Why Captain Phasma is important as a female villain in ‘The Force Awakens’

Finally, a female character who isn't living up to a lofty moral code.

In a similar vein, Jessica Alba admitted that she was told to cry less realistically in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. “The director was like, ‘It looks too real. It looks too painful. Can you be prettier when you cry?'” According to Alba, the director ordered her to make her face “flat” during a death scene, and said that tears could be added later with CGI. The role earned her a Razzie Award nomination for Worst Actress.

Captain Phasma circumvents the issue of looking pretty on camera, as well as another common problem faced by so-called “strong female characters”: the debate over whether she provides a positive role model for young girls. As a captain in the villainous First Order army, her role is comparable to a character like Darth Maul. She’s not wholesome hero, but definitely a fun choice if you’re an 8-year-old kid playing Star Wars with your friends.

The Force Awakens still includes traditional heroines like Rey and Leia, but the presence of Phasma (and Lupita Nyong’o‘s alien character Maz Kanata) adds a satisfying new dimension to the Star Wars universe. We all need a bad role model, now and then.

Photo via Star Wars