Actress Kelly Marie Tran, best known for her role as Rose Tico in the 2017 film Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi, left Instagram earlier this summer. The reason? She was on the receiving end of some brutal harassment by anonymous trolls using Instagram as a weapon.
At the time, some people in the Star Wars fandom community were claiming no one knew why she left Instagram. This seemed at best, disingenuous. Although I normally appreciate a skeptical view of things, the evidence was pretty clear. She was harassed by hateful trolls on Instagram. It wasn’t too much of a leap in logic to conclude she left Instagram because of this harassment.
I like Rose Tico
Although I had problems with The Last Jedi, Rose Tico was not one of those problems. I liked the character. I identified with her. Although I’m not female or Asian, I too was a wrench bender, not for the Resistance, but for the United States Air Force.
As a former maintenance technician who worked on electronic warfare equipment on the F-4G Wild Wessel and the B-52G bomber, it felt good to see my kind represented in the film.
Rose Tico also had the best line in the entire movie.
If you have a problem with the character of Rose Tico, I have to question your Star Wars fandom. She’s truly a heroic character. She was dealt a shitty hand by the Universe. Instead of wallowing in self-misery, she chose to fight back and join the Resistance. Not only that, she was more than willing to go outside her skill set to serve. She put down her wrench and picked up a blaster. I like that. How can anyone not?
Let me put it this way: I own only one Star Wars action figure still in the packaging.
One of the reasons I chose to leave it in the packaging was because of the price sticker. I bought it on clearance for only four dollars. I thought it was a travesty my favorite character from the movie could be had for only four bucks. To me, this spoke to the current state of Star Wars fandom.
Kelly Marie Tran: I Won’t Be Marginalized by Online Harassment (New York Times)
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