The Force awakens does something that fundamentally changes how we understand Star Wars or Rather it should Fundamentally change how we understand Star Wars Strangely the filmmakers seem unaware of the rather profound implications this new narrative has for the rest of their cinematic universe in fact one of the major plot points in episode seven inadvertently sets up something of a stormtrooper Paradox To explain what I mean by that I want to focus in on two scenes near the very beginning of Force awakens that signal this shift in the Star Wars mythos First we see a stormtrooper bleeding for a franchise about intergalactic war very little blood is ever shown on screen and When it is it holds a special significance. I love you [Hands up!] In this case the bloody fingerprints mark this particular soldier as important Second a short time later we see that same stormtrooper Take off his helmet to reveal a human face and one clearly disturbed by recent events The removal of a mask to expose someone's true humanity is a recurring motif in the star wars series And we've seen hundreds if not thousands of stormtroopers before, but we've never seen one with a face both of these scenes communicate that under their iconic armor Stormtroopers are people people with feelings and who feel pain both physically [and] emotionally the result is that the force awakens does something no other movie in this long-running franchise has ever done before it humanizes stormtroopers To understand why this revelation is so important and how it impacts the rest of the star Wars mythology; We're going to need a quick history lesson in the Star Wars cinematic universe Stormtroopers are the army of the galactic empire. They're an intergalactic military force synonymous with space imperialism and oppression They're said to be brutal precise and loyal soldiers who have undergone extensive military training on these blast points, too accurate for Sandpeople Only imperial stormtroopers are so precise Now despite their role as foot soldiers of intergalactic authoritarianism [opan gagnam style] Storm troopers have become some of the most recognizable pop culture icons on Earth The name storm Trooper is borrowed from special divisions of German Soldiers During World War one Translated from the original German these soldiers were known as storm men. They were aggressive and heavily armed assault troops Organized into companies known as storm troopers "Storm man" would later become a paramilitary rank in the Nazi SS under Adolf Hitler In George Lucas's much-maligned prequels the predecessors to stormtroopers are introduced in the form of the Republic's clone army clone soldiers were made to order fighting machines. All sharing the same genes and the same face [they are totally obedient taking order without question] by the time the original Trilogy rolls around Clone Soldiers have been phased out and the ranks of the new imperial stormtroopers are made up of conscripts and volunteers [Look sir, droids] now fast-forward to episode seven and the first order also uses regiments of stormtroopers. Here we're told that many of them were kidnapped as children and brainwashed into loyal fighters. "I'm a stormtrooper." Like all of them, I was taken from a family. I'll never know And raised to do one thing Essentially they're child soldiers Which I think is especially noteworthy Considering the only stormtrooper face we've ever seen belongs to a young black man Every other stormtrooper has no face. No name and no individuality They are completely dehumanized Across eight feature films, they're portrayed a little more than disposable grunts FN-2187 or fin as he's eventually known in episode 7 is the only exception Finn is an imperial defector who joins the resistance obviously Yes, I am with the resistance yeah, I am with the resistance, yeah He's funny. He's emotional. He's brimming with personality. [You're pilot [You can fly anywhere why go back got a family, got a boyfriend? -None of your business. That's why] Not exactly the characteristics you'd expect from someone kidnapped and brainwashed from an early age, but setting that aside Finn is the only stormtrooper out of presumably millions who we see develop a conscience Are we to believe he's the only one with the ability to resist first order programming? Well no it's possible for other soldiers to reject their conditioning in fact the first order has a protocol for exactly this kind of non-compliance as FN-2187 reported from a tradition well evaluated and sent to reconditioning. No prior signs of nonconformity this was his first offence. General] and yet Finn rebels anyway Finn's very existence stands in contrast to the rest of the stormtroopers in the force awakens I mean on the one hand we have a likable humanized stormtrooper who switches sides and on the other hand we have all his fellow stormtroopers who the resistance kill without a second