In Defense of the Underfrog
Dec. 22nd, 2016 12:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
matrilWithin the realm of fandoms, it's no coincidence that we use a term like "canon" to discuss which aspects of a story are acceptable or not. Those discussions all too often bear a marked resemblance to disputations of dogma among religious circles. Such fanaticism is, um, rather alarming for a mere fictional universe (and this is coming from a pretty strong fanatic) but I'll go along with the metaphor for a moment.
Within some factions of Star Wars fans, a mere liking of the prequels is considered heretical. Well, allow me to declare my full-blown heresy, because I'm not just a fan of the prequels, I'm a proud fan of Jar Jar Binks. GASP.
I'm not deluded enough to imagine that I can change the minds of haters. I won't attempt anything so quixotic right now (though if I somehow manage it, hey, welcome aboard the Binks fan-wagon!). Rather, I'd like to deconstruct this notion that Jar Jar's very existence immediately invalidates any and all pro-prequel sentiment. It's a lazy debating strategy, and I'm sick to death of it. Any discussion of Star Wars, particularly the prequels, inevitably leads to a basher smugly mentioning Jar Jar -- not any details, mind you, just his very name -- and figures the argument is done. Episode I was stupid, Lucas is a failure, the point has been unequivocally proven, there's nothing more to be said.
Bah. I'm way too much of an overthinker to let that sit. (No, I don't respond to trolls in the comments; that way lies madness. I'll respond here instead, in the safety of my blog.) Bringing up Jar Jar's name is not an effective argument. It assumes that everyone is united in their hatred of him, and guess what? They're not. Here I am, an unabashed Jar Jar fan. We really do exist. Allow me to explain why.
To be honest, my initial liking of the hapless Gungan arose from my stubborn tendency to go against the general sentiment of the populace. If everyone is gushing about something, I'm all the more likely to give it a narrow look and wonder what all the fuss is about. And when something or someone is reviled, I find myself wanting to protect them, to champion a lost cause. I love the underdog. Full disclosure: Jar Jar was probably the least favorite part of my first viewing of Episode I. It was only amid the disproportionate hatred that I began to dig in my heels and say, "Now, hold on. He can't possibly be worth all this loathing." It brought me to reexamine his character -- starting with a fan fic of Episode I written from his viewpoint -- and I'm so glad it did. The experience has been deeply rewarding.
I know why he's reviled. His voice is grating; the slapstick physical comedy might come across as juvenile; he's nothing like the Star Wars characters we were used to. I don't deny that he might be easier to take if his voice came down a few pitches, if his demeanor was just a little bit milder. But like I said, with all the viciousness directed at him, my inclination isn't to apologize for him. Here, without any equivocations, are my reasons for why Jar Jar is awesome.
1. Jar Jar Binks is a phenomenal technological achievement. Whatever the execution of his character, there can be no denying that Ahmed Best, ILM and George Lucas were the pioneers of fully-realized CGI characters. Since Episode I we've seen an explosion of actors taking on the dual role of voice work and motion-capture (Andy Serkis owes his entire career to it) and yet we seem to forget that it all started with Ahmed Best. He was on the set every day in full costume; he never phoned it in. In fact, it was because of his physicality as one of the performers in the show Stomp that Lucas considered him for the role of Jar Jar in the first place. Anyone who diminishes Best's role in the creation of the character is sadly mistaken. Of course that's not to lessen ILM's work. In every scene, you never question Jar Jar's physical presence.
2. He is not Han Solo. I recognize that for many people, this is an unforgivable sin rather than a positive feature. They'd happily watch a movie with ten Han Solos. That attitude is the driving force behind a lot of the storytelling choices (bad choices, in my opinion) that the current Disney regime has made. I may write a whole separate post about how we need to rethink our perception of Han as this ultra-cool hero, but for now I'll just say this: Han Solo, as he first appears in Episode IV, is a particular product of coming of age in the Empire. The Emperor has done a very thorough job of discrediting the Jedi, creating an age of cynicism and faithlessness. Of course Han wouldn't believe in the Force -- what good has it ever done him? If the Jedi were so great, why didn't they stop the Empire from taking over?
