Revisiting a Disappointment - The Phantom Menace

[elrhiarhodan]

A few weeks ago, for Day 18 of the recent Movie Meme, I noted that the movie I was most disappointed in was The Phantom Menace, in part because of Jar-Jar Binks.

This engendered a few comments regarding the racist overtones of the character, and I think, despite the back-and-forth dialogue, I wasn't able to convince my interlocutors of the problematic nature of Jar-Jar's portrayal.

What I'd forgotten over the years - because frankly, I'd really like to forget that TPM actually exists - is that there is a far worse portrayal in the movie - Watto, the creature that owns both Anakin and his mother, Shmi. Watto is, for all intents and purposes, a vile caricature of a shtel Jew, or worse, Shylock from The Merchant of Venice.

I am bringing this up now because I just read an excellent article - Diversity in a Galaxy Far, Far Away: Star Wars’ Poor History and New Hope in Representation - that far more eloquently describes how poorly the Star Wars universe treats race, gender and diversity that I ever could.

Even if you don't read the article, please take note of this point:

What does this mean for our enjoyment of a series that is otherwise well-crafted, compelling, and perhaps the greatest franchise in science fiction? Are we no longer allowed to watch Star Wars? Of course we are. The task now lies in balancing our enjoyment with a critical eye for the ways in which the movies go wrong. By keeping conscious of how these various stereotypes and issues of representation affect not just us, but also those around us, we actually do the series justice.

By acknowledging that racism and sexism don’t only manifest themselves in explicit utterances of offensive slurs, but rather permeate all levels of our society, from politicians to police officers to the media we enjoy, we end up agreeing with Obi-Wan Kenobi, one of Star Wars’ great heroes. In Return of the Sith, he says one of my favorite quotes from the series: “Only a Sith Lord deals in absolutes.” When we recognize that there are more subtle expressions of racism and sexism, we reject those absolute definitions.

But remaining silently critical is not enough. We must make sure to press Star Wars—and other producers of media, from Marvel Comics to triple-A videogame developers—for better representation, and to make amends for their past offenses.

Comments

[sheenianni.livejournal.com]

I suppose you might have a point about Jar-Jar - I don't know the context well enough to really tell.

Regarding Tuskens, I just fast-viewed the movie and Obi-Wan doesn't really say much about them. He says they're easily scared [by his Jedi tricks], that they ride behind each other to hide their numbers and that the're not precise shooters [compared to the Empire]. By all those hints, you can see a civilization that's not very technically advanced (which is understandable, given that they're living in the desert), possibly supersitious but efficient enough in their way of life. But through all six movies, we don't see anything of their culture (beside the fact that they live in tents), because they're always seen through the eyes of the other Tatooine inhabtants, with whom they compete for the little that the desert gives them. Do they have legends? What games do their kids play? Maybe they love music? We never really find out, and it's that disregard that makes it easier for Anakin to murder them.