Jar Jar Binks
Jar Jar Binks is a fictional character from the Star Wars films The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith, and the television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars.[1] His primary role was to provide comic relief. Jar Jar was played by Ahmed Best, and was almost completely computer generated.
Appearances
Films
Jar Jar Binks first appears in The Phantom Menace as a bumbling Gungan from the planet Naboo. After his tribe banishes him for his clumsiness, he is nearly killed by a federation transport, only to be saved at the last minute by Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and his padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor). The Jedi persuade Jar Jar's tribe to release him to their custody as a guide. He later goes with the Jedi and Queen Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman) to the planet Tatooine, where he meets and befriends Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd).
Jar Jar later appears in the film's climactic battle scene, where he leads his fellow Gungans in defeating the evil Trade Federation. For his heroics, he is made a general in the Gungan army, and Padmé gives him a ceremonial medal.
Jar Jar's role in Attack of the Clones is much smaller, but his actions are significant. Ten years after helping to save his planet, he is a delegate to the Galactic Senate, and as such plays a role in bringing his old friends Obi-Wan and Anakin (Hayden Christensen) back to Coruscant, where he greets them with enthusiasm. Later, on the behalf of Naboo and the Jedi, he gives a speech to the assembled Senate in favor of granting Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) vast emergency powers (and arguably starting the wheel that led to the Clone Wars, Galactic Empire, Galactic Civil War, and all the deaths therein.)
He appears in only a few scenes in Revenge of the Sith.[2]
Clone Wars
Jar Jar Binks is a supporting character in the animated series The Clone Wars, once again voiced by Best. In this series, he is a Senate representative who accompanies the main characters — Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Padmé — on their adventures.
Reception
Upon the release of The Phantom Menace, Jar Jar Binks became the subject of a great deal of media and popular attention, though not in the way his creators intended. He is generally despised by Star Wars fans. Binks became symbolic of what many reviewers such as Brent Staples (The New York Times),[3] David Edelstein (Slate),[4] and Eric Harrison (Los Angeles Times)[5][6] considered to be inherent creative flaws of the film. The character was widely rejected and often ridiculed by sections of the series' fanbase,[7] who felt that Jar Jar was clearly included in the film solely to appeal to children. One fan, Mike J. Nichols, created and distributed, free of charge, a modified version of the film, entitled The Phantom Edit, which cut out several scenes featuring what Nichols dubbed 'Jar Jar antics.' The character was also lampooned on an episode of the television show South Park entitled "Jackovasaurus", in The Fairly OddParents (Episode: Abra-Catastrophe!), as well as the parody Star Wars episodes of Robot Chicken, in which Best reprised the role in voice-over form.[8] Along with film critics, many fans have also accused the film's creators of excessive commercialization directed at young children (a criticism first levelled with the introduction of Ewoks in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi).[7] Star Wars creator George Lucas stated that he feels there is a section of the fanbase who get upset with aspects of Star Wars because "[t]he movies are for children but they don't want to admit that... There is a small group of fans that do not like comic sidekicks. They want the films to be tough like The Terminator, and they get very upset and opinionated about anything that has anything to do with being childlike."[9]
Rob Coleman, who was the lead on the Industrial Light & Magic animation team, warned Lucas that the team thought Jar Jar's character came across poorly. Lucas told him that he specifically put Jar Jar in the film to appeal to small children. After that, the issue was dropped.[10]
Allegations of racial caricature
Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal described the character as a "Rastafarian Stepin Fetchit on platform hoofs, crossed annoyingly with Butterfly McQueen."[11] Patricia J. Williams writes that many aspects of Jar Jar's character are highly reminiscent of the archetypes portrayed in blackface minstrelsy,[12] while others have suggested that the character is a "laid-back clown character" representing a black Caribbean stereotype.[13]
References
- ^ According to Jar Jar's profile, he will appear in The Clone Wars.
- ^ http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Star-Wars-Revenge-of-the-Sith.html
- ^ Staples, Brent (June 20, 1999), "Shuffling Through Star Wars", New York Times, pp. WK4
- ^ Edelstein, David (May 19, 1999), "Dark Side Lite", Slate
- ^ Harrison, Eric (June 21, 1999), "Even an Insider Found Jar Jar, Well, Jarring", Los Angeles Times, pp. F6
- ^ Harrison, Eric (May 26, 1999), "A Galaxy Far, Far Off Racial Mark?", Los Angeles Times, pp. F1
- ^ a b O'Ehley, James, Jar Jar Binks Must Die!, retrieved 2008-08-09
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1020990/
- ^ "Star Wars: Lucas strikes back". BBC News. 14 July 1999. Retrieved 2007-02-07.
- ^ Even Some At Lucasfilm Hated Jar Jar, IMDB Studio briefing, 1999-06-21, Retrieved on 2007-03-13.
- ^ Morgenstern, Joe (May 19, 1999), "Our Inner Child Meets Young Darth", The Wall Street Journal (Eastern Edition), pp. A20
- ^ Patricia J. Williams: "Racial Ventriloquism". The Nation. June 17, 1999. Archived from the original on September 20, 2006. Retrieved June 11, 2006.
- ^ Ford, Paul J. (2001), "A further analysis of the ethics of representation in virtual reality: Multi-user environments", Ethics and Information Technology, 3, Kluwer Academic Publishers: 113–121, doi:10.1023/A:1011846009390.
External links
- Jar Jar Binks in the StarWars.com Databank
- Collection of negative Jar Jar comments from major media sources.
- Star Wars Episode I in the Internet Movie Database
- Ahmed Best at the Internet Movie Database
- Jar Jar Binks on Wookieepedia, a Star Wars wiki