But a character like that has no place in the pre-Empire era. In the prequels, the Jedi aren't a handful of desperate exiles; they are the establishment. It would be inane to question the Force when Jedi are visibly wielding it all over the place. There's also not much place for an mercenary outlaw whose character arc involves a growing inclination toward selflessness and connectedness. That belongs in a redemptive tale of rebirth and dawning hope, as the original trilogy. The prequels are, in contrast, a story of tragedy, corruption and betrayal. Perhaps the closest characters to Han might be Qui-Gon, the renegade Jedi, and Jango Fett, the bounty hunter who makes his own rules. But they're not strict analogues, because they have different roles to play. Qui-Gon flaunts the rules not from self-interest, but from a deep-seated need to follow his own conscience. His story contributes to the tragedy because the Jedi's failure to listen to him highlights the arrogance and dangerous rigidity that will be their downfall. Jango provides a symbol of the moral ambiguity of cloning technology, as well as one of the many pawns set in the place by Darth Sidious, who manipulates both moral and immoral people to achieve his means.
But where does all of this leave Jar Jar? He's an innocent. Setting aside the crime of being clumsy, which is apparently worthy of exile in Gungan law (!) Jar Jar is artless, well-meaning, naive; even child-like. And the role that he plays as that innocent will contribute greatly to the overall themes of the prequels, particularly Episode I.
3. Symbionts. This motif recurs on both micro- and macro-levels in the prequels. There are the midichlorians, life-forms who commune with Jedi and offer them a conduit for the Force. And there are the Gungans and the Naboo. At the start of the film they are at odds. Boss Nass considers them proud and refuses to have anything to do with them. He denies Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan's claim that they form a symbiont circle and sends them away. This proves a terrible mistake, as the Federation forces that threaten the Naboo will come to threaten the Gungans as well, driving them from their home. He's still derisive of them, however, until Queen Amidala bows herself before him and softens his view of Naboo pride. Only together can they overcome the Federation army.
And Jar Jar plays a vital part in all of this. He is uniquely placed to bridge the gap that exists between their two peoples. As an exile, he carries no favor with his own race. He is humble, and thus able to form a friendship with a Naboo girl (little knowing that she is in fact the queen) as no other Gungan could. Their conversations ultimately plant the idea in Queen Amidala's mind to form an alliance with the Gungans. But only Jar Jar can lead them there. The Naboo don't know where to find them. He has become adopted by the humans, so to speak, but the connection to his native people remains. He is the only one who could make their treaty possible. He is the bridge.
4. The exploitation of well-meaning people. Jar Jar's role in Episode II is smaller, but it shows a few things. First, the bond between Gungan and Naboo has strengthened since the initial alliance -- they work side by side in the Senate. But second, and far more ominously, Jar Jar's continuing innocence and naivety will be used for great evil by the manipulations of Palpatine. It is his very desire to do good, to try to do what Padmé would have done, that leads him to grant the Chancellor the emergency powers ultimately leading to the formation of the Empire. Yes, I've seen the Darth Jar Jar theories. I'm pretty sure it's just a joke, but if anyone's really supposing that it would have been more interesting to have him revealed as evil, I just have to shrug. The way that Palpatine uses good-hearted souls like Jar Jar and Padmé is far more insidious (yup, that's a pun) to me than conspiracy theories about secret bad guys. I mean, it's just heart-breaking. Look at this guy; he's so happy that he's done this great, courageous thing -- and he just gave a Sith the power to become the Emperor. Poor, dear fool.
5. How other characters treat Jar Jar is significant to their development. Qui-Gon is irritated by him at first (reasonable, as he almost got them killed), but quickly recognizes that even the most unlikely sorts can have an important role to play. Obi-Wan, who's not nearly as much in tune with the living Force, considers him nothing but a pathetic life form. His warm greeting toward him in Episode II is a sign of how much he has matured and learned to appreciate the inherent worth of living beings. Padmé, meanwhile, seems to like him immediately, indicating the compassion and patience which make her a great leader. These traits will be essential in her quest to forge an unprecedented alliance with a previously hostile race. It's not that she or Qui-Gon are blind to Jar Jar's personality flaws, but they recognize that kindness is not a weakness.
6. It's more fun to laugh than to hate. Are Jar Jar's clumsy hijinks rather silly and childish? Yeah, maybe. It's not like there weren't juvenile gags and slapstick humor in the original trilogy. And honestly, there's so much darkness coming in Episode III (hardly any Jar Jar there at all) that I'll take all the silly laughter I can get. Episode I, in many ways, is about the innocence of childhood. Anakin is about to have it ripped away from him. Let's enjoy some goofy fun before it's gone, for heaven's sake.
All these years have passed since TPM first came out, and people are still raging and howling about how Jar Jar ruined everything. It's just plain exhausting. I know, because I've had to constantly fight the impulse to howl and rage against Disney Space Movie. I choose to deliberately focus, instead, on something I like. And I like Jar Jar Binks.
