Jar Jar Binks
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Star Wars character | |
| Jar Jar Binks | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Portrayed by | Ahmed Best (voice, motion reference, some body close-ups) |
|
|
|
| Position | General in the Gungan Grand Army, Representative of the Gungan race, Senator of Chommell Sector (substituting for Padmé Amidala) |
| Homeworld | Naboo |
| Species | Gungan |
| Gender | Unknown |
| Affiliation | Gungan Grand Army, Galactic Republic, Galactic Senate, Delegation of 2000 |
Jar Jar Binks (born c. 50 BBY)[citation needed] is a fictional character from the Star Wars films The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. Named by George Lucas' son,[1] his primary role was intended to provide comic relief. Jar Jar was voiced by Ahmed Best. He is almost completely computer-generated. Although he was played on set by a costumed Best, Best was usually edited out and replaced by the animated character, except in some close shots where his face is not visible.[citation needed] The creation and modeling of Jar Jar Binks marked the first time that such a highly detailed, photo-realistic CGI character had interacted with live actors in a feature film.[citation needed] Director George Lucas and his effects team were quick to hail this as a major technical breakthrough.[citation needed]
Jar Jar Binks is a 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) tall Gungan, with long ears and eyes mounted on stalks.
Contents |
[edit] Story
[edit] Episode I
Banished from his childhood home for his clumsiness, the naïve Jar Jar is first encountered while living in the swamps of Naboo. In the events of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Jedi Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi arrive on Naboo, ending up in the swamps rather than the intended destination of the capital, Theed.
Qui-Gon Jinn saves Jar Jar's life as the Trade Federation's droid army advance on Theed, and, as a result, Jar Jar explains that he owes Qui-Gon a life debt (implying that he is obligated to stay by Qui-Gon's side for the rest of his life, or until he is released). Jar Jar is later arrested by troops loyal to Boss Nass when Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan visit Otoh Gunga, and Qui-Gon uses the excuse of this Life Debt to free Jar Jar from the custody of the Gungan Bosses.
Jar Jar travels with Qui-Gon's party to Tatooine and later Coruscant. It is on the latter planet that he informs Padmé Amidala that the Gungans have a grand army (a term significant later in the Star Wars series - see Grand Army of the Republic), a contributory factor in her decision to return to Naboo and contest the Trade Federation's invasion militarily. After Qui-Gon and his party's return to Naboo, Jar Jar is instrumental in Padmé's brokering a deal with the Gungans for a joint attack on the Trade Federation's occupation forces, leading her and her allies to the Gungans' underwater hiding place. Throughout this ordeal, he befriends Anakin Skywalker, a nine-year-old human whom Qui-Gon believes to be the Chosen One destined to bring balance to the Force.As a result of (inadvertently) bringing together the Naboo and the Gungans, Jar Jar reconciles with Boss Nass and is awarded the rank of Bombad General in the Gungan Grand Army. Jar Jar plays an important role in the Battle of Naboo.
Jar Jar provides comic relief throughout the film, including a number of battle scenes. For instance, Jar Jar accidentally sends a load of explosive energy spheres (called boomers or boomas) into a group of enemy battle droids, which destroys a large number of them. This is a direct homage to Buster Keaton's silent film Seven Chances, in which Keaton is chased down a mountainside by hundreds of prop boulders while trying to elude an army of women eager to marry him for an inheritance.
[edit] Episode II
Although he has much less screen time in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Jar Jar plays a pivotal role in the narrative. He is portrayed as an idealistic politician who represents the Naboo in the Galactic Senate. As Representative Binks, he is a member of The Loyalist Committee. He is deputized by Padmé Amidala in the Galactic Senate, and subsequently manipulated by Supreme Chancellor Palpatine and his allies into proposing a bill to give Palpatine emergency executive powers, on the ostensible grounds that this is what Senator Amidala would do if she were present. These powers enable Palpatine to order the creation of the Grand Army of the Republic and implicitly mark the beginning of Palpatine's gathering of authority towards his own office. Jar Jar's decision sets in motion the Clone Wars and by extension, the creation of the Galactic Empire.
[edit] Episode III
In Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Jar Jar has only a cameo appearance. He is onscreen only twice, most noticeably walking in Padmé Amidala's funeral procession at the end of the film. He has no dialogue except for the phrase "excuse me", heard from offscreen. Deleted scenes from the film, available on the DVD, portray him as a member of the Delegation of 2000, a Senatorial committee that later develops into the Rebel Alliance.
[edit] Fate
Rumors as to a depiction of his ultimate fate proliferated when the 2004 DVD version of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi was released, featuring a newly added shot of Naboo in the celebration montage featuring a distant Gungan standing atop a pillar who shouts "Wesa free!" (two hours, five minutes, and 49 seconds into the film). The official Star Wars websites character databank file on Jar Jar, however, does not list Return of the Jedi as one of his appearances, while Gungans are listed, suggesting that a conscious distinction may have been made.
This topic of disagreement, however, within fandom has been largely put to rest recently as George Lucas has personally stated that the Gungan in question is not Jar Jar.[citation needed] He has also debunked the rumor that Jar Jar perished on Alderaan when it was destroyed by the Death Star in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.[citation needed] The most recent claim is that Jar Jar returned to Coruscant and served in the Imperial Senate and eventually married another Gungan, Mar Mar Lade and settled down with a family, presumably dying of old age.[citation needed] According to Lucasfilm's official system, this is regarded as G-canon.
[edit] Controversy
 |
The neutrality of this article is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page.(December 2007) Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. |
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. Binks became symbolic of what many thought were the inherent creative and critical flaws of the film. The character was widely rejected and often ridiculed by sections of the series' hardcore fanbase, who felt that Jar Jar was clearly included in the film solely to appeal to children. In part, his character clashed with the expectations of some fans. One fan, Mike J. Nichols, created and distributed free of charge a modified version of the film, entitled The Phantom Edit, which cut out most scenes featuring Jar Jar Binks.[2] Another group of fans created The Phantom Re-Edit which re-edits footage of Jar Jar Binks to present him in a way that they found more likable and enjoyable. This was accomplished by cutting out scenes that they thought served only as comic relief and re-editing scenes with Jar Jar's dialogue being removed and replaced with subtitles.
A number of fans also object to any portrayal of excessive cuteness in the Star Wars series (a criticism first levelled with the introduction of Ewoks). Lucas himself stated that he feels there is a section of the fanbase who get upset with aspects of Star Wars because "The 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."[3]
Additionally, Rob Coleman, who was the lead on the Industrial Light & Magic animation team, warned Lucas that there was concern among the team that the character of Jar Jar was coming across poorly for the team and how the character was to be projected. Lucas told him that he especially put Jar Jar in the film to appeal to small children. After that, the issue was dropped.[4]
[edit] Allegations of racism and bigotry
 |
The neutrality or factuality of this article or section may be compromised by unattributed statements. You can help Wikipedia by removing weasel worded statements. |
Some of the most serious criticism of Jar Jar contends that he is a modern incarnation of racist stereotypes used as comic relief in many motion pictures of the first half of the twentieth century. Patricia J. Williams writes that many aspects of Jar Jar's character are highly reminiscent of the archetypes portrayed in blackface minstrelsy,[5] a theater form prevalent in the United States during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The character actor Lincoln Perry, stage name Stepin Fetchit, often drew hostile criticism from audiences and critics for similar onscreen conduct from his characters.
Jar Jar's dialect has been described unflatteringly as sounding like Jamaican English; the resemblance is disputed. Lucas spoke about these issues on British television in 1999.[citation needed] Interviewed by Kirsty Wark on the BBC's political review program Newsnight on July 14 of that year, he countered that criticisms of Jar Jar's mode of speaking were "...made by people who've obviously never met a Jamaican, because it's definitely not Jamaican and if you were to say those lines in Jamaican they wouldn't be anything like the way Jar Jar Binks says them."[citation needed]
Some critics believed that Jar Jar was also stereotypically gay[6]. Satire and criticism about Jar Jar have often suggested that he is gay, either to accuse the film of being homophobic, to accuse the filmakers of promoting a "gay agenda"[7] or to malign the Phantom Menace in general[8]. However, C-3PO, due to his feyish mannerisms, has also been accused of being gay long before Jar Jar. George Lucas stated in an interview that "C-3PO was the pre-Jar Jar".[citation needed]
[edit] Notes
- ^ Trivia for Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
- ^ Zap2it.com - 'Phantom Edit' deletes Jar Jar Binks
- ^ "Star Wars: Lucas strikes back", BBC News, 14 July 1999. Retrieved on 2007-02-07.
- ^ Even Some At Lucasfilm Hated Jar Jar, IMDB Studio briefing, 1999-06-21, Retrieved on 2007-03-13.
- ^ Patricia J. Williams: Racial Ventriloquism. The Nation (June 17, 1999). Retrieved on June 11, 2006.
- ^ village voice > news > The Nelly Menace by Richard Goldstein
- ^ Star Wars - Jar Jar Binks - the small picture with the description
- ^ George Lucas, Oscar Wilde, and Homosexual Theater
[edit] External links
- Jar Jar Binks in the Star Wars 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 Wikia wiki
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
