jar jar binks + racism = does not compute

[Onlythestrong]

Ok so here is my opinion.

Firstly...How the hell does Jar-Jar sound Jamaican? If JarJar Binks speaks like a Jamaican person then Jabba the Hut sounds like a Frenchman.

Second... Even if someone does think the voice is similar....I have a small piece of information for you...THERE ARE WHITE JAMAICANS....THERE ARE ALSO WHITE AFRICANS! (I know its hardly believable!)

Third... What does the race of the actor under the suit have to do with anything? Darth Vaders voice is done by James Earl Jones (a black man). While Vader the "Dark" Lord himself is played by David Prowse (a white Englishmen) and he wears a suit of Black (the color) while commanding tons of gaurds dressed in white and brown!

Fourth... Jack Sparrow (Pirates of the Caribbean, Johnny Depp, also a white fellow) dresses like a person of Caribbean origin AND has some dreadlocks AND uses lots of slang/made up words! CLEARLY he must have been trying to portray and simultaneously insult a black man!

I guess because Lukes light saber was blue that he must have a secret deathwish for all Smurfs as well?

Bottom line is...People that go out looking for racism are going to find it...its like the "War on Terror" or the "Drug Wars"....yes they are real problems, and NO we should not ignore them, but neither should we spend time drawing unnescesary attention to them either.

 

[Acaroid]

I think the word you are looking for is speciesist... I have quiet a few gungan friends and they are no-way anything like the sterotype that movies like starwars place on them.
/joke

Really i think it is just things people have placed on him. They think they see him related to the african american/jamacian/carabian culture so they claim racisim. People can read into things in very strange ways..

 

[Rajin Cajun]

I don't see anything racist with Jar-jar.
Some thought Jynx (the Pokemon) was racist because her original design was black and had large lips. Woo.

Same with Mr. Popo...oh wait he was supposed to be racist. :/

I never understood the Jar-Jar thing. I think people read too far into it or just viewed it with their already racist perspective and decided that was what Lucas was trying to convey. Which doesn't make any sense...George Lucas destroys his franchise so he can make Racial Caricatures? Not likely. Lucas is just stupid not racist.

 

[mooncalf]

Never heard anything about racism in regards to Jar Jar Binks, just alot of people finding him annoying...

 

[skcseth]

I have no idea.
I think I heard someone say he was supposed to be a "...racist depiction of a Jamaican."
Go figure.

 

[Abedeus]

Never heard anything about racism in regards to Jar Jar Binks, just alot of people finding him annoying...

Actually, I've heard how people say Jar Jar is a "tired stereotype". Stereotyping people is bad and ignorant.

 

[The Infamous Scamola]

It had to do with his whole black face minstrel persona and speech pattern.

Although, I think that money-grubbing-hook-nosed slaver thing was the worst.

 

[rossatdi]

I think it's pretty straightforward. He's a caricature of black people. His speech pattern is definitely influenced by Ebonics, his dress, and that of the Gungans as a whole, seems related to Caribbean modes. Finally, a great deal, if not all, of the Gungans are portrayed by black actors. It's a pretty clear he's as much a caricature as Al Jolson in The Jazz Singer. It's equating blacks with "the Other" by literally making them alien.

And, if you want to argue that "oh, well, that's sort of an accident, or maybe Lucas doesn't mean it to be taken that way" I'll say this: I'm sure it was an accident, and I'm sure it wasn't meant to be taken that way. But as aliens, evolving entirely separately from humanity, there's absolutely no reason they should have speech patterns even remotely resembling ebonics.

Lastly, the issue is not even really that Jar Jar is a caricature in his similarities. Its that George Lucas then makes the blunder of having what essentially boils down to "the black character" be a bumbling stupid idiot who succeeds solely by screwing up SO BADLY that he comes out the other end of failure into grand success. Also, to really drive home the point, Lucas makes the Gungans spear and catapult wielding jungle people.

This. Also, let us not forget Truman Capote the Hutt in Clone Wars. *Shudder*

 

[The Infamous Scamola]

I think it's pretty straightforward. He's a caricature of black people. His speech pattern is definitely influenced by Ebonics, his dress, and that of the Gungans as a whole, seems related to Caribbean modes. Finally, a great deal, if not all, of the Gungans are portrayed by black actors. It's a pretty clear he's as much a caricature as Al Jolson in The Jazz Singer. It's equating blacks with "the Other" by literally making them alien.

And, if you want to argue that "oh, well, that's sort of an accident, or maybe Lucas doesn't mean it to be taken that way" I'll say this: I'm sure it was an accident, and I'm sure it wasn't meant to be taken that way. But as aliens, evolving entirely separately from humanity, there's absolutely no reason they should have speech patterns even remotely resembling ebonics.

Lastly, the issue is not even really that Jar Jar is a caricature in his similarities. Its that George Lucas then makes the blunder of having what essentially boils down to "the black character" be a bumbling stupid idiot who succeeds solely by screwing up SO BADLY that he comes out the other end of failure into grand success. Also, to really drive home the point, Lucas makes the Gungans spear and catapult wielding jungle people.

This. Also, let us not forget Truman Capote the Hutt in Clone Wars. *Shudder*

Or the money-grubbing-hook-nosed jew. George Lucas loves his stereotypes.

 

[Brett Alex]

I don't know, all I thought of him was how unfunny he was and how they were trying (And failing) to make him funny.

Jar Jar was an element of slapstick humour for the children who would watch Star Wars. If I remember rightly, episode 1 was a PG (Parental Guidance). It's not like it was for more mature audiences as the others were.

Because the Ewoks were so serious and gritty.

EDIT:

What, you mean like R2-D2 and the Ewoks?

Damn, Ninja'd

 

[Seanchaidh]

I wouldn't say it was racist, but the character resembled a racist caricature superficially just in how over the top and annoying it was. I can see how someone would get confused.

 

[Lord Krunk]

I don't know, all I thought of him was how unfunny he was and how they were trying (And failing) to make him funny.

Jar Jar was an element of slapstick humour for the children who would watch Star Wars. If I remember rightly, episode 1 was a PG (Parental Guidance). It's not like it was for more mature audiences as the others were.

Because the Ewoks were so serious and gritty.

Or the Jawas, although they were slightly darker than the other cute little aliens.

 

[Rhayn]

Mesa no see da bombad racism in da Jaja beenx! Mesa love his slapstick hyuumor and random comedic input.

This.

I care not for any other Star Wars character.

*times how long it takes for Star Wars fans to shoot him*

 

[The Infamous Scamola]

However--and this comes up in the Resident Evil 5 controversy too--I get the bad feeling that a lot of video game enthusiasts...need a little more cultural literacy. And you really can't discuss the question of whether something is racist or not without knowing the *history* of racism.

Even someone as un-PC as Dennis Leary acknowledges on his show Rescue Me things like 'you can't turn a firehose on a black man'. And if you wind up less PC than Dennis Leary, well, that's a warning sign that you might want to reconsider things--there's a reason the Tommy Gavin character isn't being portrayed as a role-model 100% of the time.

Problem is, todays racism is very hidden and passive, unlike the style of yesteryear, and a lot of people will fail to pick up on it unless they're beaten over the head with it.

 

[Scarecrow38]

Jar Jar wasn't racist. Though he did make my racist against gungans.