Star Wars fans criticise Rise of Skywalker for ‘throwaway’ same-sex kiss: ‘It’s not brave or groundbreaking’
The kiss is shared by two minor characters in an extremely brief moment
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Viewers of new Star Wars film The Rise of Skywalker are confused as to why it’s being praised for featuring the franchise’s first ever same-sex kiss, when the moment was so “throwaway”.
Director JJ Abrams announced that Episode IX would feature an LGBTQ character and, sure enough, the film has a scene that sees two women Resistance Fighters sharing a kiss after being reunited.
Naturally, after months of anticipation, viewers were disappointed to see the kiss was shared by two minor characters, one of whom is played by Amanda Lawrence and appeared in The Last Jedi, in an extremely brief moment.
“A blink-and-you-miss-it LGBT kiss in the background isn’t any kind of representation worth applauding,” one Twitter user wrote.
Another Twitter user said: “Love to be represented by unnamed extras that can be cut from the Chinese release without touching the story at all – we are only background characters after all.”
“A throwaway moment in the background with nameless extras is not particularly brave or groundbreaking,” one tweet read. ”Save the breathlessness for when they give us someone with a name in the story.
The moment has escaped censorship in China.
You can see reactions to the moment below.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, which is in UK cinemas now, is dividing critics – especially those who were fans of The Last Jedi, which, going by recent comments, doesn’t seem to be John Boyega.
Find a full list of every unexpected cameo appearance in the film here.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments