The president of LucasFilm, once posed in a shirt that said, “The Force is Female,” in an effort to press the idea that the Star Wars films are meant to be shared with female fans — and “The Last Jedi” director Rian Johnson made a special effort to include “strong female characters,” even if it meant sacrificing purpose, storyline, and likeability.
But now, some feminists on social media are seeing red about “The Rise of Skywalker,” and not just because the ninth installment of the Skywalker Star Wars saga, directed, this time, by J.J. Abrams, reportedly returns to the “fan-service” roots of “The Force Awakens,” but because Lucasfilm has inked a partnership with GE Appliances, using Star Wars’ force-strong female leads to sell microwaves, ovens, refrigerators, and other kitchen appliances.
The Twitter account, @undoomed, first pointed out the weird-yet-hilarious irony of the GE Appliances “fulfill your destiny” campaign.
Star Wars: The force is female!
GE: Fulfill your destiny with these stoves. pic.twitter.com/lfW4lE4wkC
— Undoomed (@Undoomed) December 17, 2019
The ovens pictured are now on special at most major kitchen appliance retailers. In fact, the ad appears often on social media, most often retweeted by local stores. GE Appliances also has a dedicated “the Force of innovation” website, which demonstrates several of its top appliances — the GE Profile “fleet” — alongside stills and posters from “The Rise of Skywalker.”
“GE Profile nobly joins forces with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker to share the Force of Innovation,” the site boasts. “Through our leading-edge appliances, you’ll feel like a Jedi as you manage your smart home, master mealtime and conquer your mounds of laundry. Join us on a journey through our spectacular appliance features that also celebrate the upcoming release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker coming in December.”
Feminists on social media, who loved Rian Johnson’s “inclusive” entry into the Star Wars canon, were notably miffed.
this can't be fucking real https://t.co/Fm81SHIKov
— Ship Enthusiast (@nicocchin) December 17, 2019
GE didn't run this by a single woman. https://t.co/EWJ4qgl22I
— 𝓛𝓮𝓲𝓰𝓱 💖💜💙 (@afatspacebae) December 18, 2019
Fortunately, the ad provided plenty of hilarious fodder for those evil, misogynistic “fanboys” whose “toxic masculinity” forced Kathleen Kennedy and J.J. Abrams to fully reconsider the “masterpiece” of “The Last Jedi” and return to Star Wars’ roots for the final installment of the modern trilogy.
So perfect. https://t.co/307PyUZ5l3
— Tyrone Junior (@Tbone3w) December 18, 2019
— Robert™️🐧 (@DarthMode) December 18, 2019
The decision to jettison Star Wars-themed feminism may have been more financial than anything. “The Last Jedi” did well in theaters, but fans punished Disney for the less-than-steller outing, refusing to see “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” which debuted just one year later, and failing to snap up tickets for “The Rise of Skywalker,” due out on Friday. Only the Disney+ television series, “The Mandalorian,” has managed to capture fans’ imaginations — and perhaps because the story focuses less directly on the “Skywalker” storyline and more on the rich pantheon of characters available in the Star Wars universe.
Feminism also isn’t a strong selling point, it seems, even for women. The “Force is Female” line from Nike, which Kathleen Kennedy was promoting when she posed for a photo wearing a shirt with the slogan, is on clearance online, and designer efforts, incorporating the slogan onto higher-end merchandise, are gracing the shelves of factory outlets.
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” is out Friday and reviews, so far, are mixed.
Ed. note: This story originally references the campaign as “General Electric’s.” GE actually sold off its appliance business and the campaign is the work of “GE Appliances.” The story has been updated to note the distinction.