One of the most exciting things for me to have come out of the Star Wars canon recently is the addition of The Forces of Destiny shorts. These animated shorts provide insight and further adventures of the heroines of Star Wars, filling into a market sorely lacking in strong Sci-Fi lady role models for the younger crowds. Growing up as a nerd girl, you admired Leia. And then, when the prequels were introduced, we had Padmé Amidala. But that was it. Star Wars wasn’t a girl thing. And it wasn’t super cool.
Nowadays, girls have the most incredible opportunities to admire and emulate strong, intelligent, powerful women in the Star Wars Galaxies. Everyone from Princess Leia, who is the classic example of smart sassy save-herself, to Jyn Erso, who manages to make herself into the anti-hero and the hero in her one film, the ladies of Star Wars cover all aspects of role models. And the Forces of Destiny play right into those examples.
While only a few have aired on TV, all of the current shorts are available online. Rey, Leia, Ahsoka Tano, Jyn Erso, Sabine Wren and Padmé each feature in these adventures. When chronologically appropriate, some characters share the screen.
It’s exciting for me, as someone who doesn’t know a lot about Star Wars: The Clone Wars or Star Wars: Rebels, to have these short introductions to these characters. I don’t know much about Sabine Wren, but after seeing her team up with Princess Leia to outwit stormtroopers, I’m certainly invested into finding out more.
Mostly, I’m thrilled at the short and sweet looks into the characters’ lives and backstories that haven’t been fleshed out. Personally, I never really cared for Padmé and I thought she was kind of whiney. It was easy to overlook all the things she accomplished before her relationship with Anakin defined her. After seeing her with Ahsoka (who even though I don’t know a ton about, I love because she’s voiced by the incredible Ashley Eckstein who is one of the nicest people like, ever. She’s also the designer behind HerUniverse, which is the place for nerdy girl clothes.) I remembered why Padmé is so important. She’s a leader. Her episode deals with tactical political issues, not just physical battle. She serves as a reminder that not all wars are fought with fists.
In other episodes, we see Jyn Erso kicking butt and taking names for a sentimental reason. She’s a very tough, no nonsense woman, and getting to see her softer side was a treat. We get to see Leia in Endor and outsmarting the empire. Plus, Rey runs around with BB-8 in her episodes and we all know that Droid is my best friend.
These shorts have given us girls a door to Star Wars in a way that’s brand new. No longer are the ladies secondary characters or interact mostly with men. We see them on their own. We see them as the stars of their own stories. They’re here to show us all we as women can be- brave, soft, strong, independent, a team player, a leader… We girls finally get to stand apart from the franchise and be heard. It’s something I never dreamed I’d see.
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