"If even George Lucas won't try to cash in on it, you know it's bad." TMM, re: Star Wars Holiday Special on Allspark forums
First some confession: when I first saw The Phantom Menace my response to Jar Jar was not necessarily typical.
I wondered if he wasn't really there to illuminate the, if you'll pardon the expression, darker side of the old Republic and the racist attitudes of even Jedi. To me he seemed placed in contrast to young Anakin, for his outrageous luck seemed so over the top that it practically screamed "this guy has a sense for the Force" to me. It was as Obi Wan, from A New Hope, was whispering in my ear that in his experience there was no such thing as luck.
So how did that work?
Well, Anakin: cute kid with loads of potential from a right species vs Jar Jar, who even though he flatly protested that he was sentient was dismissed, a Jedi saying that being able to talk wasn't proof.
In Jar Jar we were treated to the worst attitudes held by the supposedly best people and this seemed, at the time, reinforced by how his fellow natives seemed to be responding to the appearance of some humans in their midst.
And such were my thoughts and nothing more.
Yet some folks has taken a different take on the idea that everyone's favorite character to hate was himself a Force user at some level and they make a pretty good argument for their proposition.
As evidence shown are clips from the movie where Jar Jar's:
... antics and clumsiness actually resemble a real martial art, the drunken fist style;
... he appears to perform Jedi-like super jumps;
... he appears just in the background, mouthing the words other characters (who are not Jedi) are saying not unlike the Jedi mind control trick;
... despite being a total idiot he ends up being given charge of the army, becoming associate representative, and somehow giving a speech to a room full of folks who supposedly like democracy that results in a standing ovation and the foundation of the Empire;
... and likewise this idiot is seen as a frequent companion to Palpatine right there with important advisors and officials;
... it is also suggested that his character and name is derived from a number of Foundation and Xanth characters, notably Bink whose own mindless luck magic was eventually described as the most mystical of all;
... his antics are also compared to Yoda's while Yoda was still acting the harmless native before that reveal;
... and, I would just add, that his species is officially noted to not be long lived ... which is innocent in and of itself until one remembers that Darth Plagueis somehow was keenly interested in cheating death...
So could the virulent hatred of the character really have completely derailed plans of a reveal on the scale of Vader being Luke's father?
You can see the various clips showing these things in this video: https://youtu.be/1rHyf0FBvt4
First some confession: when I first saw The Phantom Menace my response to Jar Jar was not necessarily typical.
I wondered if he wasn't really there to illuminate the, if you'll pardon the expression, darker side of the old Republic and the racist attitudes of even Jedi. To me he seemed placed in contrast to young Anakin, for his outrageous luck seemed so over the top that it practically screamed "this guy has a sense for the Force" to me. It was as Obi Wan, from A New Hope, was whispering in my ear that in his experience there was no such thing as luck.
So how did that work?
Well, Anakin: cute kid with loads of potential from a right species vs Jar Jar, who even though he flatly protested that he was sentient was dismissed, a Jedi saying that being able to talk wasn't proof.
In Jar Jar we were treated to the worst attitudes held by the supposedly best people and this seemed, at the time, reinforced by how his fellow natives seemed to be responding to the appearance of some humans in their midst.
And such were my thoughts and nothing more.
Yet some folks has taken a different take on the idea that everyone's favorite character to hate was himself a Force user at some level and they make a pretty good argument for their proposition.
As evidence shown are clips from the movie where Jar Jar's:
... antics and clumsiness actually resemble a real martial art, the drunken fist style;
... he appears to perform Jedi-like super jumps;
... he appears just in the background, mouthing the words other characters (who are not Jedi) are saying not unlike the Jedi mind control trick;
... despite being a total idiot he ends up being given charge of the army, becoming associate representative, and somehow giving a speech to a room full of folks who supposedly like democracy that results in a standing ovation and the foundation of the Empire;
... and likewise this idiot is seen as a frequent companion to Palpatine right there with important advisors and officials;
... it is also suggested that his character and name is derived from a number of Foundation and Xanth characters, notably Bink whose own mindless luck magic was eventually described as the most mystical of all;
... his antics are also compared to Yoda's while Yoda was still acting the harmless native before that reveal;
... and, I would just add, that his species is officially noted to not be long lived ... which is innocent in and of itself until one remembers that Darth Plagueis somehow was keenly interested in cheating death...
So could the virulent hatred of the character really have completely derailed plans of a reveal on the scale of Vader being Luke's father?
You can see the various clips showing these things in this video: https://youtu.be/1rHyf0FBvt4
