The first glimpse Star Wars fans got of Star Wars: Episode VII was the first taste they’ve had in 10 years. Instead of it marking a moment of excitement and optimism at the start of a new trilogy, the release of the trailer was ruined by the ignorance of some people. Instead of discussing how ambitious the next installment seemed, people chose to focus on the skin color of one of the main characters.
At around the twenty-one second markof the first trailer released, viewers got their first sight of Finn, played by African American actor John Boyega. Some fans were outraged by the fact that someone of color was leading their beloved franchise. Furthermore, they were mad because Boyega is a black stromtrooper, and in the cannon, stromtroopers are white. This is beyond stupid, why does it matter what color Boyega is? Shouldn’t the fact that he is a lead of color, in one of the biggest franchises to ever exist mind you, be a cause for celebration?
To add to this atrocity, some extremist fans have created a crazy conspiracy that Episode VII is an anti-white movie. Why? Because the movie stars a black man and a woman, which are aspects we rarely see in our entertainment. These people have gone so far as to start the hashtag “boycottstarwarsvii.” I remember seeing one tweet that had this hashtag and it said “#boycottstarwarsvii because it will be ghetto garbage.” My blood boiled, what in the world is wrong with these people?
While some people are offended that a person of color is the protagonist in the upcoming film, it’s rare to see them in such crucial and important roles. If anything, Hollywood and most of entertainment outlets are dominated by whites.
If I were to ask you what was the last successful movie, both financially and critically, you saw that starred a person of color, how would you respond? I asked myself that question and struggled to come up with an answer. The only one that popped into my head was “Django Unchained.”
After that, I couldn’t think of any. When I start to think of all the big blockbuster movies that came out this year like “Ant-Man,” “Age of Ultron,” “Mission Impossible,” “Jurassic World,” etc. they all starred white actors. Most of them lacked racial diversity. So when I hear people say that Episode 7 is anti-white, couldn’t I make the argument that 90 percent of films are anti-color?
It feels that they are that they are anti-color sometimes, due to Hollywood’s lack of racial diversity. In a study conducted by UCLA in 2015, they found that an astonishing 83 percent of lead characters portrayed on screen where white. UCLA went on to find that a staggering 93 percent of show creators were also white. Also, 82 percent of directors and 88 percent of the writers were also white.
USC also conducted a study, where they examined the 500 top grossing movies from 2007 to 2012 and found that only 10.4 percent of speaking characters were black. To coincide with that, 4.2 percent were Hispanic, 5 percent Asian, and 3.6 percent from other mixed ethnicities.
My question is why, after seeing these numbers, are we not seeing a bigger representation of what America really is on screen? People of color are slowly starting to become the majority, however, our different mediums are showing one side of America.
Even when someone of color starts in a movie or T.V. show, they’re depicted in stereotypical ways. There’s always something reminding us that they are of color, besides the color of their skin. What frustrates me the most is that when we see signs of progress, there those that respond out of hate, out of ignorance because they are afraid of changing the norm.
Boycotting Episode VII simply because the leads are a person of color and a woman is downright childish. Things are slowly going to start to change, and people need to be ready and for it.  In the words of Boyega when he responded to the racist remarks when the first Episode VII trailer was released, “To whom it may concern… Get used to it :).”