The Galactic Empire...
Decided to put this separately. Because I don't want the rant to overshadow one review on a book I was currently reading. In which, this started to turn into a rant on the Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awaken series.
When this new series of Star Wars novels came out, me being excited was an understatement. But now, I'm not sure if I'm gonna like the new series. While I expected that the new novel might clash with the established EU canon (thus the reasoning on how EU has now called Legends), I expected at least the new canons do not clash with the newer novelization of the original trilogy AND film. Because regardless of the status of the EU/Legends now, at least this should still remain canon. So when I started to notice all the little details that don't fit, I start to like the new novels less.
This is something I started noticing more since Moving Target. There were more female characters being created in which became part of the main focus in the novels, aside from the titular trio. While that's not really a big problem (at least in Weapon of a Jedi) I do have problems with this with regards to Moving Target, and now Smuggler's Run. (That said, Lost Stars would also going to have the same issues too.) That part being... female officers in the Imperial Army.
You see, I'm all for having more female characters in novels/stories... but not when it does not make logical sense. I mean, I understand how people were frustrated that they were so few female characters/pilots in Star Wars film series in general and the need of people to have more of them in either the novel series or animated series; but adding more female characters in the Imperials is not it! I don't mind if there's more strong female characters on the rebel side, but on the Imperial side? I expect if there's any... they would face extreme discrimination in terms of ease of taking ranks. Same with non-human humanoid aliens. Unless they were Siths. Because the Galactic Empire has been mostly patriarchal as well as racist. In which, that would fit as to why you do not see any high-ranking or even low-ranking female officers in any of the original trilogy films. Or on how rare for that to happen.
So, if you want to start having more female officers in the Imperial Army... you're better off to start doing so AFTER Return of the Jedi. In which, with the death of the Emperor... it would cause instability to the organizational structure of the Empire's remnant, thus forcing them to start considering taking in more females and other aliens in their organization (since they already lost so much male human soldiers all these times you probably ended up with their surviving families) just to regain their numbers and strength. Even so, have those women and/or aliens start gaining influence AFTER the Empire start that drastic change in policy. NOT before. Or even if there are any female officers prior to 4 ABY, I'd expect they be receiving some kind of discrimination or difficulty to be taken seriously. Or be sent to super remote sectors.
Like I mean, you could rant a lot on why during the original trilogy films there weren’t a lot of female background characters etc tell (that to Lucas); but this particular setting allowed one thing to add to the description of the Imperials in general. On why you don’t see any (or barely any) female or non-human crew members, soldiers etc serving the Empire. (Or anyone of them being posted at important bases or ships.) I mean this could have changed after the Emperor’s death, (like... there would’ve been a limit to how long they could survive like that, given that the Empire’s tendencies to lose millions of fighters against the Alliance) but I rather ppl retain this setting while writing any new stories set in this particular timeline. As in, even if there are actually female officers, senators serving the Empire at this time... they wouldn’t have much easy time to survive in a male-dominated environment. Much less being in actual command.
Because the Empire being mostly racist and sexist is something I would want to remain canon (at least during the Emperor’s reign); since that would add more reasons as to why the Rebel Alliance were fighting against them. Despite the odds.
Because having high-ranking female officers (having actual power and respect by their male counterparts) at any time prior to 4 ABY, just don't fit. Because then, you should start asking why don't you see much of those female officers in the films? The old reasoning being that the Empire was misogynistic and racist had easily explained that situation so nicely... so having the newer canon doing these retcons; hard to like them new canons... really. And then I realised what gave me the weird feeling while reading Moving Target. That novel also had another high-ranked female officer as well. Which IS odd, because even if they are strong characters, they should still face a harsher discrimination and held less authority compared to other male officers of same ranks. Because they are females and because they worked for the Empire.
But yea well, I suppose they would release a much more recent film novelization to try to justify the new canons made by these newer novels. But at this rate I'm most likely ended up NOT liking them. In a similar scale on how I don't like some of the unnecessary changes Lucas has made on the original trilogy.
This entry was originally posted on Kaleidoscope World.