George Lucas loses his mind: How he ruined The Clone Wars

By JimK
(2 votes)

JimK: 99.95% of the time I come down on the whole “what does it mean?” argument on the side of the creators; If you wrote a thing, or a character, or whatever, you get to decide what it means, what happens to that character, etc. For better or worse that character is yours, and while the fandom may not like what you’ve done, too bad. They don’t get to decide. They don’t even get to say “You can’t do that with _fill in the blank_.”

For that other 0.05%, there’s George fucking Lucas.

So how did a character who wasn’t even supposed to speak English wind up sounding like that? Because George Lucas insisted on it, “Clone Wars” director Dave Filoni confessed.

“Zero, Jabba’s uncle, originally spoke in Hutt-ese, like Jabba and then he had a different sluggish voice just like Jabba, and then George one day was watching it and said ‘I want him to sound like Truman Capote.’ He actually said that and we were like ‘Wow!’” Filion revealed. “It’s a hybrid of it but the inspiration is definitely there on Capote. It’s one of those things that takes him from being an interesting character and I think really does put him over the top and does something. He’s a favorite among the crew here.”

Jesus H. Christmas trees and wrapping paper. are you fucking kidding me? Did he learn nothing from the backlash against his “No tickee no washee” Chinese diplomats and the shuckin’ and’ jivin’ “Meesa thinka meesa be a racial stereotype-a, Boss?” Jar-jar abomination? Does this guy actually have any decent creative thoughts anymore? Did he ever? How in the sweet fuck did Star Wars get born out of such a hack? No wonder I like the books and the extended universe so much. he has almost nothing to do with that stuff. I was under the impression he stayed away from the animated stuff as well, but apparently not.

How the fuck does no one tell him what a horrible idea this is? How does no one in that entire god-damned organization have the balls to stand up and say “This is internally inconsistent and horrible, illogical writing? Also, it’s a homophobic stereotype that should be shunned on general principle outside of broad comedy you fucking hack, and I quit?” Is there not one freaking writer in that entire company that gives a shit? Hutts speak Huttese. Once you establish the trope, that’s the rule in your world. Every sci-fi/fantasy writer on the god-damned planet knows that, even the complete hacks. The ones that aren’t total hacks try to follow the rules they create because they know it’s how you keep the reader/viewer immersed in that reality. It’s called not sucking, Lucas. Look into it.

I know I use the idea of someone dying as a rhetorical device quite often, and I really don’t want (most) people to suffer. I especially don’t want to cause harm to the families of those upon whom I wish an end, but Jiminy H. Christ Esquire, why won’t Lucas just have a god-damned heart attack already and re-fucking-tire! He doesn’t have to die, just GET THE FUCK OUT OF THE BUSINESS and let people raised on this shit, who actually understand the beauty and magic of the universe, let them steer the ship for awhile.

George Lucas raped my childhood and he just won’t stop doing it. He has a sickness, and his creations should be taken away from him at once. He is the exception that proves the rule mentioned at the beginning of this post. He should never, ever be allowed to make any decisions regarding anything relating to Star Wars ever again. And also maybe just a bit of pain during the heart attack, and maybe a booming voice that comes out of the sky while he’s clutching he chest that says ‘You disappoint me, Lucas. You’ve ruined everything. Search your feelings, you know it to be true. Jackass.”

I was going to go see Clone Wars. You’d think I would learn after Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, right? I vowed to never pay him money again for a movie, but I was going to do it. I was under the impression that he was only involved with this animated feature in a very limited capacity. I should have known he was micromanaging every aspect of it to as to make it suck ass. Once again I find myself thinking one simple phrase, one that has become so, so common these past eight or nice years, ever since I sat through Phantom Menace:

Fuck George Lucas.

IF GEORGE LUCAS IS A NAZI THEN HE MUST BE CONSERVATIVE:

May 26, 2005

The Force is with the conservatives (Yoel Sano, 5/27/05, Asia Times)

Yet, despite Lucas' apparent pro-liberal fears about current trends in US foreign and domestic policies, which many Americans will find exaggerated, his Star Wars saga nonetheless contains very conservative messages that will resonate with people on the desert planet of Texas and in Middle America - and indeed many other parts of the world.

For one thing, there is Lucas' idealized form of government. According to Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi in the original Star Wars film, "For over a thousand generations the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic. Before the dark times. Before the Empire." Francis Fukuyama would have been surprised that there is indeed an alternative to his end-of-history notion of Western-style liberal democracy as the ultimate form of government.

While the Jedi did not rule the republic, they nonetheless formed the backbone of it. With the Jedi more akin to a religion or a moral force, rather than a political order, Lucas seems to envisage a heavy role of the church in some form or another, albeit without ruling the state. Some commentators have compared the Jedi to the samurai of medieval Japan, and indeed their swordsmanship, esoteric dress codes, and Darth Vader's mask design do invoke the samurai styles. But the latter were more manifestly militaristic than religious. A better analogy would be the Knights-Templar, a monastic military order formed at the end of the First Crusade with the mandate of protecting Christian pilgrims en route to the Holy Land.

If the Jedi are a religion, then their "God" is "the Force", a mystical energy field generated by all living things, which binds the galaxy together and gives the Jedi their strength. Essentially, the message of the original Star Wars trilogy is one of faith: if you believe in something enough, you can accomplish it. Hence, Luke Skywalker, the hero of the trilogy, was able to guide a missile into the Death Star's reactor vents through belief rather than using a sophisticated targeting computer. The message of faith is reassuring in this secular age.

Unfortunately, George Lucas inexplicably ditched this faith-based belief system in the prequel trilogy for a far less comforting, and indeed, slightly sinister explanation of the Force. Instead of being able to use the Force out of belief, the first prequel revealed that only those who have a high concentration of "mitochlorions" in their cells can use these powers.

[Ed: the term "mitochlorian" appears to be a pseudo-scientific invention based on real entities known to cell biologists here on Earth, namely "mitochondria" and "chloroplast". "Mitochondria" are tiny sausage-shaped organelles, found in all living cells save bacteria, whose function is to convert sugar efficiently into usable energy. "Chloroplasts", found only in plants, are the sites of photosynthesis. Interestingly, there is a widely accepted theory that both are descended from ancient bacteria - as shown by their size, shape and bacteria-like DNA - that became internalized in, and ultimately dependent upon, the primitive "eukaryotic" cells that eventually gave rise to plants and animals. At some point, Lucas appears to have heard of this theory (originally proposed by Lynn Margulis at Harvard) and decided that a similar entity, the "mitochlorion", would exist in his fictional universe and provide a convenient explanation for why some individuals have more Force powers than others.]

Ironically, however, the "mitochlorion" concept transformed the ability to use "the Force" from an article of faith into one based on blood. Rather than being true believers, the Jedi are in fact a master race or elite caste.

