Ahsoka Tano isn't just a fan favorite — she's a template for the future of women in fiction.
The Big Picture Women in science fiction and other fictional genres have suffered the unfortunate fates of being underdeveloped or being trapped by unnecessarily limiting character stereotypes. The Bechdel Test may cover an overarching look at how femme characters are given roles in different forms of media, but can only call out the lack of attention given to women in pop culture.
Ahsoka is a femme Togruta who was originally from Shili, a planet found between the Inner and Mid Rims in the Expansion Region. Ahsoka was Anakin Skywalker's Padawan and studied under him as The Clone Wars recounted the events leading up to Anakin's inevitable succumbing to the Dark Side. Their relationship was crucial for Ahsoka's character development and was necessary for demonstrating how women in Star Wars should be written.
Ahsoka Was Never a Love Interest, and That's a Good Thing Star Wars has had a tendency to make sure that each femme character usually wound up in some sort of on-screen relationship or a form of implied romantic subtext. Looking back at George Lucas' early works, the trend of ensuring that there was some sort of romantic subplot baked into the core of a movie was always present.
Ahsoka was never a love interest, nor did she ever need to be one. Keeping her out of reach from romantic affairs was a much-needed change of pace for women in Star Wars, and understood that there's more that goes into character-building than wondering who they'll end up with. Her preoccupation with greater issues, both personal and intergalactic, dispelled the need for her to find a partner.
Ahsoka's complicated nature allows her to sidestep being compressed into a one-dimensional character and suffer a familiar pattern applied to other women in Star Wars. Her declaration of "I am no Jedi" is a pivotal moment for her story moving forward, and speaks for the potential of how femme characters are given voices of their own.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
How to Watch 'Star Wars: Ahsoka' Starring Rosario DawsonWhen there's a threat to the galaxy, a former Jedi Knight must come out of hiding.
Read more »
Ahsoka Brought Back Star Wars' Opening Crawl For A Very Good & Specific ReasonWhy did Ahsoka bring back the opening crawl?
Read more »
Ahsoka Timeline: First 2 Episodes Are Before Star Wars Rebels EndsThe first two episodes of Ahsoka are now on Disney+ and even for the most seasoned Star Wars fan, they left us with a few questions. Questions like when is this taking place? Did we miss something? And is that scene the scene we think it is?
Read more »
How Much Star Wars Do You Need to Watch Before Ahsoka?Should you watch Star Wars Rebels before you watch Ahsoka? It would probably help.
Read more »
Are Star Wars' Extragalactic Ambitions What They Seem in Ahsoka?The new Star Wars Disney+ show is laying groundwork for an extragalactic threat that could play with the old EU. But what if it's not *quite* what fans expect?
Read more »
Star Wars Made History With Ahsoka Episode 1's Lightsaber FightAhsoka makes Star Wars lightsaber history.
Read more »