Star Wars: The Force Awakens: Part 1A, The Finn Factor

I want to use a separate space to discuss Finn because what he represents is also critical to a deeper understanding of what TFA was all about. Come, let's to it.

Finn: The Black Stormtrooper/"Magic Negro" Controversy

For those unfamiliar with the concept of the magic negro please follow the link.

Finn fights with Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber

From the announcement of his character all the way to opening day, a big deal was made about the personality of Finn as played quite elegantly by John Boyega. The biggest conflagration centered around why a black had to be in the lead and why, presumably, he was to be the individual in whom the Force would awaken. The constant advertising for TFA consistently led many to believe that it was the character Finn who would be the center of the story and, perhaps, around whom a new Jedi Order would arise via the training of now Master Luke Skywalker. To be on clear footing, the anger over a black superstar at the heart of Star Wars did exist but was from a minority of vocal opponents and was not shared by most, including this writer. In fact, like most celebrants, I welcomed the idea of another strong black male character and looked forward to seeing his hero's journey to the Force.

Finn, Rey, & Kylo Ren, misdirection in advertising

This, however, turned out to be a clever marketing deception created to misdirect the expectations of hot-to-trot fans and, I dare say, preserve Disney's "gotcha" surprise bait-and-switch of non-Force-sensitive Finn for super Force-adept Rey. And this is why, in advertisement after advertisement, it is Finn, and not Rey, who is seen holding and wielding a lightsaber. Finn as main protagonist and hero turns out to be a complete falsehood as the last 30 or so minutes of the film ultimately reveals, though many breadcrumbs are dropped along the way to clue us in. However, this particular gripe is not about preserving the surprises of the storyline, but about fooling the fanbase in order, the Subspace Meditator suggests, to serve a larger, yet more subtle agenda. It is that agenda which I flesh out more in part two of this meditation. For now, let's analyze Finn a bit further.

Strong, but Nuanced Black Male Inclusion

Lando Calrissian, a black man of mixed motivation in Star Wars

In real-world terms, Finn's ostensible purpose is to prove the diversity of the "galaxy far, far away," to embrace the fact that humans in space aren't just lily white, and further, that non-white humans are capable of more than being a sidekick to the white hero. But a sidekick is exactly what Finn turns out to be. And upon inspection he turns out to be far, far less. In the beginning of the story his character is portrayed as an elite stormtrooper with a conscience who faces a moral dilemma and thus must choose which side he will serve. In this choice is a powerful moment for the character and one that opens up a host of possibilities for his long-term development. However, this angle is given bare bones service. The story later reveals that Finn is not after all one of the First Order's elite, but a sanitation worker who just happens to also don stormtrooper armor from time to time, and who just happens to mysteriously know very, very important things about the First Order's prime weapon, Starkiller Base. How he, a janitor, is supposed to know such things is not even mentioned. He just does so that, somehow, he can, at last, become important to the audience. Though he's marketed as such, in this movie Finn is no hero in any real sense of the term, but instead an inveigler (Han Solo recognizes him as such with his line, "Women always find out the truth. Always."), a coward, and a kiss-up to the female lead. He is the comedic relief of the show. And though this is executed quite well from an onlooker's perspective, and is certainly reflected in Boyega's performance, Finn is obviously out of his element in the course of events and using humor to hide both his fear and lack of resolve. He spends the majority of his time trying to find ways to run away from peril or rescue Rey and gain her approval even after she's repeatedly demonstrated that she doesn't want his help, nor is interested in his romantic overtures.

Mace Windu, a powerful warrior-priest 
black man in Star Wars

But to see only these characteristics is to miss the greater mark behind Finn's inclusion. For sure, he is no Lando Calrissian and certainly no Mace Windu. But he is the type of male that feminist SJWs can go for- a wussified man who worships the ground women walk on, who plays second fiddle to an overbearingly strong female, who herself steals the show from men and is, superficially at least, flawless and above reproach. In nearly every scene involving himself and Rey, Finn is given second-class treatment and shown as less decisive, less courageous, and less competent than she. Finn's insertion was not about degrading the black male per se as much as it was about exalting the female lead by using the black male of the show as proxy. It is his purpose to elevate the main woman character to near goddess-like perfection, to pedestalize her above the earth and sky in order to fit the feminist paradigm. To this end, the dude's near lack of real development and his overall purpose as a character was for little more than as a tool to make Rey look so totally awesome that she completely overshadows him from the very first encounter to the very end. In these aspects Finn is a representation of the magic negro, and beyond this what some call a mangina or a white knight. Love-struck Finn will do anything - anything - for his sweetie, Rey. And the culmination of his trouble, the grand prize of his herculean efforts, is a friendzoned hug from her in a "thanks for not abandoning the fight" moment inside Maz Kanata's cantina. And yet for the rest of the story Finn continues to chase his honeypot across the galaxy because he simply refuses to leave her no matter what.