Talk of race brings us to another unfortunate aspect of the prequel trilogy, namely the portrayal of alien characters through ethnic stereotyping. This is most apparent in the character of Jar Jar Binks, a goofy, amphibious, bipedal alien, who hangs out with the heroes in The Phantom Menace to provide what passes as comic relief. Unfortunately, Jar Jar's pidgin-English way of speaking seems to have been designed to invoke African-American slaves of the 19th century United States, or the "noble savages" of a past imperial era.

Then there are the aliens of the evil Trade Federation, a powerful commercial-military-industrial concern fighting the republic. All of them speak with heavy mock Chinese or Japanese accents, perhaps reflecting America's Japanophobia of the 1980s, or fear of China's rising economic power today. There is also the hooked-nose, slave-owing alien Watto, who speaks with a heavy Jewish-Israeli accent and thinks of nothing but money.

Paganism, geneticism, anti-trade, anti-semitism--all the things that spring to mind when you think of George W. Bush, huh? Posted by Orrin Judd at May 26, 2005 8:31 AM

George Lucas serves up anti-Semitic stereotype in "Star Wars" Episode I

If you saw the film, he's memorable.

He's called Watto the Toydarian. He's a slave owner and slave driver to our young blond hero, Anakin Skywalker. "Even in a galaxy far away, the Jews are apparently behind the slave trade," observes Bruce Gottlieb in a 5-26-99 piece on Slate, the only article we've seen on the subject and one we didn't see until this column was nearly finished. Gottlieb also pointed out the racial stereotyping in the character Jar-Jar Binks, as have many African-Americans.

Then there's that character in "The Mummy" who waved the Star of David and got passed over by the Mummy and then appeared to play the role of Judas to betray the good guys. Hated archetypal portraits are everywhere, building upon and reinforcing disparagement of their source. Some are subtle, some blatant. Part of watching the pathology of media is to watch for them.

Watoo's characterization goes way beyond the amusing allusion we occasionally see, picking up nearly every negative trait associated with Jews accumulated over centuries in cartoons and caricatures. He's supposed to elicit a humorous response and initially he does, until we begin to sense his seriousness, his total lack of morality, his deep badness which becomes obvious when he is poised opposite the deep goodness of the Christ-like figure of the Jedi master, Qui-Gon Jinn, played by Liam Neeson.

Oddly, the official Star Wars website (www.starwars.com) illustrates all the "Episode I" characters except this strikingly anti-Semitic portrait of a greedy Jewish merchant who sports droopy eyes, rotten teeth and an elephantine hooked nose (without any effort to simulate an elephant). He speaks in a heavy Yiddish accent and haggles prices. He floats in the air on tiny wings and hovers "in your face." He's amoral and tries to cheat in a bet on the race. He's downright devilish when it comes to splitting Skywalker from his mother at the tender age of nine. This early wounding is psychoanalytically supposed to have been part of the cause of Anakin's fear and depression which ultimately turned him into Darth Vader. So Watto's role is seen mythically to be part of the incipient root of evil.

Watto as merchandized toy:
The figure "talks" in a Yiddish accent?
And what does he say?
"You should cheat, Anakin, and win a race for once."

(c) 1999 Lucasfilm

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The website notes, "The only real wealth in Mos Espa [the slave city on the planet Tatooine] is tied up in gambling and off-world trade, especially in the lucrative black market beyond the trade laws." This conforms to the fate of Jewish outcasts throughout history, when Jews were not allowed to trade in normal venues, were cast out of many professions and allowed only to deal in much-hated short-term loans, associated with greed, interest rates and high prices.

In "Episode I," one such holder of wealth "beyond the trade laws" is the owner of the young slave boy Anakin Skywalker. How curious that Mr. Watto is not represented on the "official Star Wars website" where he can be studied. He is referred to but not named. There is no picture of him, only this verbal sketch of the anti-Semitic character is given: "A winged, harsh-mannered little alien who loves to haggle over spare parts. His junk shop is one of the best places to find elusive mechanical parts, but the asking price can be very high."

(The images of Watto here were gleaned from non-official sources, all (c) Lucasfilm, run in fair use for education and analysis).

We noticed the Star Wars "Episode I: Phantom Menace" merchandise display in the grocery store, including children's books such as "Anakin's Fate" by Marc Ceracini (Random House, $5), containing these descriptions of Watto and statements by him: "He loved to make deals. 'I'll make a merchant of you yet,' he said to Anakin. 'You should cheat. Maybe you'd win a race for once.' " As we left the movie theater, a couple of young boys around age 12 made reference to "that weird little Jew guy with wings." The movie's depiction in Watto was not at all subtle. It can be counted on to flush out already-formed Jew-haters among young audiences and give them permission to continue their hatred out loud.

Toydarian as toy

(c) 1999 Lucasfilm

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In short, George Lucas has served up one of the oldest and vilest of human portraits in an almost perfect package of stereotypical traits traditionally associated with Jews by those who have harassed, reviled and annhiliated them over the centuries. Ironically, Lucas places Watto opposite Liam Neeson who portrayed the hero of "Schindler's List" who saved hundreds of Jews from the gas chambers during WW II. Spielberg and Lucas are the two great myth-makers of our age. Their choices of display types are worth noting.

Lucas offers Watto as a falsely benign "bad guy" for the entertainment (and dys-education) as well as economic consumption of millions of young boys and girls. Long after thousands gave their lives to rid the earth of the root of this ugly lie, Lucas mainstreams it into what is arguably the dominant media mythology of the 20th Century.

Thanks a lot, Mr. Lucas. The price of your movie ticket is very high.

The character of Watto reminds us of the anti-Semitic slander built with great precision in the Penguin character in "Batman" several years ago. Only a few university academics spotted the obvious--or talked about it. In fact, it was universally if subliminally spotted. The silence after the spotting is the problem, the ease with which it's gotten away with, slipped by, overlooked, shrugged off.

Amazing.

The film has been in theaters for over a week without an outcry or even passing comment in dozens of reviews. Parents should have been notified about Watto long before they sent their children to the midnight premiere so they could show them a cool example of how hatred works and make the whole thing a conscious lesson. Of course that would have ruined the fun of the movie, which is probably why nobody took a serious shot in the reviews. The idea, if any idea was consciously formed, was to pretend this immensely snide picture of a Jew was just a joke. It almost works, too, unless you are aware in the back of your mind of the parallels with foul portraits of Jews throughout history, the association of Jews with greed, cheating and a generalized bodily ugliness seen in cartoons in early newspapers and especially in Europe in the Twenties and Thirties when government-sponsored pogroms and ghettos were tolerated much more readily--even applauded--in part because of these kinds of stereotypical depictions that made people want to get rid of Jews.

There are no pictures of Watto on the Star Wars website and few are found in print material. He's chiefly seen in the movie theater by kids age 5 to 15, and in toy form, by and large away from adult scrutiny. One cannot help but wonder if this avoidance of scrutiny was done by design.

