Filmsane

I say princess because that’s what she was for the majority of the population, not just her fans. She was a princess, a senator and in the end a general. I loved her all of her ranks, but for me she will always remain Princess Leia.

And today is a sad day for me, I must say. Today is the day that we all lost her. On this very same day last year, I was glued to my PC, just scrolling through the feed of my Facebook page, when I heard the shocking news. Carrie Fisher has died. She was 60 years old. She was a mother, she was a daughter, an actress, a screen-writer, a Hollywood royalty, but above all a princess.

If you go to the Wikipedia page of Leia, you’ll notice the words „a 1980s icon, a feminist hero and model for other adventure heroines“ in the character description. You’ll also find “an exemplary personification of female empowerment” there, and it’s all true. But let me tell you what she meant to me.

She was everything I wanted to be. You see she was not a sex symbol in New Hope, and was not perceived as one. That’s because she was NOT (thank God) portrayed as one. You see she spent the majority of New Hope in a white long nightgown and with cinnamon bun style hairdo. Oh and no bra! Can’t forget about that. Apparently George Lucas forbade Carrie to wear a bra, because THERE ARE NO BRA’S IN SPACE!

I know it sounds silly, but every time I forget to put my bra on in the morning, it makes me feel like Leia. I’m not joking. I know its silly and kinda sad, but hey that’s my Leia moment for the day.

But for the most part, I loooved her personality. She was strong, resilient, assertive, outspoken, feisty and smart. She was one of the boys and not a sex kitten that just sits around and does nothing. You see, that was the attitude that was infused to me by my own mother, and I’m soooo glad I saw it on film too.

Leia paved the way for so many fictional female characters that it’s ridiculous and impossible to count them. Traces of that strength, resilience and bravery can be find in almost every action female character since her. You think that without Leia, there would be Xena, Sara Connor, Katnis or even Ellen Ripley? No, I don’t think so.

So you can imagine my sadness when I saw general Leia in The Last Jedi, this month. She was visibly frail and tired, but she still had that bad ass attitude that made me fall in love with her. Tears almost poured down my face when I saw the tribute at the end of the movie, but they are coming down right now as I’m writing this post as well. It’s been one hell of a year without my princess. She is still missed and will be missed for so damn long. May the force be with you.