Okay So This Is Controversial But I'm Going Rant About It Anyway Because It Really Does Bother Me.

Okay so this is controversial but I'm going rant about it anyway because it really does bother me.

I don't like Satine Kryze. Now, hold on. I'm not some misogynistic woman hater, I actually think she's a really interesting character. But, I don't like her. The two things can both be true, alright? Character wise I understand what's she's after. Ultimately she was a little girl who watched her family be torn apart by civil war and took on a more pacifistic root because of it. Trauma does that. She wanted to stop corruption and I cannot fault her for that but to ignore the damage she has done as a whole alongside the blatant racism of her actions is just infuriating.

I want to talk about the racism first. Now, am I saying Satine herself is racist? I think it could be argued that, yes. Does she say anything to portray that she is? No. But she doesn't have to. I also think it could be argued that she simply wanted Mandalore to be peaceful, but when you look at what she's done to the culture as a whole, it's a bit jarring.

I'd also like to point out that I think a great deal of my complaints largely fall onto the writers, because at the end of the day, their beliefs are reflected onto the characters. And while Satine is not without faults, she is a fictional character at the end of the day. However, that being said, her beliefs? Are reflective of people's real beliefs and there in lies the issue.

And when I say that characters reflects writers beliefs I want to be clear that having a bad character (morality wise) does not mean a writer supports their morals and or actions! But when said actions are portrayed to the audience as the 'correct' stance, that's when things get messy. Let's get into it.

To understand Mandalorians first we're going to have to get into Temuera Morrison and the blatantly obvious fact that he is NOT a white man. He is Māori, and that is reflected heavily in Jango Fett's characterization. A great deal of Mandalorian culture stems from Morrison's own culture and to deny this is frankly racist in and of itself.

So when were discussing Mandalorian's and their culture, it's important to keep that in mind. You are not only critiquing a fictional culture, but one that is tied heavily into a real person's very real culture.

Mandalorians, from the start are established as a warrior culture. Start is used very loosely here because we only have Mandalorians because George Lucas thought Boba was cool. So bare that in mind. But when I say start, I mean that when we actually get to learn about them and their culture.

They have a creed/code that they live and die by. This is their way of life. And in that creed there is one very specific rule I want to focus on and that is children are sacred. Foundlings are the future. Mandalorians do not care about blood ties. They don't care about who your father was, only the father you'll be. (A common Mandalorian saying btw)

So, where does that leave us?

With a culture that is not only heavily tied to Morrison's very own culture, but one that also harbors a belief of adopting without care for heritage or one's differences.

What does that have to do with Satine?

Look at Mandalore when we first see it under her rule. And I mean really, honestly, and truly, look.

Why are they all white? Why are they all human?

Okay yes, you can probably find some instance where they aren't, but the vast majority of what we see on screen is white humans and if you don't see a problem as to why what should be a very diverse cultural group would all be white humans then I think maybe you need to think about that for a second. And this is why I think it's important to remember that tidbit I said early about the writers affecting characters beliefs. Because this was a decision decided on by a real person. You could chalk them all being humans up to being sake of convenience in animating if you wanted. I think it's lazy, but it is easy. But it's not difficult to portray different races. At the very least they could have added different skin tones. But they didn't. That was a conscious decision.

And as I said, this reflects on Satine and her own beliefs.

Because in an effort to 'cleanse' Mandalore of any corruption and war she has erased any and all diversity. I don't think I need to explain to you why a white woman ridding a planet known for it's diversity of any cultures and beliefs differing from her own, is wrong. And yes, while I can sympathize with a young girl traumatized by war so much that she wants to rid it completely, but in doing so she fundamentally managed to erase any and all individuality.

I'd also like to touch on that I don't necessarily think that we the audience are supposed to agree with Satine in her entirety, but the amount of people that I have seen defend her so vehemently is what drove me to write this is the first place. And while, like I said, I don't think the intended purpose was for us to agree with her, there is never once an instance where anyone bothers to acknowledge the blantant racism. Satine's changes are just regarded by everyone, even in cannon, as just a way to stop war. The only critique she's given is about her pacisfism and while, yes, stripping a warrior culture down to her pacisfistic beliefs is also racist and a big deal! It's as though they do not grasp that aspect of it, or how much deeper it goes.

The lack of armor, weapons, diversity, is all there as plain as the eye can see. I didn't have to dig to find it. I didn't read some obscure comic from legends, it's right there in the clone wars.

And while we're at it, let's also discuss Satine being a white woman and why that makes her actions that much more of an issue. Because as I stated earlier she is a Mandalorian, a culture which is based on the Māori culture. You know, people that aren't typically white?

(I will say in fannon, I have seen some truly wonderful artist depict her as a Māori woman and I think that's incredible! But that's not what I am discussing)

Because in cannon, she is portrayed and painted as a white woman. Now I'm not here to argue on if you can have white people as Mandalorians or not, because frankly Mandalorians don't care about your skin color. You could even go as far as to say that I'm the racist for assuming she's white when for all we know she could just have a lighter skin tone. You're welcome to believe that. Regardless of the case, I think it says something about the writers when they chose to depict a white passing woman as someone who needed to 'cleanse' Mandalore of its roots, don't you?

Making Satine white or white passing, along side pushing the agenda that she wants to change Mandalore for the better, when previously one of the only other Mandalorian's that we know about so intensively is Jango Fett, a person of color, is frankly, a little weird, don't you think?

I won't get into the details of how they've tried so hard to strip Jango (and Boba!) of his culture, because I fear I may never shut up, but I think there's an underlying issue of trying to paint Jango(a person of color who was upholding his cultures traditions) in a negative light while placing Satine (a white person attempting to erase a culture of its traditions) on a pedestal. And when I say painting Jango in a negative light, I am not referring to his hand in creation of the clone army. I am talking purely about his stance as a Mandalorian, and how Satine even goes as far to dismiss him as one, despite Morrison's portrayal of him being the reason for the culture in the first place.

Am I arguing that making her a person of color would fix things? No,not by any means.

My goal here is not to 'fix' things or to paint Satine Kryze in a better light. I do not think Satine Kryze needs to be painted in a better light. My goal here, if I have any at all, is to showcase the racism in her actions, and to illustrate my frustrations with the lack of critique towards it. The amount of people I've seen defend her actions greatly outweighs the number of people I've seen critique her.

I don't have ill intent towards people who do like her. You are allowed to enjoy characters who do bad things! God knows I'm guilty of it myself. I just want to vent my frustrations, alongside shed some potential light on an issue.