Official poster for "The Power of Myth"
European Roadshow to be held June to September 1999
throughout Europe, sponsored by Kellogg's.
Where's Watto? Saved for most potent mythic spot: the movie itself.
(Notice King Arthur thrown into the mix)

(c) 1999 Lucasfilm

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On 6-3-99 CNN finally ran an item on Jar-Jar Binks which also alluded briefly to Watoo. It was reported that the Anti-Defamation League "saw no racial stereotyping in the Watto character." If this is true, it's a chilling reminder of the state of denial that overcame Jews in Hitler's Germany. Lest the concrete thinkers say we're comparing Lucas to Hitler, no, we are not, although Hitler certainly benefitted by exactly this kind of stereotyping. We mean we (as Jews) didn't want to see the truth and so we did not see it. We don't mean the truth of the stereotype, because the stereotype is a composite of extreme traits, some of them completely false, that do not typify average Jews. Like "the Emperor has no clothes," what is astounding is the truth of the display of the stereotype in plain sight without significant complaint. No self-respecting Jew wants to admit this is possible.

Lucas is merely (probably) unconscious, which increases rather than decreases concern in this matter because it means this much ugliness of thought is fully arrayed underneath the surface of the mind. Hence the power of the negative image, from this dark and unexamined basement, especially in children with no historical memory, to allow the forgetting that some people are human. Watto is portrayed as different, un-human, to the extreme of making him insect-like, yet he is down-to-earth human in other ways. Although he seems amusing, eccentric, perhaps harmless, the danger of the Semitic stereotyping of a figure like Watto, coupled with the insectifying of Watto, is that it conditions in children (and reinforces in adults) a notion allowing "that weird little Jew guy" to be expendable.

He can be laughed off. He can be flicked off. He can be exterminated.

Just because Lucas is unconscious doesn't mean we have to be unconscious too.

Detroit Racist Panel Struggles, Comes up with Ridiculous Allegations that Star Wars Attack of the Clones is Racist:

Detroit Racist Panel Struggles, Comes up with Ridiculous Allegations that Star Wars Attack of the Clones is Racist:

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Photos by Clarence Tabb Jr. / The Detroit News The Detroit News panel: Robert del Valle, clockwise from upper left, Gary Anderson, Martina Guzman, Ahmad Chabbani, Imad Nouri, Robert Deane, Jose Cuello and Zana Macki.

Critics say 'Clones' has racial stereotypes


By Michael H. Hodges / The Detroit News

Temuera Morrison is Jango Fett in "Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones." "He looked totally Latino," says Martina Guzman about Temuera Morrison, the actor who plays Jango in "Attack of the Clones." Comment on this story Send this story to a friend Get Home Delivery

George Lucas, sometimes accused of reinforcing racial stereotypes with his movies, has done it again, according to critics.
Latino critics in particular charge his latest Star Wars epic, Episode II: Attack of the Clones, toys with American paranoia about Mexican immigration with its cloned army of swarthy lookalikes who march in lockstep by the tens of thousands, and ultimately end up serving as Darth Vader's white-suited warriors.
Modeled on bounty hunter Jango Fett, the clones, we're told, are genetically modified for docility and obedience. The breeding project, conducted by long-necked aliens who look like refugees from Close Encounters of the Third Kind, takes place on the planet Kamino -- soundalike for the Spanish word "camino," which means "road" or "I walk."
Temuera Morrison, the actor who plays Jango, is a New Zealander of Maori descent. But that didn't get in the way of some members of an eight-person Detroit News panel assembled to review the film.
"He looked totally Latino," says Martina Guzman, a Detroiter who's managing a State House election campaign.
"And his kid," says Wayne State history professor Jose Cuello, referring to the young Boba Fett, "looked even more Latino."
It reminds Cuello a little bit of "those Reagan ads in the 1980 campaign, that suggested if Nicaragua went communist, you'd have wild-eyed Mexicans with guns running across the California border."
A flabbergasted Lucasfilm spokeswoman, Jeanne Cole, says "This is the first we've heard of this. Star Wars," she says, "is a fantasy movie filled with creatures and aliens from all different planets and universes and galaxies. There is no basis for this."
Lucas was in Cannes and could not be reached for comment.
The celebrated mythmaker has been through what some might call the p.c. mill before.
In 1999, a furor erupted over The Phantom Menace's Jar Jar Binks, a floppy-eared alien whom some read as a sort of Stepin Fetchit by way of the West Indies.
"Everyone I've ever spoken to says there's a Rastafarian element to his speech, his walk, and in his 'dread' ears," says copy editor Robert del Valle, who was on The News panel with Guzman and Cuello.
But such allegations were dismissed as "absurd" by Lucas in a Thursday interview published in the Washington Post. "People say, 'He sounds Caribbean.' Well, he doesn't. He's a complete invention. It's a different language. Just because he speaks with that accent doesn't mean it's a racial stereotype."
The interview did not address the clone issue.
A somewhat muted Jar Jar makes another appearance in Clones, but it is the dark-skinned Jango-copies that seem to have caught some audience members' attention this time around.
Still, not everybody's buying it.
Harry Knowles, on-line film reviewer and author of Ain't It Cool: Hollywood's Red-Headed Step-Child Speaks Out (Time Warner), says the whole Jango ethnic premise is "reading racism into something that's not there -- it's just in the minds of the viewers. It's like calling Jar Jar racist when all he is is Bullwinkle."
The Jango dispute surfaced in internet chat rooms devoted to Star Wars days before the movie's release, says panelist Gary Anderson, the artistic director at Detroit's Plowshares Theatre and longtime Star Wars student and critic.
If the planet name "Kamino" caught some Latinos' attention, three Arab-Americans on The News' panel seized on the fact that Jango's son calls him "Baba."
"I frankly think the bounty hunter is Arab," says college counselor Imad Nouri of Royal Oak.
"He's basically a terrorist," explains Nouri, "and 'baba' is Arabic for 'father.' "
Such allegations have a long history in that galaxy far, far away. A number of observers noted that the 1977 original was, at least at the human level, an all-white party -- looking, in Anderson's words, "like the Ku Klux Klan's fantasy of the future."
The only exception was Darth Vader's basso-profundo voice, supplied by African-American actor James Earl Jones.
Which leads to all sorts of ironies, intentional or not: Darth Vader has a black man's voice when he's bad, but in Clones -- before Anakin Skywalker does the Darth-thing and defects to the Dark Side -- he's a white guy, played by Hayden Christensen.
The big question lurking beneath all this ethnic deconstruction: Could any of this possibly be deliberate?
For their part, The News' panelists were divided.
"The plot is so superficial," says Cuello, "I don't think they could possibly have any deliberate intent about manipulating images."
Like almost everybody who commented on Lucas, Anderson doubts there's anything malicious going on.
"If your entire world perspective is based on 1950s TV and films, what do you expect?" he asks. "Garbage in and garbage out."
For her part, Guzman was astonished that, given the Jar Jar flap, Lucas didn't scrutinize everything a little more critically this time around. "He's been criticized before," she says. "So he had a choice."
It's not that she's opposed to Latin-looking baddies per se. She just wishes the occasional swarthy good guy would get as much on-screen time as the villain.
"Jimmy Smits had all of two lines in the whole movie," Guzman says. "And Samuel Jackson had like five. Then there's the bad guy."
For pop-culture professor Robert Thompson at Syracuse University -- who has yet to see Clones -- the issue boils down to whether Lucas really wanted to tweak Anglo fears.
He's inclined to say no, attributing Lucas' occasionally confusing choices to "a certain degree of cluelessness. Look at Jar Jar Binks. The moment that guy comes on the screen, you wonder what in the world they were thinking. This isn't 1957. Didn't anybody say, 'Have you paid attention to what this guy is doing?' "
The sad thing, he says, is that the Star Wars saga is also "about tolerance and dignity. But then you've got this 'camino' thing, which sounds a little creepy, and swarthy people who march in uncountable masses."
Thompson calls the imagery in Star Wars a "great big Rorschach test, not just for the people who watch the movies, but for Lucas himself." With the latter, that leads him to two possibilities.
"One is that this is coming out of the id of the creator without translation -- a West Coast fear of the Latino population in America." (Lucas grew in the 1950s in Modesto, Calif., the agricultural town immortalized in American Graffiti, and one visited annually by thousands of migrant workers.)
The second hypothesis, he notes, is that it's all deliberate -- a way to prompt deep emotional response in audiences by probing "a phobia that's afoot in America. And that's the scarier interpretation."
Or, as some argue, perhaps it's all stuff and nonsense.
Knowles at aintitcool.com keeps emphasizing on the fact that Temeura Morrison, the actor who plays Jango, is Maori.
When asked how audiences are supposed to know that, he says, "How can you tell? You stay for the end credits. Is his name 'Raul Julia?' No."
But even if Jango was meant to be taken as a Latino, others just don't see a problem.
"At least we're in the picture," says Hollywood producer Michael Gonzalez with a laugh.
"I mean, what did we have before -- Lt. Torres on Star Trek? It's just a movie," he says. "It's just fun. And you're going to hit a stereotype one way or another. At least we get some screen time."
In any event, Guzman doubts most Hispanics will notice, if only "because they're so used to seeing images like that of themselves -- little dialogue, always being the bad guy. It's going to take the intellectual community to call Lucas on what he's doing."
Latinos are now the nation's largest minority. But box-office analyst Adam Farasati -- who argues Hollywood rarely takes minority concerns into consideration -- doesn't see any collateral damage to the film's profits.
"The only real issue is that Attack of the Clones is one of most anticipated movies of all time," he says from RealSource's Los Angeles office.
"And beyond that, any type of media attention -- even negative -- really just creates more hype for a film that has hype coming out its ears."

