#12102653, By onemoresolo Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Episode VIII)

onemoresolo 9 Jan 2018 08:40:37 56 posts
Seen 1 year ago
Registered 8 years ago

CosmicFuzz wrote:

MoGamer2006 wrote:
I think anyone who uses the term 'Mary Sue' instantly invalidates anything else they have to say.

Such a BS term that attempts (and fails) to mask basic misogyny.
Eh, not really. Nice sweeping statement though.

Unfortunately, they're right.

The term took hold as a quick and easy way to dismiss or belittle leading female characters in films that historically would have had a male lead.

There have been one-dimensional, badly written, wish fulfilment male characters for years - and yet no equivalent go-to term was used in all those decades.

Now female leads are becoming more common, there's more than a few who can't accept this. "Mary Sue" gives them an easy term they can use to dismiss the female character, and feel safe from their threat again.

If you want to criticise a female character, that's fine. But anyone using the term "Mary Sue" immediately groups them with the angry, misogynistic men who proliferated the term. Because of how it has been popularised, it also implies you're criticising the character because they're female - so best to flesh out your criticism of the character (as people do with male characters) so it is clear that your issue is the the character/their arc/whatever, rather than purely their gender.

Edited by onemoresolo at 08:41:37 09-01-2018

Edited by onemoresolo at 09:18:17 09-01-2018