Everybody knows the classic movie trilogy Star Wars. Even if someone hasn’t seen the movies, they have at least heard of them. Considered by many to be the golden standard for science fiction, Star Wars’ influence has made it a cultural phenomenon with a massive fan base. With a promising addition to the series set to come out on Dec. 18, that fan base is about to get even bigger as the film world is modernized and introduced to a new audience.
The fan base for any movie can be pretty incredible, but this week the StarWars fan base set itself apart in an unexpected way. Instead of breaking a record for the most people dressed up in costume at one time, or for building the biggest storm trooper out of Legos, they provided support to a girl who wasbeing bullied.
The girl is eight-year-old Layla Murphy, who was bullied simply because she liked Star Wars. According to Screen Rant, Girls in Layla‘s class taunted her because they thought Star Wars was only for boys. They repeatedly asked her if “she was turning into a boy.” The Star Wars crew that came to her rescue was the 501st legion, a charitable organization whose members dress up as Star Wars villains. Layla had met some members who fostered her Star Wars enthusiasm through stickers and patches when she attended a Star Wars convention. During the bullying episode, Lyla’s mother “reached out“ to some of the members and asked for help, which, according to Screen Rant, came in the form of “gifts and words of encouragement from around the world.” This helped Layla make it through the bullying episode and, most importantly, recover herStar Wars pride.
Very few fan bases can claim to have accomplished such an inspiring task, and even fewer can say that participating members, belonged to a charitable group that (ironically) dressed up as iconic villains, which makes the act even more special. These movie villains would be more likely to stride past a suffering eight-year-old and go and destroy rebel scum than stop and help. But luckily for Layla, these so-called villains had a heroic act of redemption written in to their stories.
The actions of the 501st provide an important reminder of how we should treat others. Instead of ignoring the suffering of an eight-year-old, they stood up and did what was right, giving the story a happy ending. In the end, we all need to be more like the 501st and stand up for those who are victims of injustice. The 501st stands as a reminder of what humans can accomplish if they band together for a common cause. Imagine if the same sort of passion was applied to other issues like animal abuse or climate change; the changes that humanity could create would be incredible. The 501st reminds us that we have incredible power as a group, in addition to reminding us that it’s okay to dress up as your favorite movie character, even if it is a villain.
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