You can reach Michael H. Hodges at (313) 222-6021 or mhodges@detnews.com.

STARWARS (Episodes 4 to 6 inclusively) Fact NOT Fiction by JAH

STARWARS (Episodes 4 to 6 inclusively) Fact NOT Fiction by JAH

George Lucas quite naturally believes that he wrote "Starwars", when, in reality, he was told telepathically what to write in the original first three Episodes (4-6), by the very "Force" to which the films refer, and was "forced" to make only episodes 4-6, first, as a very important step in the preparation of mankind for the long-awaited TRUTH, about the real reasons for human life on Earth ("what on earth am I doing here?"), the meaning of life and its purpose, contained in "The Way home or face The Fire", from which episodes 1-3 should have been made, as I did my best, frequently, to tell him.

Unfortunately George Lucas has exercised his "Free-will"; ignored me and made Episode 1 - "The Phantom Menace"; with arrogant actors who publicly ridicule the real message and the real fans, which undermines the original theme and Divine Message; contradicts it and is mere fiction (lies), telepathically fed to him by the Dark-side force (Satan), to try to confuse everyone and undo the good (God's) message contained in the earlier three films (Episodes 4-6). This is Satan's standard-practice and very predictable. He has done it with the Old Testament; New Testament and Koran and the three major religions who claim to be based on them.

Not understanding that he was being told telepathically, Lucas thinks that "Starwars" came from his imagination, which is a perfectly normal human reaction that many people have had over the centuries. Rudyard Kipling thought that he wrote "IF"; Oscar Wilde thought that he wrote "The Picture of Dorian Gray"; Joe Darion thought he wrote the words to "The Impossible Dream"; Steven Spielberg thinks he wrote "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and the list is endless.

Although "Starwars" (Episodes 4-6) is set as science-fiction and in a distant galaxy to make it entertaining, it actually refers to this galaxy and life on Earth.

There actually was a REAL star war thousands of human years ago, in this galaxy, on the "Morning Star" [Venus] (Revelation 12 v 7; 22 v 16; Isaiah 14 v 12 in the king James Authorised Version of the Bible [which was the ONLY translation worth reading until the new "King of kings' Bible" was completed]); (Koran sura 6:76 and 86:1-4) and you were ALL on the losing side.

It is IMPERATIVE that I say, at this point, that the "Star" of Bethlehem was a SPACESHIP and that God and Christ are aliens and the Books known to you as the Old Testament; New Testament and Koran are NOT religious Books in the way that you all think of religion today. These Books are a guide/map sent by the "Force" from the Morning Star and which have been taken and used; abused and mis-interpreted by the various Religious Organisations for their own material benefit.

In the film, "O.B.1 - Kanobi" tells Luke Skywalker about the "Force" and describes it as a good energy field that gives a JEDI his power and which surrounds us, penetrates us and binds the galaxy (Universe in reality) together ("love thy neighbour") and he goes on to say that it is created by all Living things and that Life makes it grow, which is repeated later on by YODA.

In fact, the "Force" Itself is the source and Creator of Life and it is Love (not sex) that makes it grow. This small mistake about the creation of Life and the "Force" is the only mistake that O.B.1 and YODA make and everything else that they say about the "Force" and how to use it are perfectly correct.

O.B.1 tells Skywalker that he must learn The Way of the "Force" and how to use the "Force" so that he can help others and Luke replies that he has work to do and that he hates evil, but there is nothing he can do about it, which reflects and symbolises almost everyone on Earth's attitude and reply.

Once Luke has lost his human family and all his material possessions, which are the things that bind him to the Earth and he has "nothing to lose" except his human life, he decides to learn to "use the Force" and fight to put the world right, symbolising what the Disciples did (Luke 18 v 28-30).

