One of the most well-known movie franchises in the world is the Star Wars saga.  Full of heroic stories of good overpowering evil, the movies are full of positive role models for young boys, but through the years, female role models have been scarce.  In the Original Trilogy, the only woman in a role of significant importance was Princess Leia.  While there were other minor roles portrayed by women - Beru Skywalker, for example, who died about fifteen minutes into the first movie - but none of which are seen enough to be considered a role model.  Therefore, children are made to believe that while boys grow up to be Jedi, pilots, and fighters, girls who aren’t born to royal parents have no significance.  There is a good chance Leia would not have been a woman if the storyline had not required a female love interest.  Too many scenes in the Original Trilogy show Leia trying to make up her mind about which strong male lead she loves, and not enough scenes show her taking control and fighting against the Empire.
     

In addition, there is the controversy about the slavery scene in Episode VI: Return Of the Jedi.  When Leia goes to rescue Han Solo from the palace of the nefarious Jabba The Hutt, she is captured and forced to work for Jabba as a sex slave.  She is dressed up in a metallic bikini which barely covers any of her body.  She has since been seen by young men and media around the world as a sexual icon.  It is argued that this plot point only existed so that she could kill Jabba The Hutt, but there are thousands of other ways she could have killed him without having been captured and forced to work as a sex slave.  Leia’s character had the potential to be a strong and heroic character, but the legacy she left was predominantly her looks.
     

In the 1990s, the Prequel Trilogy was released, and there was again only one female lead, Queen Padme Amidala.  Again, it is presumed that all strong women in the galaxy are royalty.  In these three movies, Padme is proven to be a strong woman and even rescues both of her male counterparts from a fate of being eaten by a monstrous creature.  However, it can be inferred that she is only introduced for the purpose of being a love interest, much like Leia.  As soon as she gives birth to Luke and Leia, she dies.  We can presume that her character was only needed to give birth to two major characters, and when she was no longer needed, she was killed off.
     

In December of 2015, Episode VII: The Force Awakens was released, and it became clear that the mindset about female lead characters had changed.  The lead character, Rey, is an independent woman.  At only about nineteen years old, she lives by herself and takes care of herself.  Once she is thrust into the path of an intergalactic war, her true independence as a character really shines through.  At one point as she is running from stormtroopers, she tells her male counterpart who is holding her hand, “I know how to run without you holding my hand!”  She is thought by many fans to be force-sensitive and a future Jedi, making her potentially one of the strongest people in the galaxy.  Female fans finally have a role model.
   

 In addition to Rey, The Force Awakens introduces, for the first time, a female stormtrooper, Captain Phasma, so it can be assumed that there are now a good number of other female stormtroopers.  We are also introduced, for the first time, to a female fighter pilot.  However, even with the addition of these new strong female characters, society is still stuck in the male-dominant world of the past.  For example, Target recently released a set of action figures for The Force Awakens.  Many children were upset to find that the set excluded the movie’s protagonist, Rey, yet it included nameless male side characters.
     

There are high hopes for the future of the Star Wars franchise.  Fans are hoping to see more of Rey fighting the evil First Order, backed up by two less powerful men.  The trailer for the new movie, Rogue One, was released just a few days ago, and it featured a woman.  While many fans are excited to see women break into the forefront of the Star Wars movies, there are some who think that women are taking over the franchise.  Hopefully in the next few years, all fans will see men and women as equal figures in the galaxy.