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Jar Jar Binks is a fictional character in the Star Wars movies The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and the yet to be released Revenge of the Sith. His primary role was to be comic relief--based on his gangly way of walking, and his unique speech accent. Jar Jar's voice was portrayed by Ahmed Best, a black Jamaican pop-star. He is completely computer generated, though was played in costume by Ahmed, before being edited out and replaced by the animated character. He is a seven-foot-tall Gungan, with long ears and eyes mounted on stalks, and overall looks something vaguely like an anthropomorphized duck-billed platypus crossed with an amphibian.
After the Phantom Menace was released the character was widely ridiculed and disliked, especially by hardcore fans of the series. It is commonly speculated by detractors that Jar Jar represents a cynical turn in Lucas' epic, pandering to the commercial incentive by the inclusion of what amounts to little more than a highly marketable "gimmick". The appearance of Jar Jar, before, during and after the release of the film on a rash of merchandise products and in almost ubiquitous marketing tie-ins and cross promotions did little to allay the fear that Lucas had, indeed, 'sold out'. (It should be noted that similar charges were levelled at the appearance of the teddy-bear like Ewoks in 1983's Return of the Jedi.)
Some of the more venomous and piercing charges against the character of Jar Jar (and subsequently against Lucas, his creator) suggest that Jar Jar represents the racist "comedy relief" stereotype seen in many motion pictures of the first half of the 20th century. His dialect, widely criticized as sounding stereotypically Jamaican, along with his bodily expressions and tendency to get into trouble, was reminiscent of Stepin FetchitStepin Fetchit ( May 30, 1902 November 19, 1985) (real name Lincoln Theodore Monroe Andrew Perry was a comic character actor whose name has become synonymous with degrading racial stereotypes in Hollywood movies of the first half of the 20th century. and other, similar roles (which were often played by African AmericanAfrican Americans also known as Afro- Americans or black Americans comprise an ethnic group in the United States of America whose dominant ancestry is from Sub-Saharan West Africa. Many African Americans also claim European, Native American, or Asian ance actors). This criticism is compounded when viewed in light of the depiction of other accents in the same film. Notably, detractors claim, the greedy, commercial trade federation spoke with JapaneseJapan (, Nippon/Nihon literally "the origin of the sun") is a country in East Asia situated on a chain of islands east of the Asian continent on the western edge of the Pacific Ocean. The largest of these islands are, from north to south, Hokkaido , Honsh accents, and the dirty, cruel shopkeeper (who lives in a desert climate) spoke with a Middle EasternThe Middle East is a geographical and cultural area comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. The Middle East is a subregion of Afr accent. These allegations are controversial and not universally agreed upon; George LucasGeorge Walton Lucas Jr (born May 14, 1944) is an American film director famous for his epic Star Wars and Indiana Jones trilogies. Star Wars in 1977 is considered by some to be the first " high concept" film, although others feel the first was Steven Spie in particular denies such allegations.
Jar Jar is given a significantly more utilitarian role in Attack of the Clones. Having acquired some esteem from those around him, he is suddenly cast into a pivotal role, by filling in for Padmé AmidalaAmidala, Padme. on the senate, and moves an army into action, which then sets up the entire plot for the Clone Wars. We see, in this action, Jar Jar's innocence betrays him as he inadvertently causes the undoing of the Galactic Republic. In this light, the character takes on a new depth and significance.
It is believed George Lucas may have written this shift in character importance quite reactively, in a last-ditch effort to win the fans back.
