Star Wars fan girls: The Force is with them

SINGAPORE — A long time ago, there were three little girls who discovered — and fell in love with — a universe of possibilities. This was a universe filled with spaceships, aliens, strange planets with strange names, blaster-bearing heroines, heroes with laser swords and the occasional cutesy furball. We are, of course, talking about Star Wars.

It’s a familiar tale, but for Joey Lim, Olivine Lin and Tyrene Teo, Star Wars is more than just a movie franchise created by George Lucas. The trio are part of the Singapore chapter of the 501st Legion, an international fan-based organisation dedicated to the construction and wearing of screen-accurate replicas of costumes, most popularly the stormtrooper armoured uniform, from the Star Wars universe. While they have several costumes, Teo’s regular costume is that of Mandalorian warrior Bo-Katan, Lin usually appears as lightsabre-wielding Visas Marr, while Lim opts for the crimson Imperial garb of Ysanne Isard.

Lim’s encounter with the 501st occurred at a convention in Suntec City. “I met two guys and one of them was cosplaying my favourite character, Boba Fett,” she said. “They told me about the 501st but I didn’t join at first. I met a few more at road shows and joined only later.”

For Lin, her entry into the group began with a chance meeting with a member of the 501st in a toy shop. “This was in 2008. I was there looking for more Star Wars stuff, and someone was looking to buy a lightsabre. The conversation drifted to Star Wars and I was asked if I wanted to join, so I said, ‘why not?’”

“Of the three of us, I’m the newest member,” said Teo. “The first time I saw all of them in costume was at the Chingay Parade in 2013. It was overwhelming. I said, ‘I must do this’.”

STAR WARS AND FANGIRLS

The three were introduced to the Star Wars movies when they were in 
their tweens (or early teens).

“I was watching the original trilogy and when Darth Vader’s lightsabre came out. That was it,” said Teo.

“This was in the ’80s. I happened to watch Star Wars on TV. The pin dropped for me when the lightsabres came out and I said, ‘I really want one of those’,” said Lin. “I was too young to appreciate the thrust of the story, but that image of the lightsabre stayed in my head for years.”

The impact of Star Wars was a lot greater for Lim. “I had dyslexia, I was not into reading and I left school after Primary 6. But when my mum dragged the family to watch Episode I: The Phantom Menace, I just thought, ‘That is so cool’,” she said. “I loved the series and that got me interested in reading because I wanted to read the Star Wars novels. I would go to the library or bookstores to get the books or comic books; and I actually improved my English along 
the way.”

Like many fans, the three ladies are well-versed in the Star Wars Expanded and Canon Universes and will discuss at length about all things related to the franchise. For instance, did Luke really fall for Leia? “They felt something — but it was The Force, nothing else,” Teo laughed.

“She did kiss him, but there was no ‘tongue sandwich’,” interjected Lin.

Is Jar Jar Binks the worst Star Wars character ever? “What could be worse than that?” asked Lin.

“Ewoks,” countered Teo.

“Ewoks don’t talk,” Lin retorted.

And they’ll tell you something about the sexy slave girl outfit worn by Princess Leia in Return Of The Jedi: “You know, Han Solo just came out of carbonite and he kept saying, ‘I can’t see’. So, technically, he is the only one who didn’t see Leia in that outfit!” said Teo.

One might raise eyebrows about the fact that these women are so into Star Wars, but the three are quick to correct any misconception about female Star Wars fans in Singapore. “I know, usually when you see a girl at a Star Wars event, you automatically (assume) she’s the girlfriend or the wife of the fan, right?” 
said Teo.

“I think you’ll find that it’s because of our traditional societal norms: Girls like pink, frilly stuff and boys want to play with technical things,” said Lin. “But that doesn’t really play out. I’m female, but I’m perfectly capable of repairing stuff 
at home.”

She added that it’s not just the men who make wrong assumptions about these fans. “I think women get the wrong idea … that it detracts from femininity to like Star Wars, something that is so boyish. But science fiction is very empowering for women. Frankenstein was written by 
a woman.”

Lin continued: “There are these arbitrary distinctions — boys play with trucks, girls play with dolls — but Star Wars, for me, broke that mould. There was a princess who did not need rescuing and, in fact, she called the shots. She was very different. She wasn’t a damsel in distress. Princess Leia was someone who was good looking — (and) she rescued Han. Even when she was a slave girl, she pretty much contributed to her own rescue by killing Jabba The Hutt. She’s a very respectable female character and that is one thing I like about the Star Wars universe. There is a great deal 
of equality.”

Added Teo: “And that’s just the original trilogy. In the Clone Wars, my favourite character, Bo-Katan, is a female mercenary. Anakin’s Padawan, Ashoka Tano, is female. Half the Jedi council are female. And the new movie also has strong female characters. There are many Sith females.”

“Some of the Imperial officers, like Ysanne, are female. And she was the big boss,” said Teo. “The women aren’t secondary (to the plot).”

STAR WARS SAVED MY LIFE

Lim, Lin and Teo have carved their own paths in life as a photographer/costume designer, a corporate lawyer and technical officer, respectively. As Star Wars fans, they regularly attend conventions all over the world. Teo, for example, just returned from the recent Star Wars Celebration event in Anaheim, while Lim wants to go to London to see the new Star Wars wax figures at 
Madame Tussauds.

And, yes, they’ll be commemorating this year’s Star Wars Day (it’s on May 4, by the way, as in “May the fourth be with you”), and you’ll probably see them at the Celebrate The Force event at Suntec City 
this weekend.

But just how long can they go on doing this? “As long as possible,” said Teo. “I saw an old couple in Anaheim who came as Princess Leia and Han Solo,” she said. “That was amazing. And this old man, who was easily 80, came with his granddaughter. He had a walker and it was made to look like an AT-AT (All-Terrain Armoured Transport). He actually commented online: ‘Best weekend ever’. There’s no age limit 
for this.”

“It allows you to be a child again for a little while — in a way that society will not find troubling,” added Lin. “There’s a general acceptance of this. You get to do things that you probably dreamt of doing as a kid but just didn’t have the opportunity. You’re just having a little laugh … and then you go back to doing what you normally do.”

For Lim, it’s a bit more than just a love for all things Star Wars that will keep her going. “I will continue doing it because I make costumes and I love the design of the costumes. I love the concept art,” she said. “(But also) Star Wars allowed me to do so many things in my life. I left school after PSLE … without this as a boost, I would not have improved myself. When my family talk about it, they say Star Wars, in a way, rescued me, because it made me do things I probably wouldn’t have done — like learn to read, improve my English or open my mind 
to imagination.

“Star Wars saved my life.”

Celebrate The Force is on Saturday and Sunday, East Wing Atrium, Suntec City.