Adam Driver is probably best known for playing Kylo Ren in Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens: TK One More Subtitle, but he should be known for being an American hero (he signed up for the Marines shortly after 9/11) and one of the most interesting actors of his generation. After all, Driver managed to make the most interesting character on a show called Girls a guy. He gets a lot of credit for that alone.
Anyway, I bring up Mr. Driver—American hero, genius actor—today because he makes the eminently reasonable point in a recent Rolling Stone piece that, Actually, The Rebellion In Star Wars Was Bad:
Driver can make a passionate case for why Kylo Ren isn't actually a villain at all.
"It's not like people weren't living on the Death Star," he says, his brown eyes shifting from puppyish to fierce without warning. He seems almost in character now. "Isn't that also an act of terrorism against the hundreds of thousands of people who died there? Did they not have families? I see how people can point to examples that make themselves feel they're right. And when you feel in your bones that you're supported by a higher power on top of that, and you're morally right, there's no limit to what you'll do to make sure that you win. Both sides feel this way."
You're starting to talk me into joining the Empire, I say. He laughs and shifts his delivery one degree over the top. "So, the rebels are bad," he says, connecting his fist with the table. "I strongly believe this!"
There you have it, folks. Straight from the set of Star Wars, directly from the mouth of one of the last great Americans: The Rebellion was bad. Relatedly: the Empire has a far better sense of style.
https://twitter.com/SonnyBunch/status/930878815756345344
You can cheer for the poorly dressed terrorists if you want, I guess. I prefer rooting for the good guys, myself. Call me old fashioned.