After experiencing a 3-day marathon of the Star Wars saga and thinking about our talks about race in Sci-Fi, I noticed a lot of racist (or speciesist?) sentiments throughout the films. Chewie is a prime example. I noticed he didn’t get a medal at the end of the first film, which seemed odd since he was on the battlefield’s front lines right next the other rebels, including Han Solo who was awarded a medal for his heroism. So I did some research on Star Wars blog sites and found a lot of people questioning Chewbacca’s social status and prejudice treatment. Here are a few comments I found:“Wookies are largely evil… Chewie is a good one, though some question if he'd be good were he not in a life debt (pretty much slavery, really; and it's a cultural standard!)” A cultural standard? This concept is reminiscent of slavery…
“Wookies… are an inherently peaceful race that has been enslaved by every major power besides the republic and its newer incarnations, only to have their world set on fire by Darth Caiden.” The Wookiees home was destroyed, even after their constant servitude to the Republic. This reminds me of Blacks’ relationship to erasure, even after all of their consistent, hard work for their masters.
“Not only does Chewbacca have a family at home, that Han continuously visits because Chewbacca won't leave his side, but when Chewie died his own children attempted to take up the mantel of protecting Han out of love before being turned away.” Chewbacca’s family offering themselves up to Han Solo’s will due to their love for him reminds me of the slave-master’s inheritance of Black slave children when their parents would pass away… And the devotion children were expected to have for their new masters.
“Chewbacca, who was Solo's best friend and copilot, did not receive a medal during the official ceremony, as Wookiees do not place any meaning in such tangible awards. However, at the request of Solo, Chewbacca was presented with his own medal in private, during the feast that followed the ceremony. It’s clear that the Empire has established itself on racist policy, and has been quite open in that. If the Rebellion were to be open about opposing the Empire's racist policy then they'd be likely to alienate a lot of their support base, who would otherwise be more than happy to help. If you look at the crowd at the award ceremony after the destruction of the first Death Star you'll note that the audience is primarily human. Many of those humans would be harboring racist views. Putting a Wookiee on the stage would have been a dangerous view in light of that.”
After Han Solo gets flirtatious with Princess Leia, she tells him, "I'd rather kiss a Wookie."
Lexi
“Wookies… are an inherently peaceful race that has been enslaved by every major power besides the republic and its newer incarnations, only to have their world set on fire by Darth Caiden.” The Wookiees home was destroyed, even after their constant servitude to the Republic. This reminds me of Blacks’ relationship to erasure, even after all of their consistent, hard work for their masters.
“Not only does Chewbacca have a family at home, that Han continuously visits because Chewbacca won't leave his side, but when Chewie died his own children attempted to take up the mantel of protecting Han out of love before being turned away.” Chewbacca’s family offering themselves up to Han Solo’s will due to their love for him reminds me of the slave-master’s inheritance of Black slave children when their parents would pass away… And the devotion children were expected to have for their new masters.
“Chewbacca, who was Solo's best friend and copilot, did not receive a medal during the official ceremony, as Wookiees do not place any meaning in such tangible awards. However, at the request of Solo, Chewbacca was presented with his own medal in private, during the feast that followed the ceremony. It’s clear that the Empire has established itself on racist policy, and has been quite open in that. If the Rebellion were to be open about opposing the Empire's racist policy then they'd be likely to alienate a lot of their support base, who would otherwise be more than happy to help. If you look at the crowd at the award ceremony after the destruction of the first Death Star you'll note that the audience is primarily human. Many of those humans would be harboring racist views. Putting a Wookiee on the stage would have been a dangerous view in light of that.”
After Han Solo gets flirtatious with Princess Leia, she tells him, "I'd rather kiss a Wookie."
Lexi