Actor, screenwriter, novelist, inspirational speaker and legend. Carrie Fisher lived a whole heck of a lot in just 60 years on planet Earth, but although she died earlier today – after suffering a heart attack on December 23, 2016 – her impact will live on, and on.
To the world at large Carrie Fisher, daughter of actress Debbie Reynolds and singer Eddie Fisher, became synonymous with princess and military general Leia Organa, one of the iconic protagonists of Star Wars. Throughout the original Star Wars trilogy – A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi – she proved that female characters in sci-fi/fantasy stories were more than damsels in distress, taking control of her own rescue and, when confronted with a misogynistic monster who tried to dehumanize her by forcing her to wear a gold bikini and a leash, strangling her persecutors to death with the very instruments they would use to oppress her. (Seriously, fuck Jabba the Hutt. What an asshole.) Carrie Fisher also sang a rather embarrassing song in the notorious Star Wars Holiday Special, which she would later joke was something she’d throw on TV when she wanted houseguests to leave.
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But Carrie Fisher was more than Leia Organa, she was an accomplished actress with roles in beloved comedies and dramas, like The Blues Brothers, Hannah and Her Sisters, When Harry Met Sally, The Burbs and Soapdish. She was a novelist and autobiographer, whose insights into her own drug addiction and struggles with mental health became an inspiration to the world. Carrie Fisher was one of the boldest, wittiest, smartest human beings in the entertainment industry, a force to be reckoned with, as likely to flip the bird in her publicity photos as she was to smile.
Carrie Fisher will be back. She was involved in the production of Star Wars: Episode VIII, and until we learn otherwise it seems reasonable to expect her footage will be used. The question remains, of course, of how Star Wars will continue without her. But these are questions for another time, for other people to answer. The important thing about Carrie Fisher wasn’t that she was a part of Star Wars. If anything, it’s more important that Star Wars introduced us to Carrie Fisher.
Our hearts go out to Carrie Fisher’s friends and family in this time of sadness.
Top Photo: Getty Images
William Bibbiani (everyone calls him ‘Bibbs’) is Crave’s film content editor and critic. You can hear him every week on The B-Movies Podcast and Canceled Too Soon, and watch him on the weekly YouTube series Most Craved, Rapid Reviews and What the Flick. Follow his rantings on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.
