Coming to Realize How Important an Affect Princess Leia Had on Our Culture

I began last season of RPG Storytime: Star Wars with a tribute to Carrie Fisher, who had died the end of the year before.  It was a bit of a late tribute, but so was my recognition of her character's effect on our society.

I had never really thought about the impact the character of Princess Leia had on our society.  It is odd that such a feminist icon came out of the mind of a man who also said "there are no bras in space," but Leia made a huge impact on the way female characters were portrayed on film.

It's easy to look at it today and say of course women are supposed to be right there in the action.  But if you look at other media at the time, including other movies, TV, and even games and books, women were the "romantic interest" to be saved by the heroic man.  Star Wars began with that trope where the heroes were supposed to save a princess from the clutches of an evil empire.  But then it upended that idea by having the woman snap back at the men, criticizing them for their lack of planning.

Most of the time, the imagery of her was not as a victim needing to be saved, but as one of the heroes along with them.  Her very first action in the film is to shoot down a stormtrooper.  She wasn't intimidated by the lead villains, despite them scaring the crap out of the audience.

I say "most of the time" because there were advertisers who displayed her as the sexy damsel in distress.  One of the most famous posters is of her sprawling at Luke's feet, clutching to his leg for protection.  But that was by people who were still thinking in that period of time.

The presumptuousness of the film taking for granted that Leia is strong and in charge caused an entire generation, my generation, to grow up with an assumption that women can be in charge.  We've barely argued the issue because we know women's equality to be true.  Typically, these sorts of social changes are credited with some sort of more prestigious event or person.  But the simple fact is that EVERYONE saw Star Wars.  And it's that sort of huge impact that truly changes a culture.

I wish I had recognized all of this while Carrie Fisher was alive.  I know she didn't create the icon, but she deserves credit for breathing life into her, and carrying a torch of dignity and intelligence throughout her life.