Film Rant: What’s Truly Unique About #Blackstormtrooper

This week JJ Abrams released the teaser trailer for Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens and just like every other fanboy I watched the video over and over, often pausing to pick out even the most minute details. My dissection of the trailer was handled with the same level of precision as a group of Spaceballs with an giant fine-tooth comb. I mean this is JJ Abrams we’re talking about here. The guy who made Lost. Do you know how many Easter Eggs he snuck into that series?

Of course I wasn’t the only person with their eye on the trailer and it didn’t take long before people shared their discoveries and doubts to social media. It took no less than ten frames before some members of the Star Wars fan base had a collective head burst. The scene I’m talking about is the one that opens the trailer, where we see a stormtrooper with his helmet off, looking out into the distance with fear in his eyes.

Oh yeah, and he’s black.

The amount of outrage over this stormtrooper’s race has been well documented over Twitter and other social media outlets under the hashtag #blackstormtrooper. Although most is overwhelmingly positive, some try and point out the supposed “inconsistency” of his race due to the fact that stormtroopers were shown to be cloned from Jango Fett in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones:

https://twitter.com/Hay_Bales_/status/538412226487795713

Still others believe this is an attempt to appease the “PC lovers”, “Social Justice Warriors” or whatever other term kids are using these days to describe people who want to see women and minorities in films because they exist in a place we call society, just a small subset of the universe:

How this is still an issue is beyond me, although I’m sad to say I’m not surprised. I was under the assumption that science fiction had moved beyond this nonsense decades ago. Duane Jones was cast in a starring role in a major Horror/Sci-Fi film in George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead. That was in 1968, the same year Kirk kissed Uhura. Also, I don’t remember anyone accusing George Lucas of checking “diversity boxes” when he cast Samuel L. Jackson as Mace Windu in 1999. It’s 2014, a black stormtrooper shouldn’t be considered progress or pandering, it should be considered the norm.

That’s not to say the scene doesn’t mark a historic moment in the series. Go back and take a look at that scene.

There is definitely something striking and out of place about this stormtrooper that has nothing to do with the color of his skin.

Look again.

It’s his expression, or better yet, the fact that he has an expression at all. Provided this is truly an Imperial Stormtrooper, JJ Abrams has done something that has never been done in the Star Wars universe. He’s humanized a stormtrooper.

Stormtroopers have traditionally been portrayed as a cookie cutter military outfit. Their uniforms are monochrome, without any semblance of coloring. No personalization, like stickers. No nametags. Their appearance is skeletal, the most stripped down our bodies can be while still maintaining their shape. Their voices are monotone, devoid of any kind of inflection.  Even when they’re introduced as Jango clones, they are portrayed as mindless copies unlike the strong-willed Fett. For all intents and purposes, stormtroopers are meant to be mindless automatons, lacking any modicum of emotion or marksmanship.

There’s a reason for this in filmmaking, particularly Science Fiction, Horror and even some War and Western films. Things like zombies, robots, ninjas, orcs, brood-like aliens and the like are meant to be devoid of any humanizing features. This is so heroes can easily shoot and slash through swaths of enemies without eliciting an emotional response from audiences. It’s what differentiates Starship Troopers from becoming the sniper scene in Full Metal Jacket.

This method is used to great effect in the Star Wars franchise as the Empire is often depicted as masked or cloaked in battle, but the Rebels’ faces are exposed and possess features that make them unique. As an example take the first assault on the Death Star. On one side you have the the Imperial TIE Fighter Pilots, completely concealed in black helmets. Yet all the rebel pilots, from Wedge Antilles to my favorite, the portly Jek Tono Porkins, have their faces visible.

During the battle, no one cares as TIE fighters are blasted into particles, because they might as well be piloted by Death incarnate. But audiences feel for guys like Porkins as we witness him meet an untimely death as he sizzles (heh) among the stars. Porkins speaks with authority, we can tell he’s respected among his squadron and he sports a rocking neck beard. And for those of you wondering, yes, Lucas really named the heavy guy Porkins. (This was just to illustrate that Lucas humanizes his characters, not that he’s good at it.)

