Rose Tico

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Character
Name: Rose Tico
Occupation: Mechanic, Resistance fighter
Relationships: Paige Tico (Deceased sister), Finn (Love interest & Ally), Poe Dameron (Friend & Ally),
Fandom: Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Other: Portrayed by Kelly Marie Tran
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Rose Tico is a character introduced in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. She is portrayed by American actress Kelly Marie Tran.

Canon Background

Rose meets Finn as he's trying to leave the Resistance ship, currently under attack from the First Order. Initially star struck, Rose uses a tazer on him when she realises that he is trying to abandon the Resistance. She doesn't trust Finn but together they come up with a plan to stop the First Order's pursuit, travelling to Canto Bright to find a master code breaker.

Although their plan fails following their infiltration of Snoke's ship, Rose and Finn return to the Resistance on Crait. During the First Order's final attack, Finn ignores Poe's order to retreat and appears to have resigned himself to death. Rose intervenes, crashing into Finn's ship with her own, knocking him off course. She kisses Finn as she reaches the wreckage. Finn and Rose escape with the remnants of the Resistance aboard the Millennium Falcon.

Fandom

Fan Reaction and Accusations of Racism

After Kelly Marie was originally cast, not much was known about the character she was going to play. Given her past roles in comedy, a comic relief role was a frequent assumption.[1][2] Some were ecstatic that she was cast as the new female lead, beating big names like Olivia Cooke and Anna Kendrick during auditions.[3][4]

In the lead up to the release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi however, sexist criticisms of Kelly Marie Tran and racist comments appeared online. This included Rose's character page on Wookieepedia having been edited to include racial slurs and offensive language.[5]

Post The Last Jedi

Following the release of the film, Antis disliked Kelly Marie Tran's pro Reylo stance. Some fans also dislike Rose and the pairing of Finn/Rose Tico because they view it as anti-black and misogynistic, leading to Finnrose works not having been accepted by one Finn Appreciation Week in 2018.[6] This criticism arises from Rose using a taser to subdue Finn during their first meeting. This has resulted in a lot of wank, with fans of Rose believing she has been unfairly denigrated due to racism, either conscious or subconscious, within the fandom.

In June 2018, Kelly Marie Tran deleted all content on her social media with many media outlets and Last Jedi director, Rian Johnson blaming toxic Star Wars fans for harassing Kelly off Instagram.[7][8] Somewhat ironically many fans took to social media sites to show their support for Kelly and her portrayal of Rose Tico. Tags included #Fanart for Rose, #I Love Rose Tico and #I Stand With Tran. Black Series Rebels posted A Message to Kelly Marie Tran in which Star Wars fans from around the world express their appreciation for Kelly.

Post The Rise of Skywalker

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was released in December 2019, and this film reignited debate about the treatment of Tran and her character. Fans were disappointed that Rose had only two minutes of screen time and was essentially reduced to a minor supporting character. Some fans viewed this as Disney and the film's creators bowing to pressure from the worst corners of Star Wars fandom.

The lack of Rose in the final film was foreshadowed by her absence on Star Wars merchandise released before the film, leading to a fan discussion and complaints using the hashtag #WheresRose.[9] It also inspired Rosember, a month long Rose Tico celebration. The first day's prompt was #WheresRose.[10]Following the release of the film, fans continued to use this hashtag to express their dissatisfaction with the treatment of Rose Tico on sites like Tumblr and Twitter.[11]

Shipping

  • Finn/Rose Tico: Rose is often paired with her canon love interest Finn. It is the second most popular Rose pairing.
  • Hux/Rose: This pairing increased in popularity due to the deleted TLJ scene where Rose bites General Hux. It began as a rarepair but gained a following after the release of TROS. This ship has become the most popular pairing for Rose on AO3.
  • The femslash pairing of Rey/Rose Tico is also popular, despite these two characters not sharing any scenes together in The Last Jedi, or The Rise of Skywalker.

Example Fanworks

Fanfiction

Fanart

Fanvids

Meta

Archive & Fannish Links

References

  1. ^ It looks like Kelly Marie Tran has a pretty big role in 'Star Wars: Episode VIII' by Angry Asian Man
  2. ^ Cinemablend: Star Wars: Episode 8 Just Cast Kelly Marie Tran, Here's What We Know
  3. ^ The Significance of Kelly Marie Tran in Star Wars Episode VIII on the Nerds of Color
  4. ^ John Boyega Calls Kelly Marie Tran Episode VIII‘s “New Lead” on The Mary Sue
  5. ^ ‘The Last Jedi’ star Kelly Marie Tran defended by fans from racist, sexist comments created 28/12/2017, accessed 21/03/2018.
  6. ^ Finn Appreciation Week FAQ on Tumblr, page created early March 2018, accessed 21/03/2018
  7. ^ Did Star Wars Breakout Kelly Marie Tran Wipe Her Instagram Because of Harassment? posted on vulture.com June 5 2018, accessed June 11 2018.
  8. ^ STAR WARS FANS RALLY BEHIND KELLY MARIE TRAN WITH #FANARTFORROSE posted on nerdist.com June 7, 2018, accessed June 11 2018
  9. ^ Where’s Rose Tico In The New STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER Merch? Nerdist article from Oct 4 2019, with example tweets and images of altered merchandise.
  10. ^ Rose Tico prompt list, posted on Twitter. Fans taking part were asked to @RoseTicoMonth and use the hashtag #Rosember.November 2019.
  11. ^ People Voice Their Support For Kelly Marie Tran article on the dailydot with example tweets, posted 23 December 2019.
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