Within some factions of Star Wars fans, a mere liking of the prequels is considered heretical. Well, allow me to declare my full-blown heresy, because I'm not just a fan of the prequels, I'm a proud fan of Jar Jar Binks. GASP.
I'm not deluded enough to imagine that I can change the minds of haters. I won't attempt anything so quixotic right now (though if I somehow manage it, hey, welcome aboard the Binks fan-wagon!). Rather, I'd like to deconstruct this notion that Jar Jar's very existence immediately invalidates any and all pro-prequel sentiment. It's a lazy debating strategy, and I'm sick to death of it. Any discussion of Star Wars, particularly the prequels, inevitably leads to a basher smugly mentioning Jar Jar -- not any details, mind you, just his very name -- and figures the argument is done. Episode I was stupid, Lucas is a failure, the point has been unequivocally proven, there's nothing more to be said.
Bah. I'm way too much of an overthinker to let that sit. (No, I don't respond to trolls in the comments; that way lies madness. I'll respond here instead, in the safety of my blog.) Bringing up Jar Jar's name is not an effective argument. It assumes that everyone is united in their hatred of him, and guess what? They're not. Here I am, an unabashed Jar Jar fan. We really do exist. Allow me to explain why.
To be honest, my initial liking of the hapless Gungan arose from my stubborn tendency to go against the general sentiment of the populace. If everyone is gushing about something, I'm all the more likely to give it a narrow look and wonder what all the fuss is about. And when something or someone is reviled, I find myself wanting to protect them, to champion a lost cause. I love the underdog. Full disclosure: Jar Jar was probably the least favorite part of my first viewing of Episode I. It was only amid the disproportionate hatred that I began to dig in my heels and say, "Now, hold on. He can't possibly be worth all this loathing." It brought me to reexamine his character -- starting with a fan fic of Episode I written from his viewpoint -- and I'm so glad it did. The experience has been deeply rewarding.
I know why he's reviled. His voice is grating; the slapstick physical comedy might come across as juvenile; he's nothing like the Star Wars characters we were used to. I don't deny that he might be easier to take if his voice came down a few pitches, if his demeanor was just a little bit milder. But like I said, with all the viciousness directed at him, my inclination isn't to apologize for him. Here, without any equivocations, are my reasons for why Jar Jar is awesome.
1. Jar Jar Binks is a phenomenal technological achievement. Whatever the execution of his character, there can be no denying that Ahmed Best, ILM and George Lucas were the pioneers of fully-realized CGI characters. Since Episode I we've seen an explosion of actors taking on the dual role of voice work and motion-capture (Andy Serkis owes his entire career to it) and yet we seem to forget that it all started with Ahmed Best. He was on the set every day in full costume; he never phoned it in. In fact, it was because of his physicality as one of the performers in the show Stomp that Lucas considered him for the role of Jar Jar in the first place. Anyone who diminishes Best's role in the creation of the character is sadly mistaken. Of course that's not to lessen ILM's work. In every scene, you never question Jar Jar's physical presence.
2. He is not Han Solo. I recognize that for many people, this is an unforgivable sin rather than a positive feature. They'd happily watch a movie with ten Han Solos. That attitude is the driving force behind a lot of the storytelling choices (bad choices, in my opinion) that the current Disney regime has made. I may write a whole separate post about how we need to rethink our perception of Han as this ultra-cool hero, but for now I'll just say this: Han Solo, as he first appears in Episode IV, is a particular product of coming of age in the Empire. The Emperor has done a very thorough job of discrediting the Jedi, creating an age of cynicism and faithlessness. Of course Han wouldn't believe in the Force -- what good has it ever done him? If the Jedi were so great, why didn't they stop the Empire from taking over?
But a character like that has no place in the pre-Empire era. In the prequels, the Jedi aren't a handful of desperate exiles; they are the establishment. It would be inane to question the Force when Jedi are visibly wielding it all over the place. There's also not much place for an mercenary outlaw whose character arc involves a growing inclination toward selflessness and connectedness. That belongs in a redemptive tale of rebirth and dawning hope, as the original trilogy. The prequels are, in contrast, a story of tragedy, corruption and betrayal. Perhaps the closest characters to Han might be Qui-Gon, the renegade Jedi, and Jango Fett, the bounty hunter who makes his own rules. But they're not strict analogues, because they have different roles to play. Qui-Gon flaunts the rules not from self-interest, but from a deep-seated need to follow his own conscience. His story contributes to the tragedy because the Jedi's failure to listen to him highlights the arrogance and dangerous rigidity that will be their downfall. Jango provides a symbol of the moral ambiguity of cloning technology, as well as one of the many pawns set in the place by Darth Sidious, who manipulates both moral and immoral people to achieve his means.