It’ll be interesting to see if Abrams is planning on giving the Empire a human side. It’ll certainly change the way we look at the Empire as well as explain the motivations of those within their ranks. Furthermore, it might reveal that there’s more than one side of the story when it comes to the battle between the Galactic Empire and the Rebel Alliance. Perhaps like most rebellions the outcome didn’t turn out as planned.

134 comments

    2. Negative. Clones came before storm troopers. 2 different type of clones. The ones Kaminoo grew over 10 years (which were consider perfect soldiers) but were dying at a fast rate in the long wars. The empire needed new troops and fast. Now Enters the ones that were grew in a tube aka the Spaarti clones. Spaarti clones were grown in a year, (they grew billions) and were given a memory flash training- this cause them to suffer from clone madness. They would go crazy. After a few generation of failed attempts the Empire abandoned clones. Now enters the storm troopers you see today; humans and all were recruited/drafted. Not clones.

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      4. The EU has recently been dispensed with, and its works are no longer considered canon. Disney/Lucasfilm has appointed Leland Chee to develop an official storyline, but it’s unclear whether or not he will use the EU as inspiration. (I suspect he will)

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      5. Im pretty sure he will use the jist of most major events. The explanation behind the clones was logical to adapt. As well as StarKiller for the rebellion. But we shall see!

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  3. I’m gonna pass the whole cynical tenets here and make a general comment…….

    I’m not the stereotypical Star Wars fanatic… I haven’t even seen one in my nineteen years old life of being a film buff… The whole world it depicts doesn’t just appeal to me.. But this one does look good and different from the studio blockbusters we’ve seen over the past ten years..
    JJ Abrams is probably one of the most overrated DIRECTORS in the industry.. This seems like a perfect window of opportunity for him to prove himself…

    And I hope the movie does well for the Kathleen Kennedy. She has been a wonderful producers over the years and will surely make Lucasfilms one of the best studios in hollywood.

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    1. Agreed. I think it’s a good sign that Disney is going with someone who helped create so many classic Amblin films. So many of the films she worked on took place during an era when there was still a lot of magic in film. I think that’s what ep.1-3 lacked, magic.

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  5. nice oyu pointed that out. i admit, i like star wars since i was a kid and it wasnt until a year or so ago that i thought ALL six of them were awesome. unfortunately someone showed me everything wrong about star wars 1-3 and now i cant help but share this opinion. i mean, they’re still amusing and good, easy enternainment. but its in starwars 4-6 where you find the original spirit, a well written story and true meaning.

    i just hope Star Wars VII wont end up disappointing us like 1-3 did. i can use a technically sophisticated star wars movie WITH a good story.

    definitely looking forward anyway

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    1. Personally, I’ve long said that movies 1-3 were good films, they just were not Star Wars good. They have their problems even outside of that (midichlorians, anyone?) but still very entertaining. The biggest sins to Phantom Menace et al is what it did to established cannon, particularly the extended cannon that had been approved by Lucas in the form of books and the like.
      The trailer looks interesting though, and definitely harkens to a post-Rebel Alliance victory, and thus a general lack of clones anyway. I’ve been a bit out of Star Wars since the episode 2 debacle (honestly never even saw 3) but I’m looking forward to seeing what JJ does with it.

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  8. Clearly the people who make an issue using the argument that all stormtroopers are white (or at least not black) are not true Star Wars fans and have only gotten into it since Episodes 1,2 & 3.

    The “Clone Wars” were fought with “Clones”, thus the name. By the time Luke Skywalker appeared, clones had stopped being used. Stormtroopers were enlisted men. Remember when Luke argued with his uncle about leaving and joining the “Academy”? What academy do you think he wanted to join, the Rebel Academy? I’ll save you the trouble and point you to the definitive source: the book. ( http://www.amazon.com/New-Hope-Star-Wars-Episode-ebook/dp/B00513DG9I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417636654&sr=8-1&keywords=star+wars+a+new+hope+novel )

    Here’s the relevant info. Luke and his friend wanted to join the Empire prior to them killing his family (yeah, he had a friend. Lucas didn’t included that in the movie). Here’s another book: Star Wars: Heir to the Empire. It clearly spells out that clones weren’t in use, including the reason why. I won’t say anymore because I don’t want to spoil an otherwise outstanding book. The first one written in the expanded universe too, by the way.

