Porgs

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Character
Name: Porgs
Occupation: Mischief
Relationships: Pet
Fandom: Star Wars
Other: Played by puffins, puppets
inked drawing of two porgs
Fanart yb Jason Leung (2022)
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Porgs are a popular species in the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy. Porgs are non-sentient birds native to the planet Ahch-To. They are approximately 10 inches tall when adults.[1] Porgs are sexually dimorphic, with male porgs generally slightly larger than female porgs. Porgs have brown and white and gray feathers on their bodies. Male porgs have orange plumage on their heads, while female porgs have grey plumage on their heads. They have large round stereoscopic eyes. The collective noun for a group of birds is a "murder."

Porg nests are built on cliff sides. Blue moss is commonly used as a nesting material, although blue wiring can also be substituted. Baby porgs are called "porglets."

Porgs are omnivorous, although their primary diet is fish.[2] Porgs also have been documented to eat Ahchtonian grubs[3] and blue puff cubes. [4] It is unclear whether porglets are fed through regurgitation or some other method such as lactation. [2]

Porgs are naturally curious and mischievous, being known for stealing lightsabers and ship wiring. They have the potential to become an invasive species, and have been documented off-world on Batuu, Crait, and Minfar. Porgs are easily habituated to sentient beings, and have been documented as pets accompanying Rose Tico[5] and Hondo Ohnaka [4].

History

Out of universe, the porgs were created by Jake Lunt Davies as digital disguises for the puffins at the bird sanctuary and world heritage site island of Skellig Michael during the filming of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. [2] Some puffins were digitally edited to be covered with animated porgs, while animatronic porg puppets were created for closeup scenes. Porgs were first glimpsed in the Star Wars: Last Jedi trailer on October 9, 2017, and immediately began provoking strong feelings for and against. [6] Some people felt they were crass marketing cash ploys to gain Christmas present dollars spent on stuffed animals. Others instantly decided that they were adorable and began collections of porg stuffed animals and creating fanworks and documenting the lives of their stuffed porgs on platforms such as Tumblr, Twitter, and Instagram. Stuffed porgs have been photographed in activities as varied as cosplays, juggling, wine-tasting, providing computer technical support, growing succulents, traveling, eating, and watching movies together. Most porg stuffed animals are aligned to the Light Side of the Force and the Rebels/Resistance, however some porg stuffies are aligned to the Dark Side.

Porg fandom community activities include meetups at Disney theme parks and Star Wars Celebration, holiday card exchanges, and Porg Olympics (also spelled Porglympics). The porg fandom is generally a mild and drama-free one, based on the idea that porgs' intense stares represent feelings of solidarity and unquestioning love and support. However, some dissension was seen among porg fandom members during the recent Porglympics 2020 held in April 2020 over appropriate activities for the porgs to engage in, causing some members to leave the online fandom in protest. Subsequent Porglympics have been held in 2021 and 2022.

Six Degrees Influences

Porgs have been likened to the role of Ewoks in their marketing potential of the stuffed cuddly creatures niche. Similar Star Wars fandom communities exist regarding photographing the activities of stuffed loth-cat, wookiee, and bantha toys.

Common Pairings

Both heterosexual and same sex couples of porgs exist, however most fanworks involving porgs are either Gen fic or have porgs as secondary characters in a fanwork involving another pairing, such as Reylo or Kylux.

Fanon and Common Tropes in Fanworks

Common porg fanon holds that porgs are sensitive to the Force, similar to other birds who can navigate by planetary magnetic fields. Common tropes in porg fanworks include animal transformation, crossover, matchmaker, and redemption.

Example Fanworks

Fanfic

Fanart

Vids

Other Fanworks

Archives and Communities

  • The Porg Fanciers Association/DisPorg on Discord

Links and Resources

References

  1. ^ Jodi Guglielmi. Meet the Porgs: The Cutest Stars in the Galaxy, People Magazine, 11 December 2017.
  2. ^ a b c Melissa T. Miller. "The Secret Life of Porgs," Star Wars Insider, Nov/Dec 2019, pp. 42-48
  3. ^ Kevin Shinick. Star Wars The Last Jedi: Chewie and the Porgs, 2017
  4. ^ a b Lou Anders. Star Wars: Pirate's Price, 2019
  5. ^ Justina Ireland. Journey to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: Spark of the Resistance, 2019
  6. ^ Matt Novak. [1], Gizmodo, 10 October 2017
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