Carrie Fisher Has Died

By Pajiba Staff | Star Wars | December 27, 2016 |

By Pajiba Staff | Star Wars | December 27, 2016 |

After suffering a massive heart attack over the weekend, Carrie Fisher passed away today at age 60, leaving behind a legacy of acting and writing, feminism and strength.

Some of the staff wanted to share how she mattered to them, and of course, share your own thoughts in the comments.

“I saw a meme going around Facebook yesterday quoting Emma Watson about how Hermione of Harry Potter fame “made it okay for girls to be the smartest in the room. To be a leader, the one with the plan.” My immediate reaction, while taking nothing away from Hermione as a character, was that nobody better tell Leia or she’d send a space armada to educate them gently on the contributions of an earlier generation. I grew up on Star Wars and what Leia meant in retrospect was that it never occurred to me that a woman wasn’t as strong as a man, that the term “female hero” not only was not an oxymoron as geek culture seemed to insist for so long, but was indeed an unnecessary redundancy. We’ve insisted for a long time that representation in film is important because everyone should be able to see themselves as the hero. But it’s also important because representation shows us how everyone else can be heroes too. Fisher, through Leia, taught a generation that women were space heroes too, whether they be princesses or generals or both.”
-Steven Lloyd Wilson

“Carrie Fisher cared not for your opinions, and she was outspoken about the crap heaped upon women to look and act a certain way. Just watch this hilarious interview from the Star Wars: The Force Awakens press tour:

“A witty, whip-smart icon — a survivor who inspired so many struggling with addiction and mental health. Her return as Leia to the big screen in The Force Awakens was fitting because here, she was no longer a princess. She was a general. Her brother had bailed, and so had her partner. Her son went over to the Dark Side. But there she stood, in battle clothes, leading the rebellion and refusing to give up. Leia is a fighter, and she couldn’t have had a better woman telling her story.”
-Sarah Carlson

“I used to beg to have my hair braided and wrapped into Leia buns. I loved her choking out Jabba and kicking ass on her own.”
-Jodi Clager

“My favorite memory is having my big brother introduce me to the Star Wars universe at a young age, then Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel, then Xena, She-Ra and Valkyries.

“He made it a point to make sure I knew of strong female role models who take zero shit and sometimes had to do their own rescuing. He even went so far as to say that because we didn’t necessarily know Boba Fett’s gender, that it was entirely likely that Fett could’ve been a female.

“Out of all those fictional characters, Carrie Fisher was a rebel in her real life as much as her fictional one. And to do it with humility, humor and self deprecation in front of millions, that’s what made her a real superhero.”
-Bekka Supp

But like so many great writers, Fisher already jokingly composed her own obituary, which does a better job reflecting her wit and sharpness than any of our words can here:

Just end already 2016, we’re done with you.