The demonstration, where O.B.1 tells the storm-troopers that they do not need to see Luke's identification and that he can move along and go about his business demonstrating that the "Force" can have a strong effect on the weak-minded, actually works, but it works telepathically via the "Force", not with spoken words. It is done with words in the film because it cannot be shown telepathically on a film-screen.

The coffee-bar full of weird creatures symbolises many of the places you have been yourselves, full of "creatures of the night", not all of whom are really bad, but where some boast of their evil deeds and fighting ability and who pick fights with you for no reason.

Luke starts to learn to use the "Force," firstly trying to use his human eyes, then later whilst wearing a helmet with the "blast-shield" down (Ephesians 6 v 17) so that he cannot see, symbolising "blind-faith".

He is told not to trust his human eyes because they can deceive him (like yours deceive you) but to stretch out with his feelings (not human emotions) and feel the "Force" around him, guiding him and protecting him from attack.

The "Light-sabre" symbolises a combination of the Guiding-Light ("I am the Guiding-Light of the world" - John 8 v 12), and the Two-edged Sword of TRUTH (Ephesians 6 v 17; Hebrews 4 v 12; Revelation 1 v 16 & 19 v 15) [like "Excalibre" - the Sword of Power] which guides people with "blind-faith" and cuts through the lies; deceit and evil of this evil empire (Earth) and protects you from evil attack, both mental and physical, like a suit of armour (Ephesians 6 v 10-19). "He who draws Excalibre (the TRUTH) from this 'Stone' (Christ - Genesis 49 v 24; Daniel 2 v 34; 1 Peter 2 v 4-9) shall be king" (Revelation 1 v 6) - FREE (John 8 v 32, 36; 1 Corinthians 7 v 22).

The "remote" ball that shoots out red "fiery darts" to attack him from all angles, symbolises the way that Satan will attack you from every possible angle if you do good in the world (Ephesians 6 v 16) and that, using the "Force" and the "Light-sabre", you can always defend yourself (Ephesians 6 v 10-19). Satan will always attack anyone who does good in the world because by doing good you have become a threat to him. He will attack you from every possible angle; from within telepathically, with fear and your imagination running riot; and from without by sending people to get in your way to try to stop you.

To be able to wear the "Force's" Armour you have to first be able to find it and you can only do that by following the Guiding Light's instructions (Christ's True Secret Teaching in John 3 and the Gospel of Thomas - The Doubter), even if you do it unknowingly.

Once Luke feels the "Force" and blocks the "fiery darts", O.B.1 tells him he has "just taken his first step into a larger world" - the real world, the spirit world, immortality and eternity and is no longer a slave to this material world, but has taken his first step into God's Kingdom here on Earth.

Han Solo, who portrays the typical human; scornful; sceptical attitude, says it is luck because he doesn't believe that there is one all-powerful (Almighty) Force controlling everything and that there is no mystical energy-field controlling his destiny. Han, like most humans, does not believe, nor has "blind-faith", in anything he cannot see or touch, so later on he gets into terrible trouble and has no "Light-sabre" with which to defend himself and Luke has to save him.

When their spaceship is caught in a "tractor-beam" which is physically more powerful than their ship O.B.1 says they cannot win by physical fighting, but that there are alternatives to physical fighting when you are physically out-numbered.

Once their ship has been drawn by the "tractor-beam" into the control of the empire, they then connect their droid - R.2.D.2 - to the Death-Star's main computer (via the Internet) and R.2.D.2 finds the location of the power-source controlling the "tractor-beam" which is keeping them from leaving and makes it appear on the computer-monitor.

The location of the "power-source" is shown as being a shape similar to a church door / arch-way, which appears on the computer-monitor to show that the evil Empire uses all organised religions to deceive the masses and to draw people into them and to keep them under their control and away from God (The Force).

The tractor beam is coupled to the main-reactor in seven locations, which represents the seven churches that Christ condemned in the Apocalypse / Revelation. Seven, in Scripture, is the number of completeness and, in referring to the seven churches, Christ is condemning all churches and organised religions.

The "Force" then guides OB1 to the power source of the "tractor-beam" (organised religions - bureaucracy - officialdom - oppression) which overpowered them and showed him how to neutralise its power, without physically harming anyone.

Han and Luke, however, in complete contrast, were having to fight physically, like maniacs, because they did not know how to use the "Force".

Luke offers to go with O.B.1, but is told that his destiny lies along a different path, even though they were going in the same direction, just as each of you are individuals and have a different path; but The Way is The Same.

When Luke finds out that the princess is a prisoner and wants to rescue her, Han Solo won't help him because he is selfish and doesn't want to risk his own life, to save hers. "But they are going to execute her" (Luke). "Better her than me" (Han)! Typical human attitude.

Luke is about to give up on Han, when the "Force" tells him telepathically that if Han won't help because it's the right thing to do, then Luke must appeal to his sense of greed. He does and Han changes his mind and helps rescue her. They then follow her advice (like Adam does with Eve) and get into worse trouble until the "Force" again comes to the rescue and tells Luke to use his communicator to get help.

Han then says that if they can avoid any more female advice (women's liberation - 1 Timothy 2 v 11-14 note well Genesis 3 v 17) they will be able to get out of trouble and that no material reward is worth the female abuse he is getting (Hell has no fury like a woman's scorn).

O.B.1 then has to fight, using his blue "Light-sabre" against Darth Vader with his red light-sabre which symbolises Satan's dark (side) force and he tells Vader that he cannot win because if he strikes him down he will become more powerful than he (Vader) can possibly imagine.

Deciding it better to sacrifice his own human life, for the benefit of his friends and the common-good of all who hate evil, he voluntarily allows himself to be sacrificed whilst his friends escape ("greater Love hath no man than this; that a man lay down his life for his friends" - John 15 v 13).

This is a demonstration of "Self-sacrifice" i.e. the total destruction of his own selfishness (following Jesus' example on the cross - "I am The Way" you have to be, to be able to follow me back to Heaven - "I am NOT from this world" - John 8 v 23).

Once O.B.1 had destroyed his own selfishness he knew that he would have passed the "Force's" test and would become a "Being of Light" or angel again and so would be more powerful than Vader could possibly imagine, becoming his real self again (his soul) and be able to be Luke's "guardian angel", which he actually does become.

Luke does not understand and thinks O.B.1 is dead, just as you do about each other, and cannot believe that he is gone until he learns that O.B.1 is still alive and has become his guardian angel.

Darth Vader symbolises the Devil's disciples of whom this world has seen many, e.g. Adolf Hitler - the anti-christ 666 ("storm-troopers" with their cylindrical pouches hanging from the back of their waists just like Hitler's storm-troopers had), who have used the dark-force - Satan's powers to wreak havoc and evil on mankind (please see my "The Real Darth Vader" Booklet). Hitler was actually trained as a Satanist. These people have always been beaten by people who were not afraid to lay down their human lives, for the benefit of others (Churchill said, "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."). At the end of the first film, the fighters are reminiscent of "The Battle of Britain".

