Star Wars Fans Used Their Powers For Good When It Came To The Bad Batch
In this age of instant streaming and social media, fans can share their love in communities with people as passionate as they are. But this fan discourse can also be a double-edged sword. Fans are more vocal than ever, and it's not always positive. Toxicity in fandoms is not necessarily new, but if there is one community that takes it to extreme heights, it is the Star Wars fandom. In recent years, vitriolic fans have taken complaints about the direction of the newest saga films and turned them into outright hateful rhetoric. John Boyega has been candid about his treatment regarding his casting as Finn in the previous Star Wars Saga.
"When I started, it wasn't really a conversation you could bring up," Boyega told Sirius XM regarding the racism he experienced. But at the very least, society seems to be heading in a more positive direction. The "Attack the Block" actor went on to say how he felt that Disney's defense of Obi-Wan Kenobi actor Moses Ingram's casting was a step forward. In the same vein, fans also seem to be listening when it comes to Star Wars animated series, "The Bad Batch." This time criticisms of a Star Wars property were more constructive than destructive.
Fans led the charge to unwhitewash The Bad Batch
Season 2 of "The Bad Batch" continues the story of how clones don't get any respect. First created from the DNA of Jango Fett (Temuera Morrison) in "Star Wars: Attack of the Clones," the Republic only viewed this crop of men as disposable soldiers. "The Bad Batch" furthers the viewpoint of how mistreated the clones are and how they are not considered to be people. As universal as this theme is, "The Bad Batch" has also made some missteps. Recently a fan outcry began in the form of a hashtag, #UnwhitewashTheBadBatch.
Concerns about whitewashing became apparent when fans saw how "The Bad Batch" was animated. Many of their skin tones veered on the lighter side, despite Jango Fett being portrayed by Morrison, who is Māori. As they are supposed to be identical to Fett, The Bad Batch should resemble his skin tone, even if they are considered botched clones. Fans raised this issue to the creators, who addressed the criticism publicly.
"We listened to all the fans' concerns," director Brad Rau told Collider's own Maggie Lovitt. "Interestingly, in Season 1, before season one came out, we're always doing this, we went back to look at the skin tones, and we made some corrections to make sure that we're being true to the legacy of the clones in Clone Wars. Absolutely, 100%." Fans will have to determine for themselves whether this endeavor was successful or not.