It seems like J.J. Abrams has read the same rants I have, the ones where nerds argue about the presence of fake nerds mucking up their beloved franchises. But instead of rolling his eyes and moving along (my cup of tea), Abrams scratched his chin, laughed, and thought, ‘These dudes would make the perfect Star Wars villain.’

(via themarysue)

As much as I’m loathe to refer to the Mary Sue as a viable source of information, I feel the need to aggressively rebut this.



I really like the character of Kylo Ren; because Adam Driver is a great actor (and he looks great), because he’s badass, and also because I see in Kylo what I see a lot of young boys doing to themselves. I like seeing male characters that are openly damaged, it makes them more sympathetic and open to a wide array of possibilities, most likely in the form of some redemption through mental clarity.



Let me explain.



While I’m not saying Leia and Han were neglectful parents, it does come across that they were dealing with their child in a less than positive manner (A lot of posts have suggested the whole “Han would run off after a fight and leave Ben and Leia, and then he’d come back and it would happen all over again”. Which while not abusive, is not a good environment for a kid. Especially when his parents bicker all the time.) In the novelization, Leia mentions that Snoke was observing Ben from the time he was very small, probably because he had some degree of mental instability even then. (No doubt playing a part in when he killed Luke’s students when he was fifteen.) Also on that note, instead of attempting to help Ben on their own, they shipped him off to be with Luke, which was a massive blow to his young psyche. Probably along the lines of “My parents don’t want me anymore.” or “Did I do something wrong”. This mental process is common among young boys in this age, they berate and abuse themselves for ‘not being perfect’. If they don’t meet society’s standards for ‘being a man’ then they’re a failure, and this behavior is most prevalent in young boys with absent fathers. Hence Kylo’s line to Rey about Han; “He’ll only disappoint you.” Ben probably tried desperately to connect with Luke on some degree, but Luke was also dealing with all the other Jedi he had brought to the new Order, and probably didn’t have a lot of time to spend with Ben.



This is where Snoke comes in. In families where a firm, strong father figure is absent, boys will often seek out the support elsewhere (gangs are a good example of this). It’s implied in the novelization that Snoke was basically grooming Ben to come over to the Dark Side; promises of power, respect, appreciation, and recognition. Ben when looking for Vader’s ashes and found them, along with the charred helmet. Finally someone he could relate too, someone strong and powerful and someone who left a brand on the galaxy; exactly the person he wanted to be. (Neglecting all of the good Anakin did, and the good Anakin was.)



Despite this, Ben, now Kylo Ren, continues to strive for perfection in order to avoid displeasing Snoke (i.e. his current ‘father’ figure) as well as his desperate, misguided attempts to become Vader. Even in more-or-less functional families, boys still struggle with this. In sports, boys starve themselves or turn to drugs, as an example. Boys hurt themselves. And that’s exactly the mindset Kylo is stuck in; he never got over the boyhood phase of his life (No doubt Snoke’s intention, keep him unstable and easily pliable). He throws tantrums when things don’t go his way, he threatens and abuses those around him, and most importantly, he hurts himself. He mentally and physically wears himself down, through training and no doubt tormenting personal thoughts; you’ll never be Vader, you’re disappointing Snoke and your Knights, you’re not perfect, ect. He hurts himself because pain equals dark side equals power. (See his fight with Rey and Finn.)



So yes, Kylo Ren is very important to me. Even I, as a girl, see the damage and neglect society does to young boys and men. Girls are placed on pedestals, if the problem doesn’t affect girls then to hell with it. Boys mental health is constantly neglected, which is why boys who act out are often brushed off as ‘boys will be boys’.



Kylo Ren is important to me, because boys are labeled as monsters and taught they are the cause for all bad things in the world. I see that in Kylo; “I”m a monster because I can’t be anything else. It’s just what I am.”



Kylo Ren is important to me because young men and boys deserve just as much attention as girls do. They deserve stable lives. They deserve justice. They deserve care.



Kylo Ren is important to me because I see broken minded men and boys all the time, and it breaks my heart.



And to those who wrote this article, well..

(via koven-moonshadow)