PT The Jar Jar Binks Appreciation Thread

I am so happy this thread exists


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Who sir are you sir. Love him !!

 

That scene is warm

 

Jar Jar is a cool guy.

 

Brisky morning munchin'!

MJ

 

I still love Jar Jar

 

I was a little slow stepping on this, but yesterday -- well, okay, two days ago now, from where I'm typing this (or getting on for) -- was, in a way, Jar Jar's 19th birthday.

From "The Beginning":










This is from the scene of John Knoll and Rob Coleman presenting their efforts to George in "The Beginning":

Time Index: 40:03


Okay, so, I suppose I should say, August 21st 1997 is the date of the file (wowzers -- almost twenty years!), and Lucas was presumably shown it a little while after. But that seems to be the time, or the file, that clinched Jar Jar's "essence" as a fully-digital character; because, perversely, fittingly, magically, it turns out (see clip above) that it took "half the man hours" to fully animate Jar Jar versus "simply" replacing his head which proved the longer and costlier task. And so a gangly Gungan misfit with a watery, elastic élan vital was born.

And I should also say: "Fully-digital", but, of course, the "finished" Jar Jar is still thanks to Ahmed Best's wondrously energetic and idiosyncratic take on the character, his character (every bit as much as the concept designers and animators and George himself). Poor Jar Jar has been so reviled over the years, but everything came together brilliantly, in my opinion, in this delightfully different amphibian exile. A beautiful reminder that Star Wars is cinematic alchemy -- a bold synthesis that is to be apprehended, penetrated, and unapologetically enjoyed.

To mark the occasion, even if I'm a little late, I plan on adding a little something more later. Just a neat little data dump I've been working on. Jar Jar fans and Star Wars scribes should hopefully find it uselessly useful.

 

BTW...

I think, by that measure, we may have just seen the universe "ripen" the artwork, "The Phantom Menace", by having Jar Jar now reach his true age.

Always sort of looked at him as around the age of nineteen or twenty, in a mirror of Anakin's age in AOTC, and Luke's in ANH.

And if "Jar Jar is the key to all this", new doors are about to be unlocked. The key gleams, the locks quiver with anticipation.

 

Is it just me or is Jar Jar more intelligent than we think we are? All his bad fortune seems to stem off from his clumsiness and in Episode I his naivité (which is understandable since Gunga City is probably all he knows). He does seem to know what's going on. He knew his people were dying on Naboo. He knew the urgency of the situation in Episode II. He knows what's at stake in the episodes of the Clone Wars. And when did he really do anything right out dumb that can't be described as "clumsy".

 

I agree here. "But which Senator would approve such a radical amendment?" . Albeit the situation quite dire so that puppet master again gets his way, Jar Jar steps up to the plate. He's clearly thinking in the scene.

MJ

 

I think Jar Jar's subtle arc does vindicate Lucas' remarks about him 'being the key to all this.' Besides being the key of moving forward the plot (without Jar Jar, there's no unification of Naboo and Palpatine doesn't get his war powers when he does), and besides the additional reason of adding some balance and levity to a more dry, serious film as the Phantom Menace (the balance works I think), Jar Jar's story is one of the major, if not THE major, point of the prequel arc. The prequels are about how good gets corrupted and goes wrong. How could an Empire take over? How could people just let that happen? Was everyone in the government just evil, taking over everywhere? And we learn -- no, it isn't that way. Jar Jar, for all his foolish antics and naivete, is not a bad person. He wants to do good. He is a good person, despite his obvious awkward areas. Yet Jar Jar gets played. He sees his work twisted, his role used for purposes larger than his own, against his own wishes. Not every character has to go dark like Anakin to make an Empire rise. No, all that needs to happen is for good people to get taken advantage of and played like chess pieces. Jar Jar thought he was doing good by granting war powers to Palpatine to protect the Republic. Jar Jar had helped unify the Gungans and Naboo for the war effort after all -- how different was this new case ? And yet, it was all just a ploy to give Palpatine ultimate power. I imagine Jar Jar's sad, downcast look at Padme's funeral is the picture of a creature who knows it's too late -- knows he played a role in it all -- knows he was manipulated against what he wanted, to service evil without knowing it -- knows it's all over. It's a picture of remorse. And possibly guilt.

It's a Gungan version of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Only in this case, Mr. Smith doesn't realize the corruption until it's taken over everything, and no appeals he makes can save the day. It's all over. In that sense, sadly, Jar Jar represents most people. He represents most Germans in WWII that didnt know the monster they were fueling. He represents Napoleon's freethinking supporters who didn't know the lengths he'd go. He represents those Roman Senators who thought giving Caesar power would smooth everything out. He represents a simple man trying to make a difference in a world where powers are just too large for him.