Anything that happened in TFA could have proceeded so with or without Finn. He was just that inconsequential. Therefore, any outrage by those with prejudiced hearts about a black male lead who gets the white girl and/or who becomes the epic hero of the story was absorbed by this bigger agenda.

Of course not all black men are strong and do not have to be shown in fictional stories as such. However, some inkling of the hero's journey should have been seen in Finn as he is the second lead protagonist. Some elements of him finding his purpose, separate and distinct from his association with Rey, or on her behalf, should have been portrayed.

But there's a way to remedy this, my people, and it doesn't mean Finn bosoming up to Rey. Hear me.

Getting Those Interstellar Babes

There's more to the galaxy than white chicks!

Though some actually criticize the idea, at this pace it would be better for Finn to be seen in the next installment actually getting some action from a sexy space alien chick. And I personally would have no problem with this! After all, Captain Kirk made out with many intergalactic honeys in his time with no incompatibility issues concerning interspecies mating. From green-skinned lovelies with great...belly buttons, to grey-toned beauties with tails, James T. Kirk lacked for nothing in the universe's manifestation of feminine diversity. His experience was bountiful! So what would be wrong with Friendzoned Finn hooking up with a blue-bodied babydoll with awesome curves? Why should the space-faring white guys have all the fun? Moreover, it's a big galaxy. Why should Finn limit his horizons only to the white human female? Should he genuflect to her just because she's in close proximity? Hell no! Rey isn't the only game in the stars.

However, not either should he be paired up with a black female space jockey because that also is too simplistic and is what everyone would expect. And quite frankly it's too comfortable; it would too easily satisfy black critics who'd see Finn coseying up to "white" Rey as an insult to black pride, and him getting with a "sister" as only more condescending tokenism; and it would just as too conveniently be an out for white supremacists insulted at a black man "stealing" another of "their women." No, make the audience think! and in the doing, perhaps make them all uncomfortable! Take risks, which is what novel films are supposed to do! So, saying "dump it" to both of these easy answers is the right way to bring Finn back and let him stretch his horizons, and see all the galaxy would have him see!

Yes, let Finn shag the alien girl with 
head tentacles and Force powers!

The cheeky humor of my proposal aside, I really do think it a great idea. And though I do not want to see Finn's character polluted into a sexual degenerate nor Star Wars into an X-rated freakshow, it would be nice to see him get some meaningful nuances to his character in the form of a smooth-talking playboy who gains some courage rather than a mangina afraid of the whole universe. Also, giving Finn some of those Han Solo bad boy qualities would be a splendid way to atone for killing off that iconic character in this Episode VII lunacy. Finn obtaining a ship of his own and pursuing a critical subplot of Episode VIII with his new alien space babe in tow would be a great redemption for the "cowardly lion" we observed in TFA! And to avoid the feminist bullhockey, his new girlfriend doesn't need to be the one rescuing him from every hidden danger around the corner; they should share responsibility for each other. Finn doing his independent thing, more than some casual horizontal hulu or one-off smooch with Rey, would show audiences that the black man is definitely capable of being more than the sidekick or mere shadow of the white lead. He can explore the galaxy by himself, get into (and out of) hot spots by himself, and build great relations with the universe's many peoples on his own terms. This is what you want to see of black inclusion in science fiction, is it not? This is what black sci-fi geeks, male and female, have been longing for for ages, isn't it, a black person who can meet the challenge of space exploration without having to be guided by a patronizing white hand? And that of course is not limited to mere romantic indulgence - though that has been our example here - but to all endeavors of sophistication and significance.

As not only a black man in sci-fi, but more as a rogue stormtrooper searching for a righteous cause, Finn has awesome potential. If it is developed properly, this character can be one of the most endearing and beloved - and if not beloved, then at the least, controversial - in Star Wars history. He can take a place right beside, if not superior to both Lando Calrissian and Mace Windu. Spin-off stories and even films could one day be created about him. But he must be developed appropriately, now, starting with Episode VIII correcting the idiocy he was wrapped in with TFA. Finn can be redeemed, big time, but it's up to us as fans to DEMAND the writers give this guy a fair and proper shake at being a true hero just like Luke Skywalker, Calrissian, Windu, or Han Solo, and not another marginalized magic negro.

In my next and last meditation on Star Wars: The Force Awakens, some conclusions.




Until next time...


To the upward reach of man.