[Craig]

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.

User Detail :  

Name : Craig, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 35, City : Minneapolis, State : MN, Country : United States, 

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