73

According to a USA Today article, Mark Hamill told the crowd at a fan event on 10/7/17 to give Carrie the “one-finger salute” as some kind of sign of respect.

"Worldwide, everyone feels that gap she left," Hamill continued. "But we all have to hang in there. And if she’s out there somewhere, we have to give her the one-finger salute. Come on everybody, for Carrie," he said, imploring the crowd to all raise their middle fingers in the air as a tribute to Fisher, 60.

What the heck is that all about? In the USA, raising your middle finger is considered vulgar and offensive, akin to saying “f*** you”.

Edlothiad
  • 77,282
  • 32
  • 393
  • 381
iMerchant
  • 11,740
  • 12
  • 62
  • 122
  • 2
    http://mashable.com/2016/12/27/carrie-fisher-middle-finger/#FZeFS.bfssqs – Paulie_D Oct 08 '17 at 08:20
  • 16
    I'm wondering why this belongs in SciFi&Fantasy, rather than, say, entertainment trivia. I understand the actors in question are involved in Star Wars, a decidedly fantasy movie, so is it the case that we may indulge in asking questions that surround sci-fi & fantasy properties, even if they are in themselves definitely not sci-fi & fantasy topics (like this question)? – Ghoti and Chips Oct 08 '17 at 13:57
  • 16
    @GhotiandChips It would seem to me to be clearly a science fiction & fantasy topic as Mark Hamill was speaking to science fiction & fantasy fans at a "fan event at New York Comic Con". Hamill wasn't hosting the event because of his role in Corvette Summer and wasn't talking about Carrie Fisher because of her role in The Blues Brothers. Specifically he was talking about Fisher in the context of what was to be her role in Star Wars Episode 9, her absence from that film being part of "that gap she left". – Ross Ridge Oct 08 '17 at 15:40
  • 3
    Also Mark Hamil's supply of "give-a-damn" is very, very low. – corsiKa Oct 08 '17 at 17:26
  • @RossRidge Well, actually, it wasn't that clear to me, no. I didn't know that criteria like that made for strong enough basis to warrant relevance in the context of a site like this, especially where "On-topic" is a quality that seems key to the ethos. Whether I disagree personally or not was actually irrelevant, I was merely looking for a semi-decent explanation, which you seem to have provided. Thank you. – Ghoti and Chips Oct 08 '17 at 17:28

1 Answers1

119

Carrie Fisher famously gave George Lucas "the finger" at his AFI Lifetime Achievement Award ceremony (pictured bottom centre) when he made a joke about Carrie and her slave bikini. It kinda stuck and she would often give the 'salute' at fan events.

enter image description here

Hamill described it as one of her favourite ways of ribbing people.

“Well, I wish Carrie were here,” he said. “She would be making me laugh and be off camera extending her middle finger – one of her favorite gestures.”

Mark Hamill: Carrie would be giving me the finger right now

Community
  • 1
Valorum
  • 689,072
  • 162
  • 4,636
  • 4,873