A writer for Fatherly recently opined that he thinks it’s time to cancel the kids’ “Star Wars” stormtrooper costume.
Several children across the country will dress up for Halloween as the Empire’s legion of Stormtroopers, or the First Order’s collection of soldiers.
But, according to Fatherly writer Ryan Britt (via Yahoo!), this could have negative consequences because of the political history of the stormtrooper.
- “This fact is a little bit scary mostly because, collectively, it’s like the culture doesn’t want to think about this fact. But we should. Having kids dressing up as Star Wars Stormtroopers for Halloween is icky, mostly because Stormtroopers have horrific counterparts both in history and in everyday headlines.”
Britt explains that the term “stormtrooper” refers to specific German soldiers in World War I. In World War II, the term became associated with “Sturmabteilung” (or “Storm Detachment”). George Lucas modeled his stormtroopers after these real-life figures.
It makes more sense for children to dress up as Kylo Ren, who is a villain and a monster, much like Dr. Frakenstein’s monster or Dracula.
- “Having kids dress up as monsters on Halloween is kind of what Halloween is all about,” Britt wrote. “But, having kids dress up as thinly veiled police-state executioners is something else. The fantasy element to Stormtroopers isn’t really all that fun. If anything, their presence in ‘Star Wars’ is the scariest thing about the entire franchise. I happen to believe that, for the most part, ‘Star Wars’ is a fairly anti-gun series of films, despite the fact that several gun-like weapons are brandished all the time. Overall, the message of these movies is against gun violence, instead of glorifying it.”