It should be obvious to you by now that Vader's emperor symbolises Satan and the evil empire is Earth, where we are in "the dark-times" because Satan is ruling, due to a desperate shortage of JEDI Knights. That is why the Earth is so bad and full of evil with child-molesting; raping; mugging; murdering; adultery; religious, political and commercial wars etc. etc. etc.

The empire then plays a trick on the heroes and lets them escape with a homing-device onboard, but, as with all tricks, it eventually back-fires on them and brings about their own downfall.

One of the emperor's governors says that the regional governors (national governments) will take control of their territories (countries - using their Tie- [collar and tie] Fighters) and that their technological terrors (military weapons) will keep the locals (you) in line.

Vader, their high-priest, then says, when challenged, that they should not be too proud of the technological terrors that they have constructed because the ability to destroy a planet (nuclear weapons) is insignificant compared to the power of the "Force" and that he finds his colleague's lack of "faith" disturbing.

Han starts to boast about their escape and says he is not helping because it is the right thing to do, or even out of Love, and that he is only in it for the money. The princess then tells him that if money is all that he cares about then that will be all that he will receive and says to Luke that she wonders if Han really cares about anyone, or anything, except himself and money. This is again the typical human attitude and symbolises the fact that if you are selfish and care only about yourself and money you will never find true happiness (Joy) and real Love and friendship and the contentment brought about by a sense of real achievement at having faced all the odds and having won because you did what was right and didn't give-in. Money can buy you none of those things.

The empire's weakness is found and symbolises that one man, if he hits the right spot, can cause a chain-reaction that will destroy the whole system and that he will have the advantage because the system thinks that it is too big and too powerful to be destroyed by one fighter. This under-estimation on the part of the system then gives the advantage to the single but determined to win, come what may, fighter. This is to show you that you CAN do something and can win if you have enough faith and use the "Force's" guidance (Matt. 21 v 21 where the words 'mountain' and 'sea' are code-words for 'government' and 'people', respectively). For further information about codes, please read my "Four Horsemen" Booklet.

Han collects his money and is leaving when he is needed most and even tries to get Luke to run away from his responsibilities (like Peter does - Matt. 16 v 22) and Luke tells him to take care of himself because it seems that that is what Han is best at (like Matt. 16 v 23).

Luke is upset because he thought that in Han he had found a real friend and that Han had changed but finds out that Han is only a 'fair-weather' friend. Princess Leia tells Luke that everyone must choose their own path and no-one can choose it for them (which applies to all of you too).

Luke, under telepathic-guidance from his guardian-angel O.B.1, uses the "Force" to destroy the evil-oppressor when everyone else, relying on human-technology, has failed miserably.

Han; having second-thoughts because his conscience (the "Force") has pricked him and shamed him into not being so selfish; returns at just the right moment (Divine Timing) and helps Luke to destroy the enemy.

Leia is excited and says that she knew that doing what was right was really more important to Han than money.

Even the robots display unselfishness with C3PO offering some of his parts to help repair R2D2.

In the second film, of the trilogy, O.B.1 tells Luke that he must go to the Day-go-by System and learn from YODA - the JEDI Master (teacher) who instructed O.B.1.

The Day-go-by System and YODA (YO/DA - YOur DAily) the JEDI (JE/DI - JEsus' DIsciple) teacher symbolised in the film by a planet and a wise alien teacher respectively are actually a daily (YOur DAily) type of learning system and a Book (called "God Calling" by Two Listeners, published by Arthur James, available from all good book-shops).

Luke says the Day-go-by System contains no cities (concentrations of evil) or technology, but massive Life readings (it is a Book) ("the Words that I speak to you, they are spirit and they are Life" - John 6 v 63).

YODA tells Luke that wars do not make one great because Luke has the wrong idea about fighting, just like Peter had when he cut off the High-Priest's servant's ear - John 18 v 10.

Everything that YODA tells Luke about the "Force" and how to learn to use it is perfectly correct.

The cave symbolises the dark-side (Genesis 6 v 5) and the imagination (when it runs riot with fear and evil imaginings) or "Cavern of your mind", inside of which there is only what you take with you and obviously you need no physical weapons to enter your mind and overcome your fears and find calm, peace of mind - all you need is the "Force".

Once Luke has found YODA, the emperor (Satan - Lucifer) says that he has a new enemy who could destroy his evil empire and put the world right and bring peace, Love and harmony, to everyone. (Like Muad'Dib does in the film "Dune" - please see my "Dune-Gibraltar" Booklet).

Luke practises standing on his head with YODA and R2D2 standing on his upturned feet, which symbolises that he is training himself to use the "Force" so well that he can do it "standing on his head". YODA and R2D2, being supported by Luke's feet symbolises that when he loses his "blind-faith" and thereby the "Force's" help, he lets down not only himself but those who are depending upon him to succeed.

YODA tells him that he must UNLEARN what the world has taught him and that we are really "Luminous Beings" ("Beings of Light" - angels) and NOT crude human-matter - John 3 v 5 & 6; Matt. 22 v 30.

Closing his eyes, symbolising his own "blind-faith", YODA moves Luke's spaceship, out of the swamp, onto dry land; after Luke has already "tried" and failed, making the situation worse for whoever comes after him, because of his lack of faith; symbolising that enough faith can move a mountain (Matt. 17 v 19-20). YODA then grunts "Thank You" to the good "Force" for having helped him to move the ship.

Luke says he doesn't believe it and YODA tells him that that is why he fails (Matt. 17 v 19-20 & 13 v 58).

Through the remainder of the film and its sequel, Luke learns more and more faith; control and how to use the "Force", fighting progressively harder fights against more and more difficult adversaries, as part of his training, until he eventually fights against Vader (the Black Pope), who is a real devil's disciple. Luke loses because he has not mastered his "Self"-control and use of the "Force".

Vader then tells Luke that he is his "father" (Matt. 23 v 9) and tries to pull him back from becoming a JEDI, symbolising Matt. 10 v 34-37 - "I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man in dis-agreement with his father and a man's foes SHALL BE they of his own household. He that loves father or mother more than me: and he who loves son or daughter more than me is NOT worthy of me".

Luke escapes, by being prepared to sacrifice his human-life rather than do evil, and is left hanging upside down on a cross after refusing to join his father. He is then rescued with the assistance of the "Force". Luke continues his training, gaining more and more faith, until he has really mastered the technique and becomes a JEDI Knight, at which point he has become invincible. He eventually fights Vader again and wins, but refuses to kill him because he feels that there is still some good in Vader (even in the most evil people there is some good).

The emperor then attacks Luke when he drops his defence and Vader defends him, giving his own life in the process.

