Mentor Text Wednesday: On Rey

Mentor Text:

What is a Mary Sue, and does Star Wars: The Force Awakens have one? by Caroline Framke

Writing Techniques:

Character analysis
Pop culture analysis
Using a feminist lens to critique character and pop culture

Background:

I got two Christmases in 2015. There was the one we always get, and there there was the Star Wars one. I’m one of those people who was at the perfect age to have seen the original film as a very impressionable youngster, and grew up with those characters, reading an Expanded Universe of tales in that galaxy far, far away. I was brought up so high by hope for the prequels, and disappointed.So, The Force Awakens was obviously kind of a big deal for me.

And it put me into a bit of a social media cave, as I tried to avoid spoilers so I could enjoy the film to the max. And I did.

I have daughters, and though their exposure to Star Wars has been limited, I was excited when the initial rumblings of the presence of Meaningful Female Characters! Leia was one of the strongest female chracters in popular sci-fi, but there was always something lacking. Probably the negative effects of that bikini at Jabba’s palace. Growing up with arguably some of the greatest characters in pop culture, I wanted that for my girls.

I’m not the only one to feel this way. After seeing the film, I was able to click on a lot more around the web, and came across a lot of writing about Rey. Some gushes, some criticizes. I chose a bit of both in this mentor text packet.

“The Power of Rey” and “What Rey Means to Me” are built on praise, on finding a hero that speaks to you, specifically a female hero. For many, Rey breaks into the boy’s club of good action heroics without a love triangle or a focus on her sex appeal. These pieces deal with that, though they largely avoid the controversy that accompanies the conversation about Rey. What I like about them, and what students could use as inspiration is that they are written from a fan’s position. This is people sharing what they like about Rey, and why. There’s an element of personal narrative that justifies their appreciation of Rey.

The “Mary Sue” question is dealt with in the third article. In some ways, it may be the strongest appreciation of Rey as a gender barrier breaker since it goes into more depth discussion of the gender stereotypes, explaining what a Mary Sue is, and supporting both sides of the argument. Though ultimately, the piece decides that Rey is what the other two pieces would have you believe, it goes about it in a much more analytical fashion.

I specifically chose not to include pieces that were overtly critical of her character. That is, I chose not include them at this time. I feel like those pieces serve a different purpose, and would be a mentor text package of their own, a critical takedown of a character if you will. To me, praising a character and bashing a chracter are two separate skill sets, and could be taught as such. Now I have more mentor texts to find…

How We Might Use Them:

All three of these pieces give strong examples of discussing character, and what the writer likes about the character. Two hew closer to expression of fandom, while one presents a more analytical appreciation of the character.
The narrative style of “The Power of Rey” would give young writers a way to express themselves as part of their writing about character. As a geek, I know how all-encompassing this stuff can be. The whole experience feels like it needs to be discussed, not just the character analysis stuff your teacher wants from you. This piece shows students a way to do both.
“What Rey Means to Me” is a compilation of what different voices have to say about a single character. Sometimes, we teachers make a big task out of something smaller. Could students craft mini-pieces, like those in this piece, and then combine them? Consider as well, that this piece gives a variety of voices expressing similar ideas. It’s a collection of shorter mentor texts compiled, giving students options.
The Mary Sue piece would be a great mentor text for students to use in the course of discussing a controversial issue in pop culture, such as gender. Working with young people, we know that they have many questions and opinions to sift through and figure out. This piece lays it out very well for them, with background, point, counterpoint and conclusion.
Pop culture has been heavily influenced by Star Wars, and our students, if they’re fans, are accustomed to critically looking at their respective fandoms, these giant worlds of characters. These pieces are all examples of how to look at pop culture with a feminist, or gender lens. Could we not extrapolate that, and use these as mentor texts to look at pop culture through other lenses? Or our reading?

I use Star Wars to teach. Students know that I love it, and other fandoms, and they like to talk about this geeky stuff with me. Pieces like this are going to be useful in taking that interest into an academic realm, where we can geek out, and meet our outcomes. And, for my students who aren’t geeks, they also serve as great examples of how to do that character stuff I ask them to do with their reading.

Are your students into Star Wars? How might you use these pieces to help your students analyze and write about character? What other elements might these mentor texts teach?

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