"One Scene For Hope: The Last Jedi" Transcript

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[Purple Lightsaber lights up from the darkness. Red lights come on. James lifts his hood, but his eyes are hidden by a mask.]

This... is a video about hope. Something we seem to have far too little of in these dark days. And so I've chosen to talk about The Last Jedi, a film that gave me hope when I most needed it. And a film that made countless Twitter users... lose all hope in a franchise.

I speak, of course, about the very end of the film when our antifascist Rebel alliance is in its darkest moment, cornered inside a salt mine on a remote planet with the force of a heavily funded militarized insurgency at the gates.

They've been whittled down to the bare minimum, but they still have hope. They send out a distress signal to their allies across the galaxy, even using Princess Leia's personal code to draw whatever allies they can to come to their aid. But as the first order (the space fascists) close in with a laser cannon capable of blowing a hole in the reinforced door, keeping our heroes safe, a horrible realization falls upon the alliance: Their supposed allies have received their call for help, but are not responding. In their darkest moment, the people they thought they could rely on have turned their backs on them.

Why? Well, that's up for some debate. But earlier in the film, it was firmly established that the power players of the Galaxy have been hedging their bets, supporting both the New Republic and the first order.

And so, at least to me, I see this as them looking at the situation and seeing where the chips had landed, their bets on the fascists were paying off. So showing up to save the day now might come across as antagonistic toward the fascists who are overpowering the alliance. And so they backed away from the situation... preferring to remain silent.

Not unlike a certain corporation in a certain state did recently, when a bill designed to silence and erase the queer population was in the process of becoming law. And so all hope is lost. With no defenses and no allies, Leia sighs and laments the loss of hope in the galaxy. With the death of the Resistance, the First Order will stand unopposed. Against an army of brainwashed fascists, without allies, this small group of holdouts have no chance of succeeding. And for all her fighting and struggling through hopeless situations, Leia finally resolves that the spark of hope has gone out.

Until Luke Skywalker arrives on the planet and decides to face his nephew, the head of the space fascists. But his fight is only a phantom of hope, showing that the one or two members of the old guard willing to fight can only hold off the inevitable. That it is the next generation, the youth, who are the real spark of hope.

As he distracts the First Order, our heroes flee through a secret passage as Rey, Luke's Protegé, flies above them, offering air support from the Millennium Falcon. When they come to a collapsed tunnel, too tightly compacted for any human to escape through, Rey uses her newfound power to break the barrier and give them the escape they require. They then fly off in the ship that Kylo Ren hates so much.

The day is not won. But the resistance lives on to regroup, recover, recruit, and fight another day. But before leaving, we're given a moment where, after Kylo Ren has spent the entirety of the film trying to win Rey to his side, Rey makes her decision. She closes the literal door on fascism, choosing to struggle and strive with the rebels rather than fight for the fascists. And people said this movie left nothing open for a sequel.

As I indicated, the struggle of the rebellion mirrors our fight for LGBTQ rights across America and the world. While not intended to be a direct allegory, the fight against fascists and bigots is something that is taken up by all too few people. Some people choose to fight for what's right. Others have no other choice.

But as it so happens, fascists usually fight for uniformity and hegemony. So queer people are generally a prime target. So we can either choose to fight or choose to die. And an obsession with how one dies is a hallmark of fascist ideology. Who and what one dies for. So queer people must fight.

It also happens that The Last Jedi premiered at the end of 2017, our first full year of a Trump presidency, ushering in a federal legitimacy of neo-Nazism and aggressive, homegrown American nationalism.

Just as the First Order was compared to a hidden American fascist underground coming into the light, the Resistance can be seen in domestic freedom fighters for whom fighting for rights was becoming a more literal battle. And just like Leia Organa's contacts and former friends... When push came to shove, we saw many of our supporters and allies turn a blind eye... when those in power aim their Death Star cannons at us. Especially the trans and non-binary communities.

There was always a step too far. A catch, a caveat, a condition to their support, a dictation for how they could control how we existed. A demand to go through the proper channels to change the system. And though they didn't care to listen, the proper channels were established by the system to keep us from changing it.

Going through the proper channels led us down a spiraling rabbit hole of meetings, forms and documents, hand-shaking and rallies that always ended with a closed door... when there were no cameras to smile for.

Just like the financiers of the Star Wars world, financing both the first order and the resistance, our support hedge their bets too. Cashing in on the goodwill of being seen with us, garnishing a voter base who also wanted to be supportive, but at the same time doing nothing to change the fundamental systems of our oppression. Because change generates instability, which is risky for profit.

It's tempting to look at our history and see our strides and successes. It's tempting to say that it's better now than it was. Better than the forceful closet, the AIDS crisis, the "allies" in the Clinton administration banning gay marriage and military service. Indeed, we have fought and we have won those battles.

But we have also suffered and stagnated. We let our guard down. When "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and the Defense of Marriage Act was struck down in America, when Section 28 crumbled in the UK, we became complacent. We looked at the celebrations on our television screens and smiled because we had won the battle.

But the Dark Side never dies off. It only goes into hiding. And now less than ten years since the legalization of same gender-marriage in America, the Dark Side has risen up again, just like when the rebels defeated the empire, bringing an end to the reign of Emperor Palpatine. They celebrated their victory.

But hate had not been defeated. It was simply waiting for a time to rise up once again in a new form with a new face. But the same old mission of subjugation and dominance.

This isn't to dismiss the fights and victories of our predecessors. Their fight was not in vain, because these fights cannot be won in a matter of years. A battle of ideology is a long game, as ideas usually outlive people. Luke Skywalker realized this. He understood that reminding the galaxy of his legend was more powerful than any singular use of the force.

The victories of the past generate the fuel needed for future generations to continue their fight. Victories beget more victories. Legends are the spark of hope that we need. All we have to do is come to this same realization.

But not everyone does realize this. They choose not to. The system worked for them, so why shouldn't it work for everyone?

But that's not how it works. And we learn as we fight that you only really see that if you experience it. So we find ourselves alone, cornered in our spaces that those of privilege are so fascinated by, that they can't help but invade. But we are not without Luke Skywalker's of our own, our own legends to light the spark, reminders to the world and galaxy that hope exists. Figures who maybe have no power to fight, but have the ability to inspire the fight in others. Because there is power in inspiration.

At the end of the film, we see a group of children, the next generation, gathered around hand-made toys, telling the mythological story of Luke Skywalker's final stand. Now not just a hero... but a legend. And we see that though they are pushed down by an oppressive establishment, at least one of these children has the power of the Force.

Those of the Dark Side must convert their followers. They must brainwash them into fighting for hatred. They take the minds of desperate youth with no hope and convince them that their lives are as bad as they are because of other oppressed people. Not the system set up to oppress them.

But the Rebellion... Their next generation is born, not coerced. Prepared to continue the fight, though all the odds are against them. And that is why The Last Jedi gives me hope.

Because it shows me that though we may be shrouded in darkness, though we may be alone, there is a spark of light to lead us out. We have all we need to fight.

We have ourselves. We have each other.

And we have hope.