Luke still doesn't understand about the human physical body and the soul because he wants to save Vader's human-life and Vader tells him that Luke's Love and actions causing Vader to turn from evil to good and give his life for others has saved him and earned him his right to become a "Being of Light" again (angel) and then O.B.1; YODA and Vader (Anakin Skywalker) are all shown as angels.

I hope that I have succeeded in proving to you all that although "Starwars" is shown as science-fiction, the theme running through it is TRUE and refers to this planet and shown you that what Luke Skywalker learns is what each and everyone of you HAS TO learn in order to get out of Hell, which is where you are now, and become an angel again and go home, never having to wear crude, smelly, clumsy, human-matter again. YODA calls that state of freedom from matter "forever sleep" - like a wonderful dream.

You must learn The Way of the "Force" and become JEDI Knights and fight to put the world right. The ONLY alternative is to face the IMMINENT Apocalypse; the "Fire" and be executed for YOUR war crimes.

In the same way that you know "Starwars" and the "Force" are not religious by today's understanding of the word, I hope that I have now convinced you of the TRUTH that the Old Testament; New Testament; Koran; God and Christ are not religious (by today's definition) either and that I have helped you all towards a new (to you), TRUE and SENSIBLE understanding of the Teachings. You should read the new "King of kings' Bible", which contains all three Holy Books.

I have kept this explanation as short as possible because if I had gone into detail on every point, it would have become a book, and I have already written a Book (The Way home or face The Fire) to explain everything in detail.

Copyright © 1985 revised 1999 - JAH - all rights reserved.

George Lucas has been given all his world-wide success with "Starwars", by the "Force", so that the world would see the films in preparation for the "long-awaited" TRUTH contained in His new Book, called "The Way home or face The Fire", which explains everything you need to know, and some of you have always wondered about but had no-one to ask. This Book, along with the Book - "YODA JEDI Master*" and total commitment on your part, will teach you how to SURVIVE the Apocalypse and eventually earn you your right to go HOME.

* YODA (YO/DA - YOur DAily) JEDI (JE/DI - JEsus' DIsciple) Master / Teacher is actually a daily (YOur DAily) type of learning system in a Book called "God Calling" by Two Listeners, published by Arthur James and available from most good book-shops. It is also available from JAH. Please click here for details.

You can not afford to be without them.

I’m Going To See “The Clone Wars” Ziro Times

I’m Going To See “The Clone Wars” Ziro Times

It’s hard to call George Lucas a racist or a bigot becuase I get the impression he really has no idea what he’s doing. Remember those interviews a few years ago with Michael Jackson where you really started to believe that he had NO IDEA that he was, in fact, a pedophile? I feel the same way about G.L. He seems completely oblivious to the effect his meddling has had on his once beloved franchise.

This guy practically had Jar Jar dancing a soft shoe, and singing “Mammy” in black face. He’s completely gone. I guarantee you he has some bullshit philosophy that “it’s not even the same galaxy, so Earth’s racial and sexual stereotypes have no relevance. Anyway let’s get ready to shoot the cross burning on Tatooine.”

So now he’s made the first flaming Hutt (that has to be a drink at the Mos Eisley Cantina). Again, I assume he has no idea what he’s done. The conversation went like this:

GL: “Guys, for Jabba’s Uncle Ziro, I want him to be purple, wear make up, have feathers in his hair, be very effeminate and for good measure let’s give him the distinctive voice of a famous homosexual author.”

Guys: “Isn’t that… going to offend gays?”

GL: “This is a long time ago in a galaxy far away! Why do I have to tell you this every day?! There is no predjudice against space-gays in the Star Wars Universe. IT’S NOT CANON! IT’S NOT CANON! IT’S NOT CANON! IT’S NOT CANON! IT’S NOT CANON! IT’S NOT CANON!”

Then he stomps a whole in the ground and turns to stone.

When I saw Gendy Tartakovsky’s animated “Clone Wars” on Cartoon Network, I was convinced that it was a positive turning point for Star Wars. The stylized animation was distinct and likable, the voice acting was, at times, excellent and the stories the series told were compelling. Mace Windu took out an entire droid army by himself. It was awesome.

When I found out they were remaking the series as a CGI movie (with a new tv series to follow) I groaned that same “Lucas can’t leave well enough alone” groan I’ve been groaning for years.

Sure enough, the reviews are confirming my fears. Many of you will say, “I don’t read reviews. I see the movie and decide for myself.” Be my guest.

Racism Reaches Outer Space

Stereotypes in a Distant Galaxy -- Racism Reaches Outer Space

By Lee Hubbard

Date: 06-03-99

Enthralling action, breathtaking special effects, and skillful promotion are drawing crowds to the most recent "Star Wars" offering. But very near the surface of all this dazzle are some familiar -- and ugly -- stereotypes which do not belong in any universe. PNS commentator Lee Hubbard is a writer on the staff of the San Francisco Bay View. His e-mail address is superle@hotmail.com.

I remember sitting on my father's shoulders as I waited in line to see a new movie about space called "Star Wars." I was 5 years old, bubbling with excitement as the line inched forward, eager to see this film everyone was talking about.

Fast-forward 23 years and I find myself in a similar situation, but this time I'm the father, standing in line with my 9-year old son and daughter waiting to see "Phantom Menace," the prequel to the Star Wars Trilogy.

My reactions to George Lucas's new film were also similar -- but for different reasons.

While "Star Wars" shocked me with its view of the possibilities of space, "Phantom Menace" shocked me with its stereotypical images. These are not subliminal like those you have to watch several times to catch. The images in "Phantom Menace" jump out at you.

Within seconds, viewers are introduced to the evil Trade Federation, which is attempting to shut down and dominate the trade routes of the peaceful Naboo (white) people. Nute Gunray, the sinister slant eyed Viceroy of the trade federation and his aide talk in broken English reminiscent of Asian characters in the past like Charlie Chan. In outer space, creatures come in all shapes and sizes, but the accent of the evil trade merchants of the trade federation cannot be disguised -- and continues throughout the film.

The action in the film so enthralled me that I didn't pay much attention to this, but the second foreign like character in the film, Jar Jar Binks, disturbed me. Binks is an amphibious creature, clumsy and child-like. He has protruding lips, buckeyes, floppy ears that look like dreadlocks and he speaks in a manner that resembles a West Indian dialect.

While his looks were disturbingly ugly, his voice and accent were uglier. He answers one question, "Me so don't think so." As people laughed at Binks, I couldn't help but wonder if I was in on the joke. The buffoonish image would make Kingfish of Amos and Andy look like an international statesman.

I thought I was over-reacting, until my daughter tapped me on the shoulder and asked, "Daddy, is that a Jamaican or something?"

Binks' people, the Gungan, behave in an even more child-like manner, led by a buffonish character, who resembles the old stereotype of the silly African like tribal chieftain, and bumbles over his words.

