"The Moral Landscape of the STAR WARS Saga" - Jar-Jar Binks
Here is the seventh article on moral ambiguity found in the STAR WARS saga:
"The Moral Landscape of the STAR WARS Saga"
Jar-Jar Binks
I have encountered many articles on the Internet about why many fans consider the "STAR WARS" Prequel movies a failure. A number of these articles tend to be dominated by opinions on what was wrong with the Gungan character known as Jar-Jar Binks and why he is so hated.
First of all, what was really wrong with Jar-Jar Binks? Well . . . I have several opinions. And they are not pretty. One, Jar-Jar clumsy and naive. Jar-Jar's clumsiness had irked Boss Nass and the other Gungans for years. And when the young Gungan wrecked the Boss' personal heyblibber submarine, the latter had him banished from Otoh Gunga, the city underneath Naboo's waters. In "STAR WARS: EPISODE I - THE PHANTOM MENACE", Jar-Jar's meeting with Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and Jedi padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi, the adventures he shared with them and his participation in the Battle of Naboo, allowed Jar-Jar to resume his position within Gungan society.
Many fans still solely blame Jar-Jar for Chancellor Sheev Palpatine's growing political power, when he, as the Junior Representative for Naboo in the Galactic Senate, had proposed that the Sith Lord receive emergency executive powers during the political crisis leading up to the Clone Wars in "STAR WARS: EPISODE II - ATTACK OF THE CLONES". But other Star Wars characters had committed their own share of mistakes - including those Original Trilogy characters worshiped by the franchise's fans. Naboo's Queen Padmé Amidala (later Senator) had declared a no-confidence vote against Chancellor Finis Valorum in "STAR WARS: EPISODE I - THE PHANTOM MENACE", unintentionally paving the way for Palpatine's election as the Galactic Republic's chancellor. The Original Trilogy leads had committed their own mistakes - especially in "STAR WARS: EPISODE V - THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK". Padmé was never crucified by the fans for her mistake in "THE PHANTOM MENACE". As far as many are concerned, her only mistake was marrying then Jedi padawan Anakin Skywalker (the future Darth Vader) in "ATTACK OF THE CLONES". Many fans have been willing to criticize Padmé, Anakin and many other Prequel Trilogy characters. But I do not ever recall any of them being crucified for their flaws and mistakes like Jar-Jar. I could almost say the same about the Original Trilogy leads. However, very few STAR WARS characters have been willing to even acknowledge their mistakes.
So, why had so many fans had dumped so much hatred upon Jar-Jar's head? Why do they still crucify him in such an excessive manner? Even this The Washington Post ARTICLE could not help crucifying poor Jar-Jar . . . sixteen years after the release of "THE PHANTOM MENACE". Many claimed that due to Jar-Jar's naivety and clumsiness and especially his dialect that seemed to resemble a Caribbean patois, Jar-Jar was a racist fictional trope. The ironic thing is that actor Ahmed Best, who is African-American, was responsible for the creation of the Gungan dialect, not George Lucas. Best, who had initially been hired to provide Jar-Jar's motion capture performance, was the one who had created Jar-Jar's speech pattern. He was also the one who had convinced Lucas to allow him to also provide the character's voice. Because of this, I have a great difficulty in agreeing with those criticisms that Jar-Jar was a racist trope. Unless this accusation stemmed from the fact that an African-American actor had provided the character's voice. For me, that says a lot about many moviegoers and film critics and not the character or Lucas.
Had Jar-Jar's lack of social graces created so much hatred from certain fans?After all, he was clumsy and naive. Considering that the franchise's biggest fans tend to be "geeks", did many of these fans (who tend to be the loudest on the Internet) view Jar-Jar as a reminder of their own personal flaws? Or lack of social graces? Were those the reasons why they hated him so much? He reminded them too much of themselves? I can understand why many of these fans would rather associate themselves with characters that are regarded as "cool" or "ideal", instead of a character who may have possibly been a reflection of themselves.
There is also the consideration that Jar-Jar was a part of the Prequel Trilogy. And in the eyes of the Darth Media and rabid fanboys, anything or any character that originated with the Prequel Trilogy was bad. It is still bad, as far as they are concerned. Why? Even more so than the Original Trilogy or the Sequel Trilogy, the Prequel Trilogy seemed to come closer to being a TRUE reflection of mankind and its societies' ambiguous nature. For me, watching a Prequel Trilogy movie seemed to be the equivalent of a human being looking into a mirror and seeing his or her true self. And for some reason, this seemed to bother many fans. Most of their complaints about the Prequel Trilogy seemed to stem from this ambiguity. The only STAR WARS movies that seemed to have come close to the Prequel movies's ambiguity are "THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK" and "ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY". The Prequel films allowed their characters to make some ambiguous decisions without being painted as "heroic" or "cool". Nor did the Prequel Trilogy have their characters triumph in the end.
In a way, both Jar-Jar Binks and the STAR WARS Prequel Trilogy seemed like a true reflection of humanity. Jar-Jar's clumsiness and naivety could easily be a reflection of the same level of social graces as many of the franchise's fans. And the Prequel Trilogy definitely struck me as a reflection of our societies throughout history. As I finish this article, I find myself wondering if this is more of a exploration of the STAR WARS fandom's ambiguity than of Jar-Jar's character. Because I find these fans' hatred of Jar-Jar rather disturbing . . . and odd.