‘Rise of Skywalker’ Is a Christmas Movie

It’s true. But read this only if you’ve seen the movie.

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Merry Christmas, readers. Let’s take a break from politics and discuss something far more divisive and polarizing—Star Wars. (Yes, there are spoilers. I’ll remind you again below.)

I’m not sure when it happened—perhaps we can trace the phenomenon back to the Roots miniseries, or answering the question, “Who shot J.R.?” or the M*A*S*H series finale—but at some point, entertainment events (especially finales) achieved a degree of national emotional importance that seems to defy logic and reason. Why are we so invested in seeing how television and film series end and so invested in seeing that they end just the right way?

Perhaps the answer is no more complicated than saying that art is powerful, it’s always been powerful, and investing yourself in a great story is a natural (and joyful) part of the human experience. 

And that brings me to Rise of Skywalker, the movie that broughtthe “Skywalker saga” to a close. This refers of course to the nine-film arc that began with 1977’s Star Wars: A New Hope and included within it some of the best science fiction films ever put on screen (Empire Strikes Back is the best science fiction movie ever; it is known). It has also, sadly, included more than its share of mediocrity and at least one cinematic atrocity. (I’m looking at you, Jar Jar Binks.) 

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  1. Railwayman001

    I most agree with French on this piece. However, there are a few caveats.

    First, I don't necessarily think that the prequel trilogy is awful. In many ways, I kind of see it as very rightward-leaning, particularly with how Darth Sidious, in his guise as Palpatine, is using the Separatists to portray folks who lean right as evil people who must be destroyed as the excuse for the Republic becoming the Empire as we know it by the end of that trilogy. The Separatists publicly wanted to leave the Republic because they saw its bureaucracy as becoming too expansive with Palpatine breaking his promise to rein the bureaucrats in, if anyone has ever watched the prequel trilogy like I have, and of course the "woke" crowd would love nothing more than to expand government into our lives.

    Second, I do agree that the film is generally Christian in tone if y'all think about it, but we mustn't forget about that brief moment near the end of the film when Resistance officer Larma D'Acy (Amanda Lawrence) and Resistance fighter pilot Wrobie Tyce (Vinette Robinson) reveal that they happen to be more than just friends. It's a shame, of course, that Disney is now making everything they do nowadays have hidden messages promoting the "woke" agenda and especially the idea of LGBTQIA+ folks just "being themselves" and, ironically enough, giving those on the far right such as Ron DeSantis their excuse to go after the House of Mouse.

    Oh, well, I try to remember this piece from Catholic writer Regina Doman about how works that don't appear to be Christian at first can actually be such. She uses the example of Albus Dumbledore from J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" books (and I'm surprised that French didn't mention them when he gave that brief mention of "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Chronicles of Narnia") and his own sordid sexual failings to show that while Rowling may be "pro-LGBTQIA+" (even if she agrees that being LGBTQIA+ is wrong from her Christian point of view and she is still Christian), her work isn't necessarily "un-Christian." Similarly, even though J.J. Abrams may have had D'Acy and Tyce come out as lesbians near the end of "RoS" and may be "left" in his political leanings, it doesn't necessarily mean that he hasn't made something that is truly Christian.

    https://catholicexchange.com/in-defense-of-dumbledore/

    Ultimately, even though it is clear that Disney is having an identity crisis (no pun intended), I'm still fine with the "Star Wars" movies as they are. The best thing for all of us to do is to just enjoy the films and remember that there are LGBTQIA+ folks who are Never-Trump from The Bulwark's Tim Miller and Sarah Longwell, both of whom are gay and lesbian, respectfully, and The Bulwark's and this site's Giselle Donnelly, who of course is transgender. (Let's not forget Andrew Sullivan, either.) Let's also remember that while Disney in general may be leaning "woke," there are still those who are Christian and yet work for Disney because it's the only job they've ever known. Here's an excellent case for why, even though we just shouldn't bother going to the theaters if Disney says they'll have a character in a film come out as LGBTQIA+ AND just not bother watching anything on Disney+ that is openly pro-LGBTQIA+, we still shouldn't boycott Disney in general.

    https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/spiritual-life/reasons-why-im-not-boycotting-disney.html

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  2. Jade Allen

    I'm genuinely surprised this article has no comments. I thought it would prove to be a more controversial analysis than it apparently was.

    Well, I saw the movie on opening night and maybe it was just the theater I was in or maybe the crowd I was with but to me it felt strangely subdued for being a completely full theater full of committed Star Wars nerds. I don't know how the crowd reacted at your showing - or really any other showings of the movie but for all the fan service there wasn't much emotion in my theater good or bad.

    As far the movie itself... well, it wasn't "The Phantom Menace" level awful. It was thoroughly mediocre. I'm fine with that. Let's put Star Wars movies in the metaphorical vault for a while and then let some fresh original thinking come up with some new stories set in the same universe.

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