thought and This is why it feels like the film has a confused dissonant relationship to one of its own plot points Why it feels like it doesn't really buy into its own premise Because if Finn can remain so very human despite years of programming and conditioning And that must mean the same could be true for all other stormtroopers Unfortunately the writers responsible for this movie Don't seem at all interested in pursuing any of the morally complex questions that arise from this fact Preferring instead to indulge in more action scenes built around blasting more Mindless automatons [Can I try that] In fact blasting stormtroopers has become so mundane that it's an in-universe joke often played for laughs [I like this thing] Stormtroopers are framed as easy to kill both literally and figuratively and they are killed, a lot [Lasers, explosions, and Wilhelm Screams] over the course of the Force Awakens' two hour and fifteen minute runtime We see a total of 68 stormtroopers shot stabbed or a vaporized and those are just the ones that we can see die on screen Again these are child soldiers that we're talking about here Which is even more reason for the film to at least acknowledge the underlying tragedy of their circumstances. but it never does. I mean it's easy to imagine a more emotionally complex plotline perhaps something that focuses on a group of disillusioned Stormtroopers who organized a resistance cell to subvert the first order but from the inside? Remember that Finn's awakening is triggered not by the death of some innocent Villager, but by the death of its friend a fellow stormtrooper This is the event that quite literally leaves the mark on him and yet the film quickly forgets this key transformative moment Because minutes later we see Finn whooping and laughing while blasting his former teammates now you might say that Finn and the rest of the resistance are acting in self-defense and You'd be right. I mean star wars is after all a story about resistance and When faced with an oppressive police or military force sometimes violence may be necessary to achieve liberation But having to hurt one group of people in order to help another is always a tragic trade-off even if it's necessary If there's a core message to Finn's redemption story in the force awakens something that the film really wants us to believe in. It's that people can change and If we accept that, then the possibility must also exist for other stormtroopers to change as well Now perhaps their transformation is unlikely, but not any more unlikely than Finn's own awakening And isn't that the idea at the heart of the original Star Wars Trilogy? [I know there is good in you, the emperor hasn't driven it from you fully] That there still exists good and in even someone as evil as Darth Vader Because if that's the case and I think it is. [You were right about me] Then that means the fall of every stormtrooper represents the death of the possibility of redemption the possibility of another Finn if you'd like to see more long form video essays that focus on the intersections of Entertainment and politics head over to my patreon page and help fund the pop culture detective agency
I don't think that's what paradox means.
I don't think Finn creates this problem. It already existed. In A New Hope Obi Wan comes across stormtroopers just chatting like a couple of bored tradesmen just there for a paycheck -
"You seen that new VT-16?"
"Yeah, some of the other guys were telling me about it. They say it's quite a thing to see…"
Or that other time when the one trooper sarcastically mutters something about "maybe it's another drill."
Just a bunch of regular guys.
Finn's character just feels so out of place. This 180 he made from a supposedly ruthless programmed elite soldier to a goofy relatable earnest guy is too much even for the simplistic and archetypal character development we see all the time in Star Wars. It just goes against any common sense.
When I first saw it I formed a hypothesis in my head. I didn't believe Finn was alone in his experience, maybe he was just the bravest one. That said...
The trauma that turns Finn is probably something many other Stormtroopers have gone through. I think, The Order may be experiencing a "civil" war of attrition within the ranks of soldiers on the inside that awaken and are preemptively caught because of Finn's "journey". This could be hidden from the viewer. It may be a flaw within The Order's programming that will cause them to lose more stormtroopers over time. Only to be countered by swift changes and coverups. Killing the stormtroopers in my eyes is a way of ending their "mental slavery". I like to think Finn was the beginning of that end.
I do remember playing Republic Commando as a kid and those guys were a fun bunch of clones. Great personalities. Maybe the programming selects one for the trooper, and thus you get a tiny flaw. That flaw was Finn.