage girl gaining powers, etc. gives me more perspectives if they're done right. And comics have often reflected the times - X-Men were often a commentary on Civil Rights and have at times been used more recently for LGBTQ issues. I can't understand people who care so much for a franchise that are ignorant of what the franchise stands for - after making money of course and becoming more diverse helps them out as well. The White male consumer base is pretty much tapped out. They need to attract women, people of color, different religions, ethnicities, etc. Just drives me crazy.

TlalocW

[2Gingersnaps]

24. Thank You!

That was Gene Roddenberry's underlying legend with Star Trek-after first contact the Earth had to stop the bullshit and realize they were one race, the human race. They were ONE planet in a whole galaxy of different species. If I remember correctly, George Lucas had to make it plain from nearly the beginning that Star Wars existed a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.....and the petty malicious bullshit of racism didn't exist.

In just about all Sci Fi, good and bad, there is a context of good vs. evil. Every dystopian parable is a quest for that higher being. Damn no wonder we are killing ourselves off, some people will never get it.

[FelineOverlord]

21. Star Wars made it clear about sentient species: resist racism

Link to tweet

[2Gingersnaps]

25. They made that clear from the beginning!

Misogyny as well! The racists and misogynists need to hop back on the turnip truck!

[llashram]

22. there are

as revealed by the last POTUS, some seriously sick, hateful people who call themselves American. These "replacement theory" adherents better get their heads out of their asses. They are a minority no matter how loud they are or how far the media spreads their hate and lies. They will ALWAYS be replaced by good, decent and honest people. They are truly disgusting revolting human beings.