Boba Fett's Mods Were Better For Star Wars Than You Realize
The Mods, Tatooine's cyborg bike gang, were criticized for looking out-of-place, but they make perfect sense being there. Star Wars needs subcultures.
One of the most controversial new additions to Star Wars canon in The Book Of Boba Fett are the Mods, but they add some much-needed depth to the Star Wars galaxy. A biker gang with a fondness for some extreme body modification, the Mods are a group of cyborg kids who find themselves employed by Fett as part of his security team. While some viewers have criticized their seemingly out-of-place aesthetic, a distinctive sci-fi subculture is a welcome addition to the Star Wars universe.
Like a lot of science fiction, the Star Wars galaxy has largely overlooked the idea of subcultures but, in a society that spans an entire galaxy, it makes perfect sense that they would exist. After all, subcultures are normal and even expected in human societies. From the punk and hippy movements that began in the 20th century to the Cult of Dionysus in Ancient Greece, there have always been groups who choose to eschew social norms and go in a different direction to the establishment. Similarly, there have always been people making complaints about them for looking and acting out of place. American punk movements in the 1990s are a good example, taking root in bland-looking suburban environments and making a statement by looking out of place. One notable subculture in 1960s England were the original Mods. Their drug-laden lifestyle and distinctive aesthetic - riding Vespa bikes adorned with an excessive number of mirrors - is the focus of the 1979 movie Quadrophenia, and a heavy influence on the Mods in Book of Boba Fett.
A group of disaffected street rats (affectionately speaking) like the Mods make perfect sense on a planet like Tatooine in The Book Of Boba Fett. They live on a weird backwater planet where everything is dusty and beige, in a galaxy until recently ruled by an oppressive military, on a planet run by crime lords like Jabba the Hutt. Of course there would be people growing up in a place like that who want to rebel. Using vibrant colours to contrast with their drab homeworld is an obvious way for them to do so. The Mods fit perfectly into Tatooine specifically because they don’t fit, in much the same way as the Mods who loitered on the streets of 20th century London.
The most interesting side of the Mods is, as their name implies, they have a fondness for modifying themselves with cyborg implants. This also makes perfect sense in the Star Wars universe. Star Wars is already full of cyborg characters, some by choice and some following injuries. Luke Skywalker is famously an amputee with a robotic hand, following his duel against Darth Vader, while the Clone Wars villain General Grievous chose to be given a robotic body to become a better fighter. In a world where mechanical replacements for body parts are both normal and potentially better than their fleshy originals, it’s entirely logical that some people might decide to modify themselves for aesthetic reasons too.
All the traits of the Mods are familiar from real-world subcultures, including body modification. In particular, transhumanism and biohacking are real-world philosophies of people who want to improve their own bodies with technological implants, and some have made serious attempts to do this. A prominent example is cyborg artist Neil Harbisson who implanted an antenna onto his skull, allowing him to sense (if not actually see) infrared and ultraviolet. If the world had the technological abilities of Star Wars, it’s not difficult to imagine that people like Boba Fett's Mods might actually exist, too.
Overall, the Mods in The Book Of Boba Fett show that Star Wars has had a distinct lack of subcultures this whole time, and shows that they can add color and depth to a story. While it’s a pity they didn’t get more screen time to better develop their personalities and attitudes, it would be nice to see future Star Wars stories either revisit them or introduce new and different subcultures on other worlds. Either way, simply showing that groups like the Mods can exist unlocks a whole galaxy of potential for future Star Wars stories.