I think it’s a stretch to instantly identify true sexists or racists from comments online about tv/movie characters these days when it’s far more likely they’re just critics of the industry’s admitted overt prioritisation of racial, sexual and gender identities above compelling or logical writing.
Most dissenters probably don’t understanding why they feel a certain way about these issues; they see that modern culture has it out for traditional values, masculinity and whiteness so (if they are any of those things) they feel threatened or unjustly targeted. Media is presenting their ’identity demographic’ as being less and less significant or deserving of recognition, elevating others at their expense, making them the subject of ridicule and shaming so the logical reactionary response is to hit back at the things that are replacing spaces once occupied by ‘their group.’
It’s pretty shocking how tribal the world is now and the progressive, postmodernist movement for supposed peace and equality among all is strongly to blame for epic degrees of division. The approach is completely counterproductive.
Anyways-
So there’s the one side of ‘would people criticise Reva if she wasn’t a black woman?’ and then the other side- that I would view as being more cynical than bigoted- asking ‘would this character even be a black woman who can stomp all over every male in the universe without repercussions if Disney weren’t pursuing an agenda- and are her abilities and intelligence earned or just obligatory to elevate a character from an ‘oppressed demographic?’
‘Why does this 10 year old child have the wisdom, insight and articulate speech of a tenured psychology professor?’
‘Why did Obi Wan need to be specifically told that a girl is just as important as a boy?’ ‘Is there something beyond entertainment at play here?’
It would be great to disengage from the reality of writing and casting decisions but entertainment now constantly markets itself above all else as being diverse, representational and insists that sci-fi and fantasy are supposed to hold up a mirror to society and reflect current issues to challenge our misconceptions. There’s no space for escapism anymore. All you find is activism masked as content and I think that’s a huge contributor to the negative sentiments you’ll find online.
Of course, it’s way too early in the Kenobi show to make these kinds of judgements without more backstory on the characters.
Reva appears brash, impulsive, disobedient - but she was always right. Her methods get quick results. She’s got rebel qualities so that’s kind of interesting for someone in a rigid, ruling regime and she appears far more aggressive and driven than the other Inquisitors. This hunt is personal for her.
Not sure if I’d buy any HTs from this show that don’t have direct ties to the OT or PT but some inquisitors may grown on me.