    Bottom line is that this stormtrooper could easily be Black, Asian, or any other race. Want proof? And before anyone cynically throws up they could also be some Jar-Jar Binks type alien, the Empire doesn’t like aliens. That’s why you never see them in in a good light when dealing with the Empire.

    But I can see it coming: “J.J. Abrams is trying to make a social statement by saying the Empire is racist.” Well, they are (the empire is also supposed to be evil. Kinda goes hand-n-hand). But J.J. Abrams didn’t make them that way. George Lucas did that 37 years ago.

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    1. So the Empire is racist after all – its just not racist in the sense we’re used to, but in a Galactical sense. It doesn’t like non-human species and discriminates against them. One might call it “speciest”. Same thing.

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  10. Everyone’s assuming he’s a stormtrooper and not a rebel-dressed-as-a-stormtrooper. Rebels always dress up as the bad guys and infiltrate in Star Wars. That would also explain why he’s doffed his helmet and he’s scared – they’re on to him!

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      2. Yeah, they kinda had to go down that route. The Clone Wars were referenced all the time in A New Hope. Plus, it’s the backdrop of how Luke got his lightsaber and the story of his dad.

        But I agree, it could have been executed better. Probably should have taken from the books in the Expanded Universe.

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      3. In the original series they mention the clone wars opaquely. They could have had a bunch of clones warring without them being the storm troopers I reckon.

        BTW, I read a SPOILER-y (that’s your warning) leak today that says that this particular storm trooper is a storm trooper, but has had an awakening of the force and is deciding to defect.

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      1. Let’s not forget Lando dressed as one of Jabba’s guards, Leia as a bounty hunter. Han posing as a chicken-walker pilot on Endor (I think, my childhood was a while ago) – those pesky rebels are always playing dress-up.

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    3. @Archie Wah Wah

      That was my speculation, too. A protagonist merely dressed in Stormtrooper garb.

      Not that it really matters to non-sucky people.

      Loved this post.

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  20. Ah well… no such thing as bad press. Who cares if stormtroopers are black, white …or somewhere in the middle (i.e. cloned Maori/Polynesians like the previous lot which nobody seemed to mind too much). All stormtroopers are bad… apparently, so I like your point about humanization

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  21. Hello.
    Maybe the ‘fanboys’ who don’t like Black stormtroopers are devoid of any humanizing features themselves.
    There hasn’t been this much vitriol since the ‘Hunger Games’ situation with the young Black female character.
    It’s really sad!

    Thanks for the moderation.

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  22. My husband has laboriously avoided all press regarding the new movie because he’s determined to go into the theatre untainted – pure of geeky heart. And when he found he couldn’t avoid hearing about this black storm trooper “controversy”, even though he’d avoided the trailer, he was pissed.
    I’m sharing your blog with him.
    Well done!

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  26. I think the real question is whether he is even a stormtrooper, it is not as if the Star Wars franchise has ever placed the protagonists in stormtrooper regalia before!

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  28. I have never watched a single movie, but i throughly enjoyed the article. It was so relaxing and relatable, like a convo i would have with a complete stranger. Lol thanks!

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  29. Pingback: Today’s Comments of the Week: The Foxes (And Some Good News for Jacke!) | Jacke Wilson

  34. Very much enjoyed that read – I can see why people are bemused about the black stormtrooper but we’ll just have to wait and see! As interesting as it is, it’s only a trailer!

    Btw, please check out my film review site and tell me what you think (:

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  35. Sorry for not reading through ALL the comments first before saying this, but even as an (American Who Happens to Be) black, when I first saw this shot, my immediate reaction was not that this (British Actor Who Happens to Be) black was an actual Stormtrooper!

    Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t both Hans and Luke ‘pretend to be’ Stormtroopers in their quest to rescue Leia???

    No one that I know of has seen the full movie yet. I for one an going with the old idea of: ‘Well, this is a single scene from an as yet unreleased movie. I think I’ll wait until I see the scene in context to the WHOLE film before laying down any judgments.

