For those of you who may not know who Daisy Ridley is. She played Rey in the latest Star Wars movie "Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens", and did a fantastic job of portraying a likable girl/woman that female viewers can relate to and appreciate, and many male viewers can enjoy as a breath of fresh air thanks to her role being defined by her skills and ability rather than her looks.
Because of the critical and commercial success of the latest Star Wars, Daisy Ridley's career has taken off and has most recently lead her to be in consideration for the role of Tomb Raider, in the upcoming reboot of the series. A role I personally think she would be perfect for and can see her as the younger Tomb Raider that has appeared in the two latest games of the series.
However, not everyone is as happy about this as I am and Daisy Ridley's place in the role of Lara Croft has been met with... well let's say a mixed reception. But why? is her acting not up to par? is she not a good role model for other women?... well no, basically she's just not got a big enough cleavage to fit the role.
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| Released in 1996 for the PS1 |
In 1996 the first Tomb Raider game was released and obviously didn't help the stereotype of gamer's being basement dwellers obsessed with this image of the 'ideal woman' (AKA fictional), However, that was TWENTY YEARS AGO and Gaming in general has moved on from the niche hobby it once was to a multi-billion dollar industry that not only tapped into the mainstream market, but became the mainstream market. As such, the games industry in general has evolved and opened up to a much wider demographic. from appealing primarily to males between 10 - 30, to targeting every age and every gender, sexuality, race, etc... In short, The world moved forward and games did too.
Unfortunately, many people are stuck in the past and seem to think that gaming belongs to them and them alone, and in turn, think that their opinions deserve to be heard and respected, no matter how stupid they may be. Except all this does is reveal the ignorance of the few and paints the rest of us with the same tarred brush.
As a Male myself, it irritates me to see other Boys/Men spurt their ignorant opinions on Women based solely on their appearances and seeming to ignore any other aspect about them. this is further solidified by the fact that Lara Croft has recently been remade to better resemble a Real physical appearance of a girl/woman rather than the disproportionate pixel-mess of years passed.
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| Then and Now (Credit to showbizgeek for the image) |
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| Credit: Daily Mail |
Chimmy Changa States: "Insufficient Boobage"
Roisin17 States: "Angelina actually has a lot of sex appeal. Daisy doesn't. It wont work and will just look bad for her"
JUDI HENCH States: "Her Face is very forgettable"
Yellow Spiderbite States: "Angelina was perfect for Lara back in the day. She looked so strong, healthy, and sexy. It's a shame she has taken 'skinny' a bit too far nowadays."
BabaBooey States: "No lips, no curves... I guess she has the accent right tho..."
Vproject States: "She hasn't quite quite got the erm....front that one associates with the Lara Croft character. Angelina Jolie certainly did. But hey."
And the list just goes on from there. Now to be fair. There are some supporters of Daisy in the Role and other link-minded thinkers that are annoyed at the level of sexism that is being expressed here. So let's give those commentators their credit:
Paul_Xavier_Green States: "For crying out loud! Stop discussing Daisy Ridley's body shape like she's a piece of meat! This is sexist beyond belief! She was brilliant in Star Wars, and would be equally brilliant in a remake of Tomb Raider. All actors grow and develop with time. So will she."
Lash LaRue States: "The rebooted Tomb Raider has little emphasis on her sensuality so people assuming Daisy needs massive breasts for the role have outdated views. I think she's a good choice because she's genuinely British and has a slight masculinity about her."
and that's about it.
It does nothing but show the out of touch nature of some people when they say these kinds of negative things, but more importantly than that. It paints men in general with such a wide brush and further enforces the stereotype that men are only interested in looks. A stereotype that many of us are trying to bring down and show people that there are decent, forward-thinking men in the world that are just as disgusted by the sexualization of women in media as women are. and to those people who do believe that the Daisy Ridley's career should be limited to the roles she looks most suited for, honestly, shame on you for trying to knock someone down without knowing anything else about them aside from how they look.
In my opinion - any many other men's out there - Daisy Ridley nailed the role of Rey in Star Wars and would make for a fantastic Lara Croft.
