Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan is a character in the Star Wars movies played by Carrie Fisher who passed away on December 27, 2016.
Introduced in the original Star Wars film in 1977, Leia is the princess of the planet Alderaan, a member of the Imperial Senate and an agent of the Rebel Alliance (1). Later she became General Leia Organa “leader of the resistance”.
Leia is such an important female role model to so many of us because unlike a lot of female protagonists of that time, she wasn’t a liability or a damsel in distress.
The role of Princess Leia in Star Wars
Princess Leia was just as vital of a player as the likes of Han Solo and Luke Skywalker. If it weren’t for her quick thinking on the Death Star, Luke, Han, and Chewie’s rescue attempt would have been unsuccessful. She wasn’t someone who had to be convinced to join the Rebellion.
Leia was royalty and a politician. She was a rebel and a fighter long before we met her in A New Hope, and she never stopped. In The Force Awakens, she was continuing the fight against evil and the Dark Side as General Organa, never once choosing to back down, never allowing heartbreak to overcome her, and never running away when things got rough.
Princess Leia vs General Organa
The character of Leia Organa showed that you didn’t have to be a man to truly be a hero. She showed us a woman who was strong, smart, brave, intelligent, compassionate, wise, and enduring. She could wield a blaster and political office with total ease.
So it’s not about that fantastic hair or the fact that she can fire a blaster. It’s not even about how bright she was to hand over the Death Star plans to a cute little droid before things got out of hand. It’s about creative thinking and keeping it together. It’s about being a leader.
Then we see her as General Organa in the new verstion of Star Wards. A completely deifferent take showing the failure of not only her but also all remeaining legacy characters from the original trilogy.
Spoilers Alert!
At the end of Return of the Jedi the Rebels win. At the beginning of Force Awakens the First Order has risen from the fallen Galactic Empire and seeks to end the New Repuplic. The Resistance, backed by the Republic and led by General Leia Organa, opposes the First Order. How did the First Order gain power? What happened to the Resistance and the leadership of Leia?
General Organa failed to maintain order and is far from the role model she was. And while the honorary mentions are nice, it’s far less than what General Organa deserves. The new stories shows her as a failure.
Conclusion
Princess Leia would have never become the icon that she is today without the input of Carrie Fisher. There are still girls and women dressing up as Princess Leia during conventions and halloween. Carrie Fisher brought her own strength into the role of Leia Organa. She was just as much of a fighter as Leia, battling her own demons throughout her life while doing good for others. She will be missed. Leia Organa will be remembered as one of the best female role models of all time.
Do you agree? Have you seen her journey? What did Princess Leia or General Organa mean to you? Feel free to leave your comments. I would love to hear from you.
I like your take on the Princess. I believe she is a great role model, especially for young girls. Like you, I was surprised and saddened by her death, but a least Carrie will live on forever in film.
Thanks for your comments Eddie!
I have to disagree with you. It has been many years since I’ve watched the movie, but Princess Leia was a damsel in distress. She wasn’t weak by any means but she sent out a distress signal with R2D2 and she was chained to Jabba.
Ed
Thanks for stopping by Ed!
I respect your opinion but you are seeing Princess Leia only and you are ignoring General Organa.
Men freed her (at the beginning as Princess Leia), but then they do don’t know what to do and she bossed them around. She was locked up first but so were the guys later on.
She was captured at the beginning of the first movie (a cliche for many female characters who portray her as a damsel in distress), by that time she was the leader of the rebels. Once she had the guns in hand, she knew how to handle them. Later her character evolved through the movies (you have to see the complete trilogy of star wars movies and the Force Awakens and The last Jedi to understand her journey).
Young Leia survived the destruction of her planet and life as a political refugee, kidnapping, slavery, and learning the true, dark origins of her family. She let herself open up enough to fall in love, and she never let anyone destroy her inner strength. She was a strong female role model at a time when those were far too scarce, and the millions of women across the world who were inspired by her will always hold young Leia close to their hearts. But the older Leia is the more evolved version of who the character really is. Having stayed active in the rebellion, she became an important leader of the resistance and therefore a strong role model ( even more now , than the era of the trilogy).
Let’s agree to disagree.
Nice article, I think that the character, Princess Leia, gets lost a little amongst all the other characters in Star Wars, of which there are many. But, what a cast to get lost in, those were some great characters and actors before everything was CGI.
Of course the one scene everyone remembers is the slave suit but that was a brief moment in the series, for all the rest of the time she managed her part strong without having to resort to sex appeal.
Hi Chris,
I agree with you. Thanks for taking time to read this post.
I think damsel in distress was just a cover for the truth strength within Princess Leia, the strength that comes with being the daughter of Anakin skywalker and Padme. I agree if it wasn’t for Leia, Luke, Han, and Chewie’s rescue attempt on the Death Star would have failed.
I too was upset to hear of Carrie Fishers dealth, the only performance I enjoy in the Force Awakens was the original actors and now they will unfortunately all be lost.
Good Post!
Hi Salvatore,
Thanks for your comments! Yes it was great to see them again together on screen in the Force Awakens.
That was a wonderful post and a very nice tribute as well to Carrie Fischer. After the first Star Wars came out, I have to admit I haven’t seen any others, but loved Princess Leia’s character. I love how you articulated her role as a brave and intelligent leader who easily stood up to the main male characters brilliantly.
Thanks for your comments Linda! Will you consider to see The Force Awakens?
In that movie she has the role of a General.