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mayorofthepalace · 4 years

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Black Women In Star Wars: Episode I

I am a literal lifelong Star Wars fan--being born in 1977, the same year the first film was released.

Return Of The Jedi, which came out when I was six, is the first movie I can consciously recall seeing at a theater...the Original Trilogy shaped my taste in entertainment, my world-view, and my personality more than any other childhood influence.

This isn't a fan site, so I will keep my geeking out under control and stick to the subject--but for the sake of context, it might help to mention I'm very much in the pro-Disney takeover camp: I loved the Sequel Trilogy and the standalone films (have not had the chance to watch The Mandalorian yet).

I mention this because it is this new era of diversity that inspired me to put this salute together:

I noticed not only the increase in characters and actors of color in the new films, or the prominence of female characters, but specifically the significant number of black women...

Remember what we're dealing with: Not only was this a franchise that began in the 1970s, but it's the Great Grand-Daddy of modern cinematic science-fiction...

...a genre infamous for being a monochromatic sausage fest.

In the Original Trilogy, the films that built the SW universe, you had one black male supporting character, one white female main character, and one white female side character (not counting extras).

This was a galaxy far, far away from anything resembling equal representation.

This began to change with the release of the Prequels in 1999, but didn't really become significant until the Sequels.

After watching and thoroughly enjoying Naomi Ackie as Jannah in The Rise Of Skywalker, I decided to put this salute together...and in my research, I found there were more black women (and/or black actresses) in the new Star Wars universe than I realized.

Believe it or not, this Star Wars saga will be TWENTY episodes long😲

Our first entry actually goes back to the Original Trilogy. And if you didn't notice a second black person in Return Of The Jedi, that's understandable since she was green.

British/Nigerian dancer and actress Femi Taylor played Oola, Jabba's Twi'lek slave dancer/rancor appetizer.

She also returned to film new scenes as Oola in 1997 for the Special Edition of ROTJ...the only original cast member to do so.

Sadly, in earlier drafts of the script Oola not only survived, but managed to escape Jabba's clutches before his untimely death, this was unfortunately cut out due to time constraints.

Oola would receive some vindication years later when her backstory was written and published in the non-canon anthology Tales From Jabba's Palace.

Ms. Taylor herself enjoyed the experience immensely--she and Oola have a significant fan following, and she is a regular fixture at conventions and other events.

So yeah, she was painted green, practically naked, and had just a few minutes of screen time before being eaten alive after objecting to her employer's sexual harassment (the Hutt Cartel doesn't have an HR department)...

...but she was STILL the first black actress in Star Wars🥰

#star wars #black women #black actresses #black women in film #diversity in fantasy

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