There’s nothing like the sight of a Black man starring in a science fiction movie that brings out the racist nerds. While most of us were just happy to get a glimpse of what the next generation of Star Wars will look like, there was a vocal portion of the fandom that didn’t appreciate seeing John Boyega lead off the trailer.
Since The Force Awakens is the first Star Wars film to drop in the age of twitter, we should have been more prepared for the idiocy that would soon follow. Thankfully, Boyega is an awesome human being and had this perfect response to the racists:
Fortunately, the #BlackStormtrooper hash has been taken over by more sensible tweeters. Case in point, this is the top hit on the tag right now. Still, there are self-professed Star Wars nerds who are up in arms that a Black man is in a Stormtrooper outfit.
And for those fans who are complaining that Boyega’s Stormtrooper in the trailer isn’t a clone, there has never been any indication that the Stormtroopers of the original trilogy were clones anyway. In fact, Star Wars: Rebels makes it pretty clear that the Stormtroopers come out of the Imperial Academy anyway.
So all you “Actually, it’s about ethics in Stormtrooper cloning” trolls need to step off. Here, I’ll let Moses from Attack the Block have the last word:
Quick aside: I stumbled across this 2011 interview with Boyega in which he talks about his love for Yoda:
I love Yoda. I think he’s a bad man. I think Yoda’s on his ting. That means Yoda knows what’s up. Yoda’s a don. Yoda’s a G. Yoda’s a warrior. Like he’ll be walking with his walking stick, someone try to chuck it to him and he’ll just throw it away and go nuts. I love that. I think he’s a great guy. I’d love to meet him.
nice post, completely agree. Already knew that they came from the academy, b/c clones age fast and ANH took place 20-25 years after the clones were created
I gotta be honest here: I’ve seen a LOT of people condemning the people who are against the “black stormtrooper,” but even looking through the actual hashtag I can’t find much evidence of an actual campaign against it. Tempest in a teapot? Or am I not looking in the proper filthy corners of the internet?
It’s possible you simply haven’t wandered into some of the darker, nastier corners of the internet. For your health and safety (and if you would like to retain any beliefs that humanity is actually decent), don’t go there! Please!
Thanks for this article! I’m glad there’s a black man in this! Kinda reminds me when Dan Glover (Community) got a lot of flack for wanting to play as a black Spider-man.
I can’t get past the comment that someone made about him looking like Matt Damon. Now that’s all I can see.
I’m surprised those ‘self-professed’ Star Wars fans didn’t know that the cloning technology was lost after the Clone Wars and the Rebellion. The only gripe I have with the teaser is that it looked more like clips of Star Wars cosplayers, because I saw nothing of a story taking place, but lots of CGi action.