Hearing news of Carrie Fisher's untimely death last week seemed like a good excuse to spend a winter afternoon watching The Empire Strikes Back, the middle film in the first Star Wars trilogy.
Fisher looked wonderful as Princess Leia, of course, projecting both the internal confidence of a leader and the vulnerability of a young woman trying to make the right choices.
And then the kiss scene came.
What seemed so right in 1980 now looks predatory in 2017.
Han Solo, the space smuggler played by Harrison Ford, sees Leia working on repairs to his ship and steps in to assist. She recoils.
Han: Hey, Your Worship, I'm only trying to help.
Leia: Would you please stop calling me that?
Han: Sure, Leia.
Leia: Oh, you make it so difficult sometimes.
Han: I do, I really do. You could be a little nicer, though. Come on, admit it. Sometimes you think I'm all right.
(She lets go of the lever and rubs her sore hand.)
Leia: Occasionally... when you aren't acting like a scoundrel.
Han: (laughing) Scoundrel? Scoundrel? I like the sound of that.
(He takes her hand and starts to massage it.)
Leia: Stop that.
Han: Stop what?
Leia: Stop that! My hands are dirty.
Han: My hands are dirty, too. What are you afraid of?
Leia: Afraid?
Han: You're trembling.
Leia: I'm not trembling.
Han: (slowly moving in closer) You like me because I'm a scoundrel. There aren't enough scoundrels in your life.
Leia: I happen to like nice men.
Han: (still moving closer, their faces and bodies are almost touching) I'm a nice man.
Leia: No, you're not. You're...
And then they kiss, before the bumbling android C-3PO breaks up the proceedings with news that the hyperdrive has been repaired.
She clearly says no with "stop that!" and seen in isolation, the scene is the classic "her words said 'no' but her body said 'yes'" scenario that too many men still use to justify their behaviour.
Fortunately, there is enough context to argue that Han is less of a scoundrel and Leia is a more willing participant. Before he takes her hand, he establishes his respect for her. When asked, he addresses her by her proper name. He agrees with her that he can be difficult. She agrees that he can be a decent fellow.
That is the continuation of an earlier scene between the two, when the Millennium Falcon is abruptly rocked to one side. Han falls into a chair and she falls into him.
Leia: Let go.
Han: (listening for a threat outside the ship) Sshh!
Leia: Let go, please.
Han: (letting her go and standing) Don't get excited.
Leia: Captain, being held by you isn't quite enough to get me excited.
Han: (Walking away to explore the potential threat) Sorry, sweetheart. We haven't got time for anything else.
Han lets her go when asked and makes clear that his hold on her is of less interest to him than the threat to the ship.
The preceding dialogue establishes the "I hate you, I love you" tension between the two of them to justify the kiss scene but in the wake of the Jian Ghomeshi trial and the long-overdue discussion about consent, the moment is not as innocent or tender as it once was.
The film hasn't changed, of course, but we all have and that increased sensitivity is a good thing.
On the news of Fisher's passing, Cinnabon tweeted a beautiful picture of Leia's face drawn in profile with cinnamon and a real cinnamon bun on her ear in homage to that famous hairstyle from the first Star Wars.
It was a touching tribute, ruined by the words that followed: "RIP Carrie Fisher, you'll always have the best buns in the galaxy."
Further proof that too much spice ruins any dish.
And too little consent is just wrong.
-- Managing editor Neil Godbout