Zooming out to see his whole arc in view of what happened, Jar Jar represents most people.
Jar Jar represents us.

 

To me there seems to be a deep metaphor in Jar Jar becoming Representative Binks.

On the film’s surface he is Padme's senatorial stand-in as representative of Naboo, but on a deeper level he is Anakin’s representative. In that Jar Jar & Anakin, once the symbols of childlike innocence and unconditional love, are shown to be susceptible to manipulation of their good intentions into making unsound decisions. Simultaneously, they are flipped and become the harbingers of war and death.

Jar Jar proposed emergency powers for Palpatine. And during the death of his mother, and later after having visions of Padme’s death, Anakin sought emergency powers of his own.

 

I would like to know what happened to him after Ep III. But I am sure Lucasfilm will keep ignoring him.

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Very interesting parallel! I have never thought about that.
About Jar Jar playing the role of a 'fool around": for me it is deliberately. In every medieval court there was one fool (or a joker) like this but his role was very important: he not only entertained the king but was allowed to show him the true , what really happen without being punished because as fool he is innocent, he doesn't participate (at least deliberately) in intrigues.
Lucas's joker plays very important role in this opposition of innocence vs. corruption as he is in full speed in Ep.1, with reduced but important role in 2 and in 3 appears only once.. in a funeral. Because in the Empire's world there is no place for innocence, it is corrupted and evil.
But in the innocent, more child0like Ep.1 Jar Jar plays one of biggest roles, as this is his world: he saves the day first for the Jedi, then for the Nabooans and at last for his people and he is doing that in his annoying, clumsy way. I would not analyze this in details as it was done, I'll only post some crucial moments in his character's arc.
In Ep.2 Jar Jar is changed: he is representative, he wears civilized costumes, he has (almost) manners, so he is affected by the civilization, but I wouldn't say only in a good way. Being a little polished Jar Jar looses part of his innocence, in a way his common sense, or more precisely his intuition that helped to him so much in Ep.1. He is not on his beloved Naboo i.e. his is unprotected from the evil and the evil uses him. In Ep.3 we sees Jar Jar only in Padme's funeral and that says a lot. I'm glad that Lucas included his exclamation in the remastered version of ROTJ. It made me feel optimistic.

 

Don't forget Jar Jar is also in RotS when Anakin & Obi-Wan return with Palpatine. In a poignant scene when he steps on Orn Free Taa's foot (or something like that) who than grumbles, "Watch it!"

I forgot to add in my comment that Representative Binks proposes emergency powers during the midpoint of the trilogy, when everything turns on its axis. Right as Obi-Wan is learning "the truth" from Dooku and Shmi's funeral is being held. Tying in to your good point about Jar Jar as a prominent attendee of Padme's funeral.

 

Anyone else know that Jar Jar had a cousin?

 

Haha, no, but it seems hilarious.

 

'Ello boy'os!

 

Did you say deeper? Then let's dwelve into it!

Try this is on for size and I mean SIZE.

Jar Jar : Gungans got a GRAND army, that's why yousa not liking us, meesa thinks .

Padme gets an idea . Sidious later ..."this is an UNUSUAL MOVE for her, it's too aggressive "



Come AOTC: Palpatine: As my first act of my new authority I will create a GRAND Army....

The Republic has become too aggressive an UNISUAL MOVE. An unusual move . Palpatines machinations are a type of diversion to wrest eventual control.

Anakin / Vader states : My new Empire . ( a front to Sidious / Palpatine empire ) when he tells Padme " I can overthrow him"

Padme had no idea what her initial moves could have percipitated with the innocent help of Jar Jar.

What say you all?

Cheers!

MJ

 

The Clone Wars CGI series gave me new respect for Representative Binks. I once tolerated him, but now I actually like him.

 

I love Jar Jar. He's hilarious!

 

From a cinema history perspective, it's kind of criminal that Jar Jar is so undervalued. He really is the first fully CGI character to play a major role in any motion picture. Films like Terminator 2 and Jurassic Park paved the way with CGI beings and creatures, but their screen time was comparatively minimal. Jar Jar has at least 90 minutes of screen time in TPM, which was unprecedented for its time. Without Jar Jar, none of the memorable CGI characters in the 21st century would have been possible. Gollum, King Kong, Davy Jones, