The Force Awakens Extra Credit

Wednesday night, I spread out my baking materials, eager to try my hand at making some stormtrooper cupcakes. Amidst bags of frosting, littered cupcake liners, and concerns of food poisoning, I carefully assembled my confection: a chocolate cupcake topped with white icing and a stormtrooper helmet (marshmallows with straggly black lines of frosting). I wanted to create a representation of Finn's Home Culture, the first step of the Hero's Journey. The stark white icing and marshmallows created the "perfect" embodiments of stoic and characterless stormtroopers (my icing technique was far from flawless). I then placed all 24 cupcakes in neatly lined rows, which I felt was appropriate to represent the lack of free thought and individuality in the First Order. Finn felt compelled to participate in this culture, his doubts grew. Further along the Hero's Journey (at the Calling From the Outside World stage), Finn cast away his stormtrooper helmet, literally and figuratively. The marshmallow helmets melt away quickly in your mouth, and fittingly, Finn's home culture dissolved quickly after his encounter with Poe. This willingness to change stands in stark contrast to the supposed rigidity of the stormtrooper environment.

By the time I had finished my cupcakes, there were still remnants of the battle: streaks of frosting clung to my hair, stubborn sugar stuck to my shirt... a Hero's Journey indeed.