The Force is Female After All

Rating: 9/10 (21 December 2019)

Extrapolating from my own psychology, we tend to think that females are something 'less than' males. That is why I was delighted to see that Rey's heroic journey was merely into space and the events therein, subverting the outmoded cliche of having a relatively weak moral character being shaped over time into heroism. To contrast, Luke Skywalker began as a headstrong yet timid-in-action flyover hick that ended up destroying the first Death Star by learning to listen to the feminine force. It can be argued that despite his ascension within the Rebel hierarchy that he always remained that which he began as; we cannot simply forget a person's history. But by having Rey begin as a self-confident, assertive, compassionate, and skilled young woman, the filmmakers immediately set the tone that this character is already a hero and needs no 'improvement'--as a judging father figure would expect to be necessary.
One may think that this would lead to no journey being possible. But the locations and personnel made available to Rey during her voyages supplied ample entertainment. The lights, the sound design; all this was so dazzling that much of it could be mistaken as something not made on a computer monitor. Most impressive. Yet the very peak of the movie happened near the end of this tremendous saga, only truly made sense of in the final sequel movies. How Kylo uses the force healing ability he picked up from Rey to resurrect her brought tears to these manly eyes. Just when the audience thinks the patriarchy (as symbolized in the recurring Palpatine) has been defeated, it is revealed that the destruction it wrought even during its last grasps at (Rey's) life has poisoned the future so severely that Rey--who was the New Hope all along--will remain permanently oppressed. That is, until a male ally heals her body, in the most noble sacrifice someone like Kylo can do, to give his life force to a superior, gracefully dropping dead after having doing so. And even at this point I tremor as I type as I recall how Rey gifted Kylo (and all that he represents) with the one thing he really wanted all along: a single kiss. And now it may be said that Star Wars is over, it is now history to be gleefully forgotten while moving on into a new age of the galaxy, one of enlightenment based upon the example of Rey. This is the turning point of how galactic rule is to be gone about; I expect it will be the first year now After Rey (B.R and A.R). So well has she shone a light on the injustices of a system fraught with war and religion that she disinfected it in the process.
A landmark movie in culture. 9/10 stars. One star removed for making Rey a Palpatine.