But where does all of this leave Jar Jar? He's an innocent. Setting aside the crime of being clumsy, which is apparently worthy of exile in Gungan law (!) Jar Jar is artless, well-meaning, naive; even child-like. And the role that he plays as that innocent will contribute greatly to the overall themes of the prequels, particularly Episode I.
3. Symbionts. This motif recurs on both micro- and macro-levels in the prequels. There are the midichlorians, life-forms who commune with Jedi and offer them a conduit for the Force. And there are the Gungans and the Naboo. At the start of the film they are at odds. Boss Nass considers them proud and refuses to have anything to do with them. He denies Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan's claim that they form a symbiont circle and sends them away. This proves a terrible mistake, as the Federation forces that threaten the Naboo will come to threaten the Gungans as well, driving them from their home. He's still derisive of them, however, until Queen Amidala bows herself before him and softens his view of Naboo pride. Only together can they overcome the Federation army.
And Jar Jar plays a vital part in all of this. He is uniquely placed to bridge the gap that exists between their two peoples. As an exile, he carries no favor with his own race. He is humble, and thus able to form a friendship with a Naboo girl (little knowing that she is in fact the queen) as no other Gungan could. Their conversations ultimately plant the idea in Queen Amidala's mind to form an alliance with the Gungans. But only Jar Jar can lead them there. The Naboo don't know where to find them. He has become adopted by the humans, so to speak, but the connection to his native people remains. He is the only one who could make their treaty possible. He is the bridge.
4. The exploitation of well-meaning people. Jar Jar's role in Episode II is smaller, but it shows a few things. First, the bond between Gungan and Naboo has strengthened since the initial alliance -- they work side by side in the Senate. But second, and far more ominously, Jar Jar's continuing innocence and naivety will be used for great evil by the manipulations of Palpatine. It is his very desire to do good, to try to do what Padmé would have done, that leads him to grant the Chancellor the emergency powers ultimately leading to the formation of the Empire. Yes, I've seen the Darth Jar Jar theories. I'm pretty sure it's just a joke, but if anyone's really supposing that it would have been more interesting to have him revealed as evil, I just have to shrug. The way that Palpatine uses good-hearted souls like Jar Jar and Padmé is far more insidious (yup, that's a pun) to me than conspiracy theories about secret bad guys. I mean, it's just heart-breaking. Look at this guy; he's so happy that he's done this great, courageous thing -- and he just gave a Sith the power to become the Emperor. Poor, dear fool.
5. How other characters treat Jar Jar is significant to their development. Qui-Gon is irritated by him at first (reasonable, as he almost got them killed), but quickly recognizes that even the most unlikely sorts can have an important role to play. Obi-Wan, who's not nearly as much in tune with the living Force, considers him nothing but a pathetic life form. His warm greeting toward him in Episode II is a sign of how much he has matured and learned to appreciate the inherent worth of living beings. Padmé, meanwhile, seems to like him immediately, indicating the compassion and patience which make her a great leader. These traits will be essential in her quest to forge an unprecedented alliance with a previously hostile race. It's not that she or Qui-Gon are blind to Jar Jar's personality flaws, but they recognize that kindness is not a weakness.
6. It's more fun to laugh than to hate. Are Jar Jar's clumsy hijinks rather silly and childish? Yeah, maybe. It's not like there weren't juvenile gags and slapstick humor in the original trilogy. And honestly, there's so much darkness coming in Episode III (hardly any Jar Jar there at all) that I'll take all the silly laughter I can get. Episode I, in many ways, is about the innocence of childhood. Anakin is about to have it ripped away from him. Let's enjoy some goofy fun before it's gone, for heaven's sake.
All these years have passed since TPM first came out, and people are still raging and howling about how Jar Jar ruined everything. It's just plain exhausting. I know, because I've had to constantly fight the impulse to howl and rage against Disney Space Movie. I choose to deliberately focus, instead, on something I like. And I like Jar Jar Binks.
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Date: 2016-12-25 02:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-12-25 04:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-12-26 09:28 pm (UTC)I suppose I did try for a long time to dodge the "he's not funny" complaints by supposing Jar Jar to be horribly aware of terrible things always happening to him without ever being able to do anything about it; I may have started getting a bit beyond that by becoming a bit more aware of the archetype of "the Fool" and of some silent-movie slapstick comedy.
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Date: 2016-12-27 12:50 am (UTC)The "funny or not funny" debate is impossible to definitively resolve because humor is so subjective, but as an MST3K fan, I've seen plenty of would-be comical characters who are far more irritating than Jar Jar...