Episode I: The Phantom Menace (2025)

Pinsir said:

TPM is the best Star Wars movie and Jar Jar is the best character.

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someone needs to be put in to a Mandalorian vault

Pinsir said:

See Also

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TPM is the best Star Wars movie and Jar Jar is the best character.

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Spoken like a true fan.

Agent Z said:

I will never understand the need to defend a character as racist as Jar Jar.

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The actor who came up with the voice, Ahmed Best, would strongly disagree that the character was racist. In fact, he almost committed suicide because so many people criticized his work.

thwhtGuardian said:

The actor who came up with the voice, Ahmed Best, would strongly disagree that the character was racist. In fact, he almost committed suicide because so many people criticized his work.

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What was done to Ahmed Best was completely unfair and unjustified. It also doesn't make Jar Jar any less of a racist stereotype as has been argued by many black people.

Agent Z said:

I will never understand the need to defend a character as racist as Jar Jar.

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He's more Charlie Chaplin than minstrel show though

Noodle said:

The Trade Federation viceroys were waaaaaaaaay more racist than Jar Jar.

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The trade Federation is my favourite Star Wars faction though...They aren't really based off of East Asian people, at least their politics and behavior, ironically the Gungans are partially based on samurai

sunofdarkchild said:

Don't forget Watto.

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Uhhhh, to be fair, he's probably suppose to be a parody of Italians

Just a friendly reminder though folks, the Sand People in episode 4 are the most stereotypical Star Wars race. So, if you have an issue this is sort of storytelling, yah just can't pillory episode 1 alone.

Pinsir said:

He's more Charlie Chaplin than minstrel show though

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He'd have to be funny to be Chaplin.

Pinsir said:

The trade Federation is my favourite Star Wars faction though...They aren't really based off of East Asian people, at least their politics and behavior, ironically the Gungans are partially based on samurai

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Their accents are clearly supposed to invoke East Asian depictions.

Uhhhh, to be fair, he's probably suppose to be a parody of Italians

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1) If that were true (which it isn't) that's not much better 2) He has a large hooked nose, beady eyes, speaks in a gravelly voice, and is portrayed as greedy and covetous. In his second appearance, he also has a beard and wears a round black hat resembling a kippah.

Just a friendly reminder though folks, the Sand People in episode 4 are the most stereotypical Star Wars race. So, if you have an issue this is sort of storytelling, yah just can't pillory episode 1 alone.

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You are aware that these movies were made by the same guy, right? The accusations of racism (which is very likely done out of ignorance than malice) is clearly not coming from nowhere. You've basically admitted there is precedence for this stuff in Lucas's work and anyway, we're talking about Episode 1 not 4.

Agent Z said:

1) If that were true (which it isn't) that's not much better 2) He has a large hooked nose, beady eyes, speaks in a gravelly voice, and is portrayed as greedy and covetous. In his second appearance, he also has a beard and wears a round black hat resembling a kippah.

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Yeah, Georgie didn't help himself with the kippah. Though the sterotypes you overlaid still apply equally to Italians (who historically have a lot of overlap with the Jewish community) and Arabs as well.

You are aware that these movies were made by the same guy, right? The accusations of racism (which is very likely done out of ignorance than malice) is clearly not coming from nowhere. You've basically admitted there is precedence for this stuff in Lucas's work and anyway, we're talking about Episode 1 not 4.

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That statement was more for people who single out episode 1 for these things and seem to ignore this stuff in the other Star Wars films. I don't think Lucas was ignorant of these things btw, he fully knew what he was doing. Its just a Sci-fi trope to use human cultures as a basis for aliens.

Agent Z said:

What was done to Ahmed Best was completely unfair and unjustified. It also doesn't make Jar Jar any less of a racist stereotype as has been argued by many black people.

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I don't get how the two halves of that statement work.

The reason Best almost ended his life was because he put so much of himself into his work; for all the flack directed at Jar Jar...it was an authentic performance by Best. He drew deeply on himself, his family and people he grew up with to create the character's speaking patterns, body language, facial ticks and it was apparently largely his idea to go as far into slap stick as they did with the character as Best loves old time physical comedy. So if he was the shaker and mover in bringing that to the screen, and he is in fact of West Indian dissent how is it racist?

I can see having that reaction first...but after learning that the characteristics that are called racist came from an actor of that race in what they thought was an authentic performance I can't see how you can stand by that accusation.

I think it can be a bit of both, but I think the word of the day is caricature albeit unintentionally.

Both Jar Jar and Nute Gunray have voices which can be seen as caricatures of a Jamaican and Asian accent. Jar Jar in particular being the film's comedy could be a bit much but knowing he's played as black (and of course Ahmed Best is black) the slapstick and voice could lead someone to getting the wrong idea. Jar Jar is supposed to be the "drunken master". He was supposed to be a fool who throughout it all succeeded because of his clumsiness being used to his advantage, and it doesn't really come out on screen. So his importance can also be seen talking down in a way. Jar Jar is well intentioned both in and out of universe but it's not too hard to make the connection even if its unintended. The films play in a ton of regions where not everyone is going to get that nor is that same audience going to know about what Ahmed Best intended his performance to be.

I've said it before but it bears repeating. The audience for the most part watches the films and only the films and they might not make the connections nor look into the artists and backgrounds that informed these characters. We do, but for the most part the GA will look at that and move on with whatever they take away from it. Jar Jar gets bad takes at face value because for the most part that's all the audience will ever perceive him as. We don't because we're kind of obsessed one way or the other and kind of get what Best was trying to do.

Jar Jar is basically just Charlie Chaplain crossed with Bugs Bunny. He's supposed to be a cartoon character, that's why he speaks funny, like he doesn't even speak in a Jamaican accent either.

I think people should unpack consequences of saying Watto is a Jewish stereotype though (and other similar incidences)...because if he is...that mean Lucas is an anti-Semite unless you write him off as being gravely ignorant, which is unlikely or contend Watto isn't a based off Jewish stereotypes, which I do.

Pinsir said:

Jar Jar is basically just Charlie Chaplain crossed with Bugs Bunny. He's supposed to be a cartoon character, that's why he speaks funny, like he doesn't even speak in a Jamaican accent either.

I think people should unpack consequences of saying Watto is a Jewish stereotype though (and other similar incidences)...because if he is...that mean Lucas is an anti-Semite unless you write him off as being gravely ignorant, which is unlikely or contend Watto isn't a based off Jewish stereotypes, which I do.

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Yeah that's another one I think people read into, and again one that's with out merit. Andy Secomb has said time and time again that he based it on a used car salesmen he once dealt with...who was Italian. And the features looking like an anti-semetic caricature? The animators based the features of Watto on Secomb himself, so it's no jab at people of jewish dissent or arabs or any other race, it's just the way the actor looks.