This could have been enough stereotyping for one day, but "Phantom Menace" went for a triple with the character of Watto, a hooked nose, slave- owning junk dealer who spoke in a Middle Eastern accent, reminiscent of a Jew or an Arab.

Conservatives lash out at the insistence on political correctness, calling it a form of McCarythism, and there is some truth to the charge. But the lack of criticism of these stereotypes as George Lucas's "Phantom Menace" marches its way to huge box office numbers, is disturbing.

The lack of protest may reflect the fact that the movie has made over $200 million in two weeks. But with no explanation of the need for these characters, they detract from the movie and from the Star Wars mystique.

"Nothing in 'Star Wars' is racially motivated," said Lynne Hale, a spokeswoman for Star Was. "Star Wars is a fantasy movie set in a galaxy far, far away."

It may be set far far away, but familiar old stereotypical images of racism have been brought from earth into space. In a galaxy of diverse creatures, things should be color-blind, but in the "Phantom Menace," color blindness is a fantasy -- just as it is in real life.

George Lucas' Jedi mind trick

George Lucas' Jedi mind trick
The filmmaker says that we have to accept responsibility for our actions. So why can't he own up to his racist stereotypes?

- - - - - - - - - - - -
By Alynda Wheat

March 22, 2000 | George Lucas sounds like a Jedi when he talks about the power of his movies. "One of the big rules that I live by is to accept responsibility for what I'm doing," he told my graduate journalism class at the University of California at Berkeley recently. "You can't sort of pretend that you're not, or that you're not influencing people."

Lucas had stopped in to talk and answer questions for about 50 students in the journalism school's documentary film program. And it was a nice, congenial -- if dry -- talk until he turned it into a forum for bashing movie critics and denying that his "Star Wars" characters draw on racist caricatures. But I'll get to that in a minute.

For the first hour, Lucas rambled on about technical matters, pausing occasionally to touch on big issues, like the subjective nature of truth and the way that individuals perceive reality in different, equally valid ways. This was a discussion for documentarians, after all.

But something had been nagging at me ever since I saw his blockbuster opus. I raised my hand, swallowed and asked a question that seemed obvious. "Mr. Lucas, given your anthropological interests, were you surprised by the criticism of 'The Phantom Menace' as having ethnic and racial overtones?"

Bad idea. Lucas launched into a windy tirade against critics and the news media, which he accused of having to manufacture controversy in order to sell papers. "You can't sell newspapers by saying nice things about something," he claimed. "You can only sell newspapers by creating controversies and making controversies."

He seemed extraordinarily defensive. I thought I'd phrased the question carefully enough. I went through the checklist in my head. Did I call him Mr. Lucas? Check. Did I studiously avoid suggesting that I thought the film was racist? Check. Did I phrase it in such a way that he wouldn't feel attacked? Not according to him.

"You hurt my feelings," he told me privately after the discussion ended. And I suppose that's a possibility. But Lucas, as he had shown, isn't willing to extend his viewers the same courtesy.

I assume that he felt attacked. Maybe it was the setting: There were dozens of university students seated before him in rapt attention, eager to learn from him, the George Lucas. And I had burst his bubble -- again. Back when "The Phantom Menace" came out last summer, several critics accused Lucas of perpetuating racist stereotypes, particularly with the Gungan character Jar Jar Binks. Joe Morgenstern, writing for the Wall Street Journal, called Binks a "Rastafarian Stepin Fetchit on platform hoofs, crossed annoyingly with Butterfly McQueen."

Lucas stubbornly dismissed the idea that Jar Jar could be linked to stereotypes of African-American slaves or minstrel characters. "How, in any credible way, could you take an orange amphibian and say that this was a racial stereotype for African-Americans?" he asked.

When I mentioned Jar Jar's Caribbean patois he simply cut me off. "Just because somebody has an accent doesn't make them a stereotype of a particular kind of thing."

And he was right. Accents in and of themselves may not be stereotypical. But it's the overall image of Jar Jar that smacks of racism. His buffoonery, gait, appearance (one journalist thought his ears were reminiscent of dreadlocks) and word choice all combine to make him offensive. Lucas refused to even entertain the possibility his work might contain such stereotypes.

I felt betrayed. I had long been a fan of the "Indiana Jones" and "Star Wars" series. When I was a little girl, there wasn't much that my father and I both enjoyed. But we loved to run around the house in our socks with plastic light sabers glowing incandescent red and green. I'd make him play Darth Vader to my Luke Skywalker. "Star Wars" spoke to the child I was, and that my dad still wanted to be. Now, 20 years later, my younger brothers chase my dad (who's gotten a little slower, he admits) with towels pinned to their pajamas to make capes and tin foil covering old wrapping-paper tubes for light sabers. At ages 4 and 6, they were among a small group I knew who didn't think there were racial problems with "The Phantom Menace."

Lucas blamed the rash of criticism on a single Los Angeles Times writer who he said had misheard Jar Jar say the word, "Massa." "The L.A. Times took that little statement that was in a review and turned it into a whole thing about the film was racist, anti-Semitic and misogynist and everything else they could think of."

"Critics aren't creators, they're destroyers," he said. "And I don't think any creative person will ever argue with me about that."

I mentioned that I review films, but that didn't do anything to slow him down. "Most of them that I've met are reasonably dim-witted," he said of critics. "I mean, they aren't like the rest of us. They don't have any knowledge of anything. They're not successful in any world that I've ... They certainly don't know anything about history; they don't know anything about film. They don't know anything about politics. They don't know anything about sociology or psychology or anything. I mean, it's like, you get into a conversation with them and it's hard to find a subject that they can actually converse on."

Well, that tore the room up. "And I'm being kind," he added as soon as the laughter died down. Another student asked him a question about the next installment of the series, and Lucas said goodbye.

I was reeling. The only thing more offensive than his name-calling was the implication that filmgoers are sheep. Without the Los Angeles Times article, he suggested, no one would have thought the film was racially problematic. Of course, Lucas didn't bother to mention that at least 15 other articles and reviews in papers from Salt Lake City to Omaha to New York had suggested that the film contained racist elements before the L.A. Times article ever appeared.

But Lucas had his mind made up. The critics were out to get him, and he hadn't made any mistakes. In essence, his opinions, his facts, precluded the possibility that he could have, in his words, hurt anyone's feelings. If you thought the film was racist, by his estimation, your view wasn't "credible." Or, if your feelings were hurt by his images, it's because you just can't see him the way he sees himself -- as a benevolent creator who gives the world his gift, celebrates universal harmony and the triumph of good over evil.

Lucas wasn't willing to take responsibility for his characters because he couldn't accept that a lack of racist intent does not absolve him of that responsibility. It goes to his statement that there are different, equally valid perceptions of reality. It's just unfortunate that he doesn't seem to buy that, either. "It's your truth," he told us. But apparently, in Lucas' world, his truth is the only one that matters.

And that hurt my feelings.
salon.com | March 22, 2000