Power and First Order Bodies
Dec. 5th, 2018 09:29 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lavender_sage I realize that I am a little late to the TLJ party, but in the last couple of weeks I’ve been reading a lot of meta and commentary, and I’ve been intrigued by the way in which the bodies of the First Order characters are used (and abused) in this film. From what I read, it was clear that the idea of their being something shameful about bodily vulnerability, particularly in men, plays some role in this film, but I didn’t know if that was going to be painted as some First Order facist ideology (which it is) or as something that is to be taken for granted. I have seen the film now, and I have to conclude that it is, unfortunately, the latter. And yet, I’m still intrigued. What does it mean to read bodies solely in terms of power or weakness? What is being overlooked in this focus on bodies?
I will consider two examples in passing and one at length. (It’s possible that my interest stems from just wanting to talk about Domhnall Gleeson’s body. Astonishing, I know.)
First, it’s worth noting that the majority of the First Order is made up of people whom we never see: the stormtroopers. There is nothing we can assume about their diversity–Finn, one of the few we ever see uncovered, is a Black man–and this seems to be the point. They are completely covered not just for protection but to erase their individuality. So, when we see part of a First Order body, or learn something about one, it’s worth noticing.
This film marks the first time we ever see any part of Captain Phasma. When Finn lands a blow that shatters her helmet, we get a glimpse of Gwendoline Chistie’s eye and part of her face underneath. This could be a moment of vulnerability for her, but it’s not. She maintains a kind of vicious dignity, even when exposed. “You were always scum,” she tells Finn before she falls, presumably to her death.
The only First Order body that is actually exposed is, of course, Kylo Ren’s. He appears to Rey with no shirt and no pretext for showing so much skin, which clearly catches her off guard. Is there a reason why he does this besides to say, “Come to the dark side, Rey. We have nice pecs?” I wasn’t able to detect one. But what is clear is that while Kylo may be emotionally vulnerable, his body is anything but. As a former marine, Adam Driver has the hardest body in the cast; he loses little of his power when he loses his clothes.
General Hux, however, has a body that is both figuratively and literally dragged. This begins in his first scene when Poe Dameron enrages him by calling him skinny and pasty. It is well worth asking, as others have done, how Poe knows Hux’s body type when he has never seen what he’s got under those uniforms, but what I want to know is, how did he know it’s going to bother him so much?
What I find troubling is that it is funny, in part, because it’s true. This is Gleeson’s second time playing General Hux. After all the press for TFA two years earlier, the Star Wars audience knows that Gleeson really is quite slender. Unlike Poe, we have a visual reference for the body we’re being asked to see as ridiculous. Poe’s intention is to capitalize on the First Order’s hatred of individuality by outing Hux’s unique traits to taunt and humiliate him in front of his subordinates, and it’s a great success. But he could have done that with any body type if it’s the individuality that’s shameful. The film’s writers present a kind of male body that is routinely shamed in Western culture, and that the actor actually possesses, for the audience’s laughter.
This revelation about Hux’s body sets the stage for his treatment in the rest of the film. Even in a society as quick to use violence as the First Order, he is singled out for special physical abuse. He is thrown face-down and dragged on his own bridge by Snoke, force-chocked by Kylo, and later thrown against a wall by him. (A scene in which he taunts Rose Tico and she bites his finger was cut from the film, and frankly, that would have been overkill!) He’s far from the only person to be brutalized like this–Rey and Kylo are both thrown around by Snoke too–but Gleeson’s sound effects signal that this is comedy. Rey and Kylo may gasp with surprise or pant with exertion, but Hux yelps, cries out, and whimpers. He lets us know that it hurts.
Throughout the film, Hux’s body is a site of vulnerability and punishment, and that makes it easy to overlook the fact that he has a much better grasp on what is going on than either Snoke or Kylo. Snoke is confident that he has Kylo under control, and Kylo cuts him in half. Hux sees the threat in Kylo; when he finds him passed out after killing Snoke and the fight that ensued, he reaches for his blaster to kill him. This is only minutes before Kylo force-chokes him for challenging his claim to be the new supreme leader. Once Kylo has stepped into that position, his first act is to play into Luke Skywalker’s hand by fighting with him while the rest of the Resistance flee to safety. Hux tries to advise him against this, and that’s when Kylo throws him into the wall.
No doubt, Kylo is confident he can continue to use the force–and brute strength–to keep Hux in check. He does need him, after all. But I would argue that by focusing all his attention on Hux’s physicality, he’s neglecting the dangerous part of him: his mind. He may have cowed him into submission for the moment, but I don’t think anyone has Hux under control but Hux. In his last frame in the film, he is watching Kylo enter the ship with a calm, collected intensity; he’s making plans already. Hux may be weak in body, but he is strong in purpose, unlike Kylo, who waffles back and forth between good and evil and throws temper tantrums that would embarrass a teenager. I have a feeling that before the end, Kylo is going to wish he’d choked him harder when he had the chance.
