Why Are Kylo Ren/Reylo So Controversial? (the answer is a lot more complicated then you think)
So it turns out antis have some deep seeded issues. Who knew?
I just recently found this amazing Youtube channel called Pop Culture Detective. He’s made some pretty incredible videos and I totally recommend checking out “The Case Against The Jedi” because it is mind blowing. Today, however, I will be writing a post that is inspired by Pop Culture Detective’s (PCD) post “How The Last Jedi Defies Expectations (about male heroes).” While PCD explores how TLJ shook fanboys to the core with nuanced and woke portrayals of heroic masculinity, I’m here to talk about how the sequel trilogy shook fanboys to the core with nuanced and woke portrayals of masculine villains (and their romances with heroines.)
Let’s start with Kylo Ren. I’ve already talked about why so many fan boys (not all fan boys, for clarity’s sake. Let’s call them the “Fan Boy Antis”) have this deep (and in my opinion borderline obsessive) hatred for Kylo. Let’s recap. At the beginning of TFA Kylo makes this big scary entrance. He’s wearing a mask, he’s got a fun outfit, and cool Force powers. The audience has this expectation that he’s going to be an evil badass who kills without mercy, and yet there are little clues planted in this first scene that start to put us on edge. Kylo is mocked by Poe, Lor San Tekka says “you cannot deny the truth that is your family,” and, most importantly, Kylo sees Finn display defective behavior and he lets him go. That moment subverts our expectations and was placed there (by the film makers) to tell us: “Kylo isn’t just your ordinary bad guy.” Despite Kylo’s attempts to be “just another Vader” (or the toxic masculine persona instead of the real Anakin Skywalker) he fails and that’s huge.
As PCD says “Hegemonic Masculinity” (I’m shortening it to HM because I’m lazy) is the “socially constructed ideal of manhood,” aka the way man are told they have to behave. These behaviors are sometimes positive (like brave or hardworking behaviors.) Unfortunately, HM also demands that men are always physically strong, aggressive, dominating, competitive, emotionally suppressive, and hetero-normative. The important thing to note is that this is an impossible and unhealthy “ideal” that men are told they must strive for. Toxic masculinity/hyper masculinity, as PCD says, is
“the set of attitudes and behaviors associated with the ‘pursuit’ of that HM ideal… (which) includes competition, sexual conquest, and destructive/risk taking behaviors. Hyper Masculinity is also obsessively anti feminine… Hyper masculine behaviors are how men are taught to perform their manhood to prove that they are closer to that ‘ideal’ then the other men around them…”
That’s why there was such a backlash towards the Prequel’s portrayal of Anakin. He was emotional, insecure, vulnerable and complicated. While, from a literary standpoint, this is an amazing character choice, it totally shattered this Darth Vader persona of the real DV/Anakin that “Fan Boy Antis” had built up in their minds and glorified during the original trilogy. These guys saw DV as a sort of Hegemonic Masculine icon (despite the fact that many of his actions were reprehensible) and when the prequels came around and challenged/explored this unhealthy persona of an vulnerable man, it hit way too close to home for some fans. You know why? It’s because they saw themselves in Anakin.
A lot of fans love to forget that the whole point of Return of the Jedi was DV becoming Anakin again and choosing to let go of his toxic persona (because of the unconditional love he had for Luke.) These fans disregard the prequel’s exploration of a man’s indoctrination into a culture that demonizes emotional vulnerability and the beautiful redemption of DV back to Anakin when he finally lets himself care for another person.
But back to Kylo. Kylo’s failure to become a toxic masculine person (as is shown by his inability to embrace a Vader-like persona) really rubs some fans the wrong way. Kylo even kills Han who, to these “Fan Boy Antis,” symbolizes a perfect “masculine hero.” It might be an echo of their own failures to match up with an HM ideal or the subversion of the expectation that they were signing up for a “badass” villain that they could love to hate instead of a complex Anti hero who challenges them. These fans mock Kylo for being “whiny” and “emo,” (aka emotional, because this is considered a feminine trait) but it’s really all about their own insecurity. It’s called projecting, dear reader.
And now we get to Reylo. Reylo subverts these dude’s expectations because time and time again”Fan Boy Antis” have been taught that the Hyper Masculine Hero “gets the girl.”
“What is this hogwash?” they complain, “The emotionally vulnerable guy who is unable to perform HM masculinity has a girlfriend? Well I won’t stand for it!”
These “Fan Boy Antis” can’t understand the fact that Reyhas been given her own agency and is not just a prize to be won. At least in the “Reylo viewing” of TlJ Rey is not only given the agency to choose her own partner but she also chooses a guy who these fans have decided is “unfit” for her because he doesn’t perform TM and they can’t stand it.
That’s all for today. I hope that certain people (you know who you are) in the Star Wars fandom get a grip and realize that characters who embrace their emotions and vulnerability have some of the most powerful and important arcs that we really need right now.
And to all of the fans who embrace these characters and their stories, thanks for making the Star wars experience awesome.
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