Finally a Kick-butt female protagonist and... WHERE IS SHE???

WARNING: MILD SPOILERS OF STAR WARS. Though all you need is to have seen a poster for Episode VII The Force Awakens to know who the major characters are going to be, and what this post is talking about. 

This piece of news has slid under the radar, but I'm so mad that I have to post about it. According to The Guardian, toy manufacturer Hasbro recently released another edition of its Star Wars monopoly game set, and it features Kylo Ren, Finn, Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader as the character tokens. The article also mentioned that Target, the giant retail store chain, also released a toy figurine set that featured Kylo Ren, Chewbacca, Finn, Poe Dameron, a Stormtrooper and a TIE Fighter pilot.

To summarize, the characters featured in the new Star Wars toy sets are:
- Kylo Ren
- Finn
- Luke Skywalker
- Darth Vader
- Chewbacca
- Poe Dameron
- A Stormtrooper
- TIE Fighter pilot

Let's examine the official movie poster for Episode VII The Force Awakens (all images taken from www.starwars.com with my own modifications). I have identified characters featured in the poster that are part of the toy sets.

Missing from the poster (but included in the toy sets) are Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader, but given the popularity of these characters, I understand why toy makers included them. In fact, I am delighted by the blending of old and new generational characters.

However, a closer examination of the poster reveals the glaring exclusion of a major character from the toy set despite its importance. This omission has to have been a deliberate choice on the part of the toy manufacturers because not only is this character a major part of the film, this person is THE protagonist. Even without seeing the film, viewers can already glean the importance of this character from his/her size and placement in the poster.

Readers, meet the plucky, courageous and resourceful Rey (played by Daisy Ridley). She is one of the best female protagonists I've seen, and I adore her. Film critics have praised both the addition of Rey into the franchise and Daisy Ridley's acting (e.g. see HERE or watch THIS@1:08 and THIS@4:30), and welcomed the addition of Rey into the pantheon of "strong, female leads" that girls can look up to (Rey should be loved by feminists who hate the Disney Princesses). One of the best moments in the film has got to be when she, Finn and BB-8 are escaping an attack on her planet, Jakku. Finn kept clinging to her, and amidst the shootings and bombings, the exasperated Rey snorted (I'm paraphrasing here), "Why are you holding my hand? Stop holding my hand!"  


Not to mention the climatic lightsaber fight against Kylo Ren. Her sudden mastery of the Force is unrealistic, but even taking away that aspect of her character, Rey is still smart, loyal, tough and overall kick-butt! Most of all, she is likable and kind-- remember how she saved BB-8 from captivity, and refused to sell it despite being tempted by the offer? 

I would feel comfortable letting my daughters dress up as Rey for Halloween or identify Rey as their favorite movie heroine, like this: 

Photo credit: Ryan Finley's instagram (@ryno1013). I almost died from the adorable-ness. 

Yet, her character was left out of the new edition of monopoly and Target Star Wars figurine pack. And yes, this is a gender issue. Returning to the list of characters with toys, we observe: 

- Kylo Ren: MALE
- Finn: MALE
- Luke Skywalker: MALE
- Darth Vader: MALE
- Chewbacca: MALE
- Poe Dameron: MALE 
- Stormtrooper: can be male or female but we do not see their faces/ gender + insignificant character
- TIE Fighter pilot: can be male or female but we do not see their face/ gender + insignificant character

This lists is evidence that toy makers would rather merchandise insignificant, "gender-less" characters than produce toys featuring a likable strong female lead. Even the TIE fighter pilots, who are technically not featured on the poster (just the planes), made it to the toy list over Rey, the main character. Hasbro claimed to have excluded Rey because they wanted to avoid spoiling the film, a claim that doesn't hold up since filmmakers already revealed the centrality of Rey to the film months before The Force Awakens hit theaters. Such blatant misogyny of the toy industry, in particular Hasbro and Target, disgusts me. To be fair, Lego and Disney did produce toy figurines of Rey, but why does this double-standard even exist in the toy industry?

Thankfully, Hasbro was forced to do an about-face, after director J.J. Abrams called the move to exclude Rey from the toy line "preposterous" and "wrong." Fans also took to social media to campaign against Hasbro, using the hashtag #WheresRey or #WhereIsRey. As a result, Hasbro announced on its twitter feed last Wednesday that they will release a newer edition of monopoly that included Rey later this year. 

Now I wonder if this wasn't a brilliant maneuver on the part of Hasbro to force fans to buy 2 editions of the Monopoly: Star Wars game. Either way, I am disappointed with Hasbro and Target.