    …just sayin’

    Obzervashunal

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    1. More evidence of “Fett” = “Fat” has surfaced. An alert reader has pointed out that cloning the Stormtroopers from a German-named character has historical irony. What country is more identified with stormtroopers than Germany? Given the historical roots of the series in the work of Kurasawa, we can be certain that Lucas was well-tuned to the war metaphors and historical contexts that we find referenced throughout the series. It’s time to put aside the conceit that “Fett” is accidental. The image of the black soldier is a clear slap at the Aryan purity of the Third Reich’s stormtroopers, and JJ Abrams is to be congratulated at this bold move.

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  37. I don’t think, for the exact reasons you shared, that the man in the first ten seconds is actually a storm trooper. The only other time in the Star Wars series that we have ever seen a “storm trooper without a helmet” was Han and Luke in A New Hope. They weren’t troopers; they were in hiding. This man is out of place on a desert planet, wearing a foreign uniform. That’s all I see.

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  38. Do we know for a fact that this is in fact a stormtrooper and not any other character merely dressed as a stormtrooper as a disguise? Even Luke Skywalker has worn the uniform/body armor of a stormtrooper! That may explain his emotion and the fact that he is humanized.

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  39. Maybe he isn’t a stormtrooper at all, maybe he is somebody in disguise. With the emotion or expression thing (on the proviso he is not in disguise) Could be ghosts in the technology? I am sure Mr Abrams ran this past Mr Lucas before interjecting a whacker like this especially in a promotional trailer. Just a thought..

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  40. OMG … He’s Black.
    But anyhow, the franchise died with the Star Wars Special Edition (Since the two Ewok-movies are more a semi-canonical Spin-Off you can’t really coun em) – For me there are only three movies and nothing more!
    !SOLO SHOOTS FIRST!

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  41. OMG … He’s Black.
    But anyhow, the franchise died with the Star Wars Special Edition (Since the two Ewok-movies are more a semi-canonical Spin-Off you can’t really coun em) – For me there are only three movies and nothing more!
    !SOLO SHOOTS FIRST!

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  42. I have loved Star Wars since I was a wee lad. That being said, I am not a fan of Star Wars fans. The original movies were amazing works, particularly A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back. Yes, the last 3 movies had issues with them; most notably the horribly childish Phantom Menace and the introduction of the lamest character in the galaxy, Jar Jar Binks. However, the reaction to a black stormtrooper ranks as the ultimate low point in nerdy Star Wars discussions (which is a hard bottom to find!) If people were half as passionate about the Constitution as they are about defending the “integrity” of Star Wars this country would be in much better shape. Anybody who would rant against the existence of a black stormtrooper has about as much to offer society as a case of herpes.

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  43. Maybe the he was hiding in the uniform and made a run for it and a sith was chasing him. TBH the clone facilities was destroyed and the Empire actually started hiring so no more clones. Suggesting there all clones and should all be white is stupid lol

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  45. Interesting take. Human or robot, feeling for the human and nothing but lack of empathy for the robots. I think the robots should get a robotic union and demand wages and feelings. Then retirement packages including a house and a picket fence. Wait, that is my life. My tubes confused me for a person.

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  48. A Clone could have had sex with a black woman, if there are ANY women in the galaxy. Poor Porkins. That’s cruel. Almost as embarrassing as a single scoundrel who travels with only his dog and was named Hand Solo. He was eventually made an honorary Jedi named Master Bey-Tah.

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  50. Wow. I think the new Hero, John BOYEGA, put it perfectly, “Get used to it.” I didn’t even think of the race issue until I heard how racist the Internet was. My 1st impression wih that opening shot was, “What happened?” Did he literally wake up after an accident, or is this a metaphor, and the Force awakens in him.

    The only feelings I had were excitement, intrigue, and nostalgia.

    How does the Internet find a way to crap on everything that is positive? STAR WARS is back! Let THAT sink in first.

    Check out my passionate trailer analysis over at SLIP/THROIGH (movie news for movie nerds)…..

    fresh/press TRAILERS – STAR WARS: EPISODE VII

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