In response to a quick and overly predictable wave of racist reaction from Star Wars “fans” dismayed by the idea that blacks exist in space, Disney has issued a statement in support of Obi-Wan actor Kenobi Moses Ingram.
Although the first two episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi were released only last week, it took all the time it took for Star Wars obsessives to focus on Ingram’s character, Reva Sevander, one of the inquisitors of the Galactic Empire tasked with exterminating the Jedi from the galaxy. On the Monday following this year’s Star Wars Celebration event, Ingram used his personal Instagram account to share a selection of the “hundreds” of anti-black and misogynistic messages he has received to portray a fictional villain who does things bad. Ingram expressed that while she is grateful to the fans who have the means to understand that the actors are not the characters they play on television, she also admitted to feeling a certain degree of despair “because no one can do anything about it.” .
“There’s nothing anyone can do to stop this hatred, so I wonder what my purpose is even to be here in front of you saying this is happening,” Ingram said. “I think what bothers me is this kind of feeling that I’ve had inside myself, that no one has told me, but this feeling of ‘I just have to shut up and take it.’ You know?”
Hours after Ingram’s release, Star Wars’ official Twitter account shared a message reaffirming that Ingram’s character, Reva Sevander, is a big part of the franchise, regardless of what racist trolls say.
There are over 20 million sensitive species in the Star Wars galaxy, don’t choose to be racist.
– Star Wars (@starwars) May 31, 2022
There are always a number of reasons, such as racism, why people who supposedly love genre fiction like Star Wars or Percy Jackson novels feel compelled to show their asses like that. But Ingram’s response feels, at least in part, inspired by Obi-Wan Kenobi’s own text. In the short time that Reva (also known as the Third Sister) has been part of the Star Wars franchise, Obi-Wan established that while his job is to kill the Jedi and put the fear of the Empire to his subjects. , his search for Obi-Wan is a bit personal.
Instead of simply being a Sith aligned with the dark side of the Force, Reva presented himself as one of the few living Jedi recruited by the Empire to eradicate his species as part of Order 66, the plan of the Empire to eliminate the Jedi permanently. Reva has proven to be an effective inquisitor committed to her mission. But his past has been an important point of discussion for other villains of the Empire such as the Great Inquisitor (Rupert Friend) and the Fifth Brother (Sung Kang), both see Reva’s cruelty as a double-edged sword that it could hurt the cause of the Empire. .
Many of the messages sent to Ingram seem to have problems with the disconnect that often appeared in Reva in Obi-Wan, a character trait that is easy to recognize as an intentional part of the story the show is trying to tell. Unlike the Great Inquisitor and the Fifth Brother, both of whom take more reserved approaches to terrorizing civilians, the Reva is much quicker at a level of violence bordering on madness, and Obi-Wan has repeatedly emphasized the temperament of the Reva will probably lead to his downfall.
The fifth brother tells the third sister to retire. Image: Disney Plus / Lucasfilm
Clearly, telegraphic narrative intentionality has never been enough to keep Star Wars racist trolls from fixing their mouths for throwing nonsense. John Boyega was known for years of ongoing racist hostility following his casting as Finn, as was Kelly Marie Tran after joining the franchise as Rose Tico in Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi.
Ultimately, both Boyega and Tran were forced to spend too much time in the spotlight of Star Wars trying to stop the development of a franchise that did not deserve them. While it looks like Ingram may end up suffering the same fate as Obi-Wan continues, the actor ended his Instagram video by letting everyone know that he has no intention of going quietly into the night.
“I’m not built that way, so I just wanted to come and thank the people who show up for me in the comments and places I’m going to post now,” Ingram said. “And to the rest of you: you’re weird.”