Re: Star Wars Racist?
erespess@inil.com
Sat, 31 Jul 1999 16:26:52 -0400
>Nah...
>JaJa Binx wasn't American black, he was more Jamaican or Haitian. How
>could you possibly mistake that? But his whole society spoke that way --
>including the Leader figure.
jarjar binx (and the rest of his race) appeared to me to be a combination
of a few different stereotypes. his accent was modeled after a carribean
patois, his mannerisms and character bore an unmistakable resemblance to an
early american media portrayal of black male slaves. the idea of the
"happy negro": a shuffling, very strong yet unintelligent, almost
childlike persona, who is satisfied being second-class and is comfortable
in a slave society because their nature predisposes them to it (reflecting
white america's self-delusion as a means of justification). this media
image changed after slavery ended such that black men were portrayed as
dangerous, angry, man-animals, intent on deflowering white women, which
also reflected white people's fears of a changing society.
i think george lucas probably did not use these images intentionally to
demean anyone. i would guess that he simply thought it was funny, without
giving it much more thought. many people, including myself, are unaware of
the images that have been fixed in their minds. however, that does not
change the fact they are there, and i believe people should make every
effort of acknowledging and addressing these images when they come up. i
don't believe people are completely responsible for the programming they
have received. but i do believe people are responsible for owning up to it
and dealing with it.
>The two overtly black figures were a Jedi master and the captain of the
>queen's guard (I think he was a captain, he may have been a general).
>They were both respectable characters.
here i saw a conscious effort to respond to previous accusations of a lack
of positive black characters, and i respect that. i hope he continues to
be aware of criticism of his work, and when it is valid and hurtful, do
something about it. otherwise people will just get fed up and stop taking
their children to see these movies. i think that is already beginning to
happen.
>But otherwise, yes, the movie employed stock characters that American
>audiences would be familiar with. I mean, the two headed announcer for
>the pod race -- that WHOLE THING was inspired by NASCAR racing, "I don't
>care what galaxy you're from, that hurts" :) Not to mention American
>idioms that seemed terribly out of place.
yes, the sports announcer was recognizable, but there are no generations
(to my knowledge) of hurt and anger related to the marginalization of
announcers, or stereotypes risen out of hate and fear, so i hardly see
these as comparable examples.
>My question is...how is it that the depiction of these stock characters
>are somehow inherently racist? I mean, I KNOW people that talk soemthing
>like JaJa Binx.
there are always people who fit into stereotypes in one way or another, and
people always use that to prove their accuracy and therefore justify
harmful behavior. i know this is a horendously touchy subject for everyone
involved in these types of discussions, and i would hope that whenever
possible, people can find ways to clear the air. one way is to admit
trangressions and to try to make conscious changes. another way is to
acknowledge those attempts at making amends and to try to be responsive and
open to someone who does so.
archetypes and stereotypes are not the same, and it might do us all well to
learn and discuss the differences.
elizabeth