On Losing General Organa

Yesterday afternoon, I was sitting with a gathering of relatives sipping coffee when I idly checked my phone. A Facebook friend had posted a single word: “Fuck.” Shit, I thought, what happened?! I checked the news, and there it was—Carrie Fisher had passed away that morning. I broke the news, and we all sat there looking at each other, slightly stunned. We grew up on Star Wars—well, the prequels, technically, but the originals will always be the gold standard, and well watched.

But it wasn’t until I saw this tweet this morning that I really felt it:

Read the whole tweet thread. It’s an important tribute.

There were numerous think pieces written about General Organa when The Force Awakens was released last year. She was allowed to look her age, to be her age, and to be powerful, they noted. There was no need to add sex appeal or to dress her in clothing that might have made her look thinner. She was allowed to be middle aged, and passionate, and hard working, and listened to.

Age scares me, sometimes. When young women complain about being catcalled (and very rightly so), I’ve sometimes seen middle aged women respond with: “At least you’re noticed. We’re invisible.” I went to the symphony recently, and noticed that most of the male players were older and gray haired, while nearly all of the female players were young and beautiful. Perhaps that was a fluke, relegated to this one symphony orchestra, but it frightened me. Will I age into obscurity? Will I cease to matter once I am no longer young and attractive?

Men gain clout as they grow older. Do women lose it?

As a young woman, Carrie Fisher played a character who refused to be dismissed for her gender. She picked up a gun, she talked back, and she was a badass. As a middle aged woman, Carrie Fisher played a character who kept fighting even as the men in her life (Luke, Han) gave up and ran away. Leia didn’t leave, even after losing everything. She showed up, she learned how to do what needed to be done. She may have inherited the title Princess Leia, but she earned the title General Organa. This year, in 2016, her accomplishment takes on only more importance.

As a girl, I was inspired by Princess Leia.

As a woman, I am inspired by General Organa.

Carrie Fisher created a character that inspired on every level, but for many of us, it was more than this. Carrie Fisher herself, in her own life, with her sassiness and her public take-downs of the agism so common in Hollywood’s approach to women, has also served as a role model. She didn’t just act a role created by others. No, she lived and breathed that role. Carrie Fisher knew the pressures powerful and important women face, and it was that identification that made General Organa.

Rest in peace, Carrie Fisher. You may have left this world, but you will live on as an inspiration and a role model for many women for decades to come.

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