At least, I hope that’s what happens.
I will consider two examples in passing and one at length. (It’s possible that my interest stems from just wanting to talk about Domhnall Gleeson’s body. Astonishing, I know.)
First, it’s worth noting that the majority of the First Order is made up of people whom we never see: the stormtroopers. There is nothing we can assume about their diversity–Finn, one of the few we ever see uncovered, is a Black man–and this seems to be the point. They are completely covered not just for protection but to erase their individuality. So, when we see part of a First Order body, or learn something about one, it’s worth noticing.
This film marks the first time we ever see any part of Captain Phasma. When Finn lands a blow that shatters her helmet, we get a glimpse of Gwendoline Chistie’s eye and part of her face underneath. This could be a moment of vulnerability for her, but it’s not. She maintains a kind of vicious dignity, even when exposed. “You were always scum,” she tells Finn before she falls, presumably to her death.
The only First Order body that is actually exposed is, of course, Kylo Ren’s. He appears to Rey with no shirt and no pretext for showing so much skin, which clearly catches her off guard. Is there a reason why he does this besides to say, “Come to the dark side, Rey. We have nice pecs?” I wasn’t able to detect one. But what is clear is that while Kylo may be emotionally vulnerable, his body is anything but. As a former marine, Adam Driver has the hardest body in the cast; he loses little of his power when he loses his clothes.
General Hux, however, has a body that is both figuratively and literally dragged. This begins in his first scene when Poe Dameron enrages him by calling him skinny and pasty. It is well worth asking, as others have done, how Poe knows Hux’s body type when he has never seen what he’s got under those uniforms, but what I want to know is, how did he know it’s going to bother him so much?
What I find troubling is that it is funny, in part, because it’s true. This is Gleeson’s second time playing General Hux. After all the press for TFA two years earlier, the Star Wars audience knows that Gleeson really is quite slender. Unlike Poe, we have a visual reference for the body we’re being asked to see as ridiculous. Poe’s intention is to capitalize on the First Order’s hatred of individuality by outing Hux’s unique traits to taunt and humiliate him in front of his subordinates, and it’s a great success. But he could have done that with any body type if it’s the individuality that’s shameful. The film’s writers present a kind of male body that is routinely shamed in Western culture, and that the actor actually possesses, for the audience’s laughter.
This revelation about Hux’s body sets the stage for his treatment in the rest of the film. Even in a society as quick to use violence as the First Order, he is singled out for special physical abuse. He is thrown face-down and dragged on his own bridge by Snoke, force-chocked by Kylo, and later thrown against a wall by him. (A scene in which he taunts Rose Tico and she bites his finger was cut from the film, and frankly, that would have been overkill!) He’s far from the only person to be brutalized like this–Rey and Kylo are both thrown around by Snoke too–but Gleeson’s sound effects signal that this is comedy. Rey and Kylo may gasp with surprise or pant with exertion, but Hux yelps, cries out, and whimpers. He lets us know that it hurts.
Throughout the film, Hux’s body is a site of vulnerability and punishment, and that makes it easy to overlook the fact that he has a much better grasp on what is going on than either Snoke or Kylo. Snoke is confident that he has Kylo under control, and Kylo cuts him in half. Hux sees the threat in Kylo; when he finds him passed out after killing Snoke and the fight that ensued, he reaches for his blaster to kill him. This is only minutes before Kylo force-chokes him for challenging his claim to be the new supreme leader. Once Kylo has stepped into that position, his first act is to play into Luke Skywalker’s hand by fighting with him while the rest of the Resistance flee to safety. Hux tries to advise him against this, and that’s when Kylo throws him into the wall.
No doubt, Kylo is confident he can continue to use the force–and brute strength–to keep Hux in check. He does need him, after all. But I would argue that by focusing all his attention on Hux’s physicality, he’s neglecting the dangerous part of him: his mind. He may have cowed him into submission for the moment, but I don’t think anyone has Hux under control but Hux. In his last frame in the film, he is watching Kylo enter the ship with a calm, collected intensity; he’s making plans already. Hux may be weak in body, but he is strong in purpose, unlike Kylo, who waffles back and forth between good and evil and throws temper tantrums that would embarrass a teenager. I have a feeling that before the end, Kylo is going to wish he’d choked him harder when he had the chance.
At least, I hope that’s what happens.
