There is no denying that Star Wars is a sci-fi icon. The series changed the way that we looked at scifi, both on-screen and behind-the-scenes. Yet for all its accomplishments, Star Wars takes a lot of heat. Primarily, the critics love to bash the Ewoks and Jar-Jar Binks.
Let’s start with Jar-Jar. Okay, I get that some think he’s annoying. Not everyone in life can be likable. I understand that many don’t like the way he talks. So what? We don’t bag on Yoda for the way he talks.
Perhaps, though, we should paint Jar-Jar in a new light. First, he’s comedy relief. Humor has always been a part of Star Wars, and he offers it up in spades. I don’t know about you, but I laughed quite a bit when Jar-Jar’s tongue went numb in Episode I.
Second, has anyone ever considered that Jar-Jar might be an adolescent? He’s clumsy. Well, what happens to teenagers in adolescence? They become a bit clumsy and start tripping over themselves. Jar-Jar obviously lacks a certain sense of maturity, demonstrated by the much more mature Captain Tarpals. Obviously, Jar-Jar is a duck out of water and isn’t quite sure how to act within society. In Episode II, he’s much calmer, showing that maybe he grew up some.
Now, what’s up with the Ewok hate? Is it because a bunch of primitives beat up the Empire? If so, then I’ll just say that technology doesn’t always win the day; smarts and heart do. Did the Ewoks take away from Return of the Jedi? By no means. In fact, I think they helped make it so much fun. Like Jar-Jar, they’re comedy relief. They showed that the little guy can win over the big guy. And they showcase the tragedy of war, as seen when the one Ewok died and the other cried over his dead form.
Do people all over hate the Ewoks? Obviously not considering there were two Ewok movies and an animated Ewoks cartoon. Something had to spark that. They did well enough, too, that they’ve been released on DVD.
“They were originally meant to be wookiees.” Okay, so George Lucas changed his mind. I think the guy is entitled to. Yes, wookiees would have been fun, but then we would have lost the bit about a primitive society winning out over a much larger foe.
Then there’s the “cute argument.” You know, where someone has to say they don’t like something because it’s cute. I find this argument to be extremely subjective. I also don’t understand why people hate cute things. Does it harm anything? No. Do cute characters appeal to the kids? You betcha! That makes for more ticket sales. Members of the female demographic like the cute too. And hey, some of us guys are cool with cuteness as well – so long as you don’t tell our friends!
The Ewoks and Jar-Jar are but two of Lucas’ creations that have had a lot of flack. In my opinion, the flack the Ewoks gets is undue. Maybe those elements aren’t to everyone’s liking, but there are fans who do enjoy them. Perhaps it is time to look for the good in Ewoks and Jar-Jar, rather than focusing on the downside.
I remember when Star Wars first came out. My friends and I laughed pretty hard about it. It was fun and entertaining. It was not scifi, though, space opera, yes. I guess we are scifi snobs. We grew up on Heinlein, Asimov, Bradbury, Ellison, et al. Space fighters don’t turn on a dime like they do in the atmosphere, and there’s no need to bank. Nothing makes sound in space. And there’s not enough enough gravity to make star destroyers fall after being shot up. A fun series of movies, yes, but not scifi.