VIDBE-Q
Volume 62 Issue 1
hero in the film despite his disability. Thus, Yen's portrayal of Chirrut helps to build awareness about the
capabilities and determination of people with visual impairments.
Even though Lucasfilms, and Hollywood more generally, has made strides to include more diverse
characters in their films in recent years, this trend needs to continue and expand beyond superficial inclusivity.
Although Lucasfilms made a noticeable effort to create a world of inclusion rather the exclusion, I hope the
next Star Wars film takes it a step further and includes actors with disabilities. As I mentioned above, Yen did
not have a visual impairment. He used whiteout contacts to simulate blindness. His portray of Chirrut brings
attention to and builds awareness about people with visual impairments, but it would have been even more
powerful to see an actor who has a visual impairment performing in that role. Perhaps, Lucasfilms did not
use an actor with a visual impairment because originally, they did not intend for Chirrut to be blind. Churrit's
blindness was an acting choice. As a result of this acting choice, the film received a lot of positive press.
Hopefully, Lucasfilms will take this as a sign to continue to include more diverse characters in the future. In
conclusion, although I applaud the efforts made to include more diverse characters in Rogue One, I believe
there is more work to be done to move beyond superficial inclusivity. Moving forward, I hope Hollywood will
use this film as a platform to start a discussion about how to include more characters and actors with diverse
abilities.
My Final Thoughts
The updated computer-generated imagery (CGI) brought the beloved Star Wars franchise to a new
generation of movie-goers while still capturing the nostalgia of the original trilogy that captivated audiences
back in the late 1970s. With more seamless audio-visual effects, Rogue One captured the feeling of the
original films without neglecting its historical roots. I enjoyed the film, but it is not my favorite Star Wars film
to date. Overall, the acting and special effects kept me engaged, but the dialogue could have been further
developed. Still, I applaud the franchises efforts to make the film more inclusive and hope this trend continues
in the future.
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