EDITORIAL
My 2 wupiuipis

The Phantom Menace controversy
(July 1999)

For this issue, I thought I'd address some of the controversy surrounding Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, centered especially around the character Jar Jar Binks. I underline the word "character " because that's what he is. But some might see him as a kind of caricature because of his actions and speech. Some even accused George Lucas of being racist because he presents a goofy character who is played by an African-American actor.

    I'm convinced the racist accusations wouldn't have come up if Jar Jar had been modeled and voiced by a white guy. It's a common fact in animation (traditional cel and CG both) that the animated character often assumes characteristics of the voice actor and/or the actor used for reference poses. Many Disney characters, more than I can list here, are caricatures of their voice actors (sometimes obviously intentional, sometimes fairly subtle).

    So Jar Jar looks a little like Ahmed Best. You can see it in the face, as well as the way he moves and carries himself, and of course Jar Jar sounds like Ahmed Best. Best himself has mentioned the uncanny resemblance in interviews. The thing is, however, nobody knows who the hell Ahmed Best is. So critics simply see A Black Guy. And the black guy is speaking pidgin English and acting silly. Ergo, Lucas is making an editorial statement about the cowardice and inferiority of blacks.

    Imagine if Jar Jar had been played by a white guy, and had facial features slightly modeled after the white actor, and a voice that sounded white. People would still have decried Jar Jar as being annoying, but the racism accusations would have vanished. Without subconsciously seeing a black man beneath the CG, conclusions like the "Jamaican" accent and the "ears that look like dreadlocks" would never have been made.

    I haven't, for example, seen racism complaints against Boss Nass and Captain Tarpals. Other than those that are clearly the result of someone desperately trying to find an axe to grind (e.g. Boss Nass wears an "African hat.")

    Even if Jar Jar had been played by a famous black comedian like Eddie Murphy, it would have been seen by a savvy public as a caricature of Eddie Murphy and not a caricature of blacks. The little dragon in Mulan is a jive-talking Eddie Murphy? Hilarious. The little dragon in Mulan is a jive-talking black guy that I've never heard of? Watch your back, Disney. Again, Ahmed Best's biggest problem is that no one knows Ahmed Best.

    It's obvious what's so distressing about this. If you write a comic bumbling sidekick character -- and the role is as old as theater itself -- you are limited in your casting choices to Whites Only. Do you want to open up the casting call to include blacks and other races? They are only allowed to try out for the noble hero roles -- no sidekicks allowed, and certainly no villains. But the whites, on the other hand, can try out for any part they want.

    How is this any better than the Hollywood system of the '30s and '40s?

    I'm glad in a way that the controversy has forced people to talk about race, which is something we as a society should be open and honest about. But it seems like people are just talking in circles. My greatest fear is that Jar Jar will be seized on and promoted by the KKK or some hate group *as* a racist caricature, and that in the aftermath saying you like Jar Jar, or joining a Jar Jar fan club, or buying a Jar Jar Halloween mask will be perceived as making fun of blacks. Let's make sure that never happens.

    I'm glad George Lucas finally addressed the issue. It's about time. The funny thing is, Lucas was criticized when A New Hope came out for not showing enough diversity. When I read the TPM script and saw photos of the actors, the impression I got was that Lucas was working overtime to avoid all accusations of racism and/or sexism. Black Jedi? Black pilot? Female pilot? Asian senator? Female captain? Female Jedi? Hispanic guard? Black captain of the guard? Check, check, and check. Then the film comes out and is buried beneath more accusations of racial stereotyping than all the previous films put together, times ten. Talk about blindsided.

    Jar Jar isn't simply a racist caricature, and he isn't all sweetness and light. He's an inkblot. You can project whatever you want to on him. In this particular inkblot, some see a ladybug and others see a cockroach. Okay.

    But in this case, those that see the latter are becoming ever more vocal and strident. "It's a cockroach. It's a cockroach. It's a COCKROACH. Don't you get it? It's a COCKROACH. Here, I'll point it out. See the antenna and the scurrying little legs. A COCKROACH. It's obvious, man. Look at that shameful cockroach." Then what happens? Wonder of wonders, the next guy to look at the inkblot sees a cockroach too. And if he sees a ladybug instead, his friend will gladly help him out. "Hey man, don't you see the cockroach?"

    This is what's happening to the Jar Jar issue right now. Every story that gets written about how Jar Jar is a racist caricature reinforces the idea that people will project that onto the character when they're in the theater. And before long Jar Jar really *will* be a racist caricature -- in the media, in the court of public opinion, and in the minds of those who can only see the cockroach.

    And it pisses me off. I don't mind liking a movie that some people think is dull, or badly acted, or poorly written, or childish, because I myself liked it and everyone has different tastes. But I do mind liking a movie that some people think is racist.

    By all means, let's discuss racism in movies! But take a good hard look at the evidence in The Phantom Menace first, instead of what was reprinted on the Op-Ed page last week. Only then we can have an intelligent discussion about the inkblot. And if you show me the cockroach, I'll show you the ladybug.

    "At the risk of being snide, I'm convinved the racist accusations wouldn't have come up if Jar Jar hadn't seemed to be modelled after a Stepinfetchit character."

    This is, I think, the heart of the discussion. Some see Jar Jar (primarily because of his dialogue) as a shufflin' happy-slave stereotype. I contend that the only reason such a link can be made is because Jar Jar is voiced and played by a black actor, and furthermore a black actor that the audience isn't able to readily identify as a specific star (Eddie Murphy, Chris Tucker) and therefore ends up defaulting to generalizing about race. When I first read the Gungan dialogue on paper I thought it was delightfully odd, and I think They agree with me that Boss Nass and Capt. Tarpals sound fine. So if, for instance, Jim Carrey was hired to deliver Jar Jar's lines, would it still have come across as a "faux slave dialect"? I say no. Which means that hiring Ahmed Best do deliver the lines means bringing aboard a lot of racially-charged baggage at the same time.

    George Lucas obviously wasn't hip to this, which either makes him idealistic or naive or cruelly malicious, depending on which commentary you read. But this is what I see as the problem. Lucas writes a character that is a coward, isn't too bright, and speaks nonsense-talk. If he hires a white actor for the part, fine; if he hires a black actor he'll have to remove the nonsense-talk and make the character more courageous and intelligent first. Hell, given the current controversy I wish he had, but it points out that we as a society have a lot of racial baggage. And it's true, we do. In a way, Lucas casting Best as Jar Jar is extremely naive, as is Ben Burtt's comment in The Making of TPM about the Neimoidians: "We tried to choose an accent that wasn't readily associated with a particular culture."

    Something else to think about: If Lucas had cast, say, Samuel L. Jackson as Qui-Gon, how would that have changed the Jar Jar issue? (And should he have? The only minorities in TPM are supporting players.)

    On another note, this month we honor the release of the first prequel movie with a prequel-era issue. We have two firsts: original art, and our first submission! The story is entitled Darkness and Light and written by former-West End Games writer Paul Danner.

    Another RPG article deals with the Jawas around the time of The Phantom Menace, back when they were more than scavengers. Lots of Shaman spells and new templates in The Other Side of Tatooine.

    The last prequel story is set around the final period of the Clone Wars, and stars our favorite Mandalorian Protectors. Arbitrator of Sins is Abel Pena's first contribution to this web 'zine.

    Finally, in our regular discussion panel The Trash Compactor, we discuss some aspects of our favorite movie of 1999. All this, and the second part of Immortal Vengeance, the second chapter of Darkness Falls and more!



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