A University of Glasgow academic has ranked Star Wars movies based on the screen time of women characters.

Dr Rebecca Harrison, a lecturer in Theatre, Film and Television Studies at the University’s School of Culture & Creative Studies, analysed the screen time of women in the Star Wars franchise.

Dr Harrison findings revealed The Last Jedi ranked the best (with 43% screen time) and A New Hope was the worst movie for women character screen time with only 15%.

 

Her findings have caused a stir on social media and have had some “negative comments”.

She said: “The response has been phenomenal. Initially it was shared among academics, but it blew up after it was retweeted by one of the Star Wars book authors.

"The comments have been largely very positive, from women and men, who say it's making them look at Star Wars in a different way.

"There have been some negative comments, which is what can happen when you're a women on the internet talking about Star Wars."

The rankings will form part of a book by Dr Harrison examining the role of gender and race in how the Star Wars franchise is produced and distributed.

Here are Dr Harrison’s Star Wars Ranking

  • 43% Last Jedi
  • 37% Force Awakens
  • 35% Rogue One
  • 23% Return of the Jedi
  • 22% Empire Strikes Back
  • 20% Phantom Menace
  • 18% Attack of the Clones
  • 17% Revenge of the Sith
  • 15% A New Hope

 

First published: 1 June 2018

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