Dare To Ask Talk And News About Our Differences - This topic has 8 replies, 9 voices, and was last updated 24 years, 7 months ago by
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- I have noticed that many critics of the new Star Wars movie have complained that a member of one of the computer-generated races (the Gungans) speaks with a "Jamaican accent" and worships idols and is therefore offensive (presumably to African-Americans). I wonder if others were offended by these characters and/or the reviewers, and why or why not?
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Name : Randy H, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 25, City : Silver Spring, State : MD Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,When I saw ET, I heard a long discussion on how ET was demonic (he could levitate, looked like a cobra, etc.) I usually laugh these things off, but in this movie, the entire race issue nagged me for days afterward.The first thing I noticed was that The Federation members sounded like Japanese businessmen. Then I noticed that their lips didn't match their words, making it look like a Gamara movie. The movie was called The Phantom Menace, and since the Japanese-like Federation was invading, it may as well have been called The Yellow Menace. So, that is how I went into the movie. Jar-Jar was little more than a black caricature, with big lips, dreadlock-like hair and big popping eyes, and he reminded me of Amos and Andy. His people were ruled by another stereotype - a fat African chieftan. Watto, the insect that owns Aniken, was a caricature of an Arab or Jew - he lived in a desert land, had a big nose, had a Mediteranean accent and was greedy.
I don't think the racism was intentional or mean-spirited, but I also can't say that matching stereotypes with the accent is a coincidence. It demonstrates how unaware we are of our own racism.
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Name : Craig, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 35, City : Minneapolis, State : MN Country : United States,Why do people care if Jar-Jar sounded like a Jamaican or the Federation sounded like Japanese? It's just a movie from some guy's head (George Lucas). It doesn't matter.User Detail :
Name : Laney, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 23, City : San Diego, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Garbage Man, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Lower class,It's just a movie, for crying out loud. That is the problem with people: Every little issue just has to be about racism, and if it's not, someone has to go and analyze it and makeit about racism.User Detail :
Name : Lea26107, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 18, City : Valencia, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,The fact that 'Star Wars' didn't have a bigger role for a talented actor like Samuel L. Jackson is the thing that offends me.User Detail :
Name : Courtney-Eaves, Gender : F, Religion : Christian, Age : 17, City : Waynesboro, State : VA Country : United States, Social class : Middle class,Actually, I found more people who were offended by the race with the extremely stereotypical Asian accents. I suppose a few Christians might find aliens worshipping idols a problem, but I would imagine those same Christians would also be offended by the Force. I suppose it depends on how seriously you want to take Star Wars in general. I mean, take the original trilogy. Ever notice how all of the evil Empire characters speak with British accents?User Detail :
Name : John K., Gender : M, Age : 26, City : Cranford, State : NJ Country : United States, Occupation : Chemical Engineer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,I think as a whole, people in America spend way too much time worrying about racism in general. I can't say that George Lucas didn't intend racism in his movie (I don't think he did, but that's me) but who cares? It's a movie. Watch it and enjoy it for the science-fiction/fantasy story that it is. At its heart, it's good vs. evil. You want to dwell on something, dwell on that.I could be wrong, but it just seems to me that everybody in this country is always looking to blame somebody else for something and, since different races mark easily definable lines of difference, racism is a huge battle/playing field here. I mean, we sue each other for everything, then when that does or does not work in a criminal court, we take it to a civil one. Sooner or later people have got to start taking responsibility for themselves and stop blaming things on others, whether on a racial level or not.
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Name : Zac24349, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, City : Pensacola, State : FL Country : United States,I think people are just looking for something to complain about. Quit looking at the accents and look at the fact that they were all brought together for a common good. That'S the message. Besides, it's a movie. Would it have been the same if everyone had an English accent? Besides, I don't hear Irish and Scottish people complaining about Liam Neeson's accent, or Swedish complaining about Anakin's mother's accent. There is still a thing called diversity.User Detail :
Name : J. Miller, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, City : Red Bank, State : NJ Country : United States, Social class : Middle class,People will see what they want to see. Disney's been plagued with hidden-meaning rumors for years. People had some sort of tiff with The Lion King, although I honestly don't remember why. It's a movie. It takes place somewhere else. Nobody seemed to complain about the fact that all of the 'evil empire' officers had British accents in the original Star Wars movies. People find too many meanings that aren't there. Puff the Magic Dragon was not written about marijuana. There was no message about Paul dying. Star Wars: Episode One did not try to make fun of earth races. Rick McCallum (sp?), the producer, already has revealed who the 'Phantom Menace' was (what character) and it wasn't Darth Maul or the members of the Trade Federation. In fact, the main evil-guy spoke with a slight British accent! People should worry about real problems with stereotypes, not look for hidden ones that aren't there.User Detail :
Name : Me21903, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Age : 25, City : San Francisco Bay Area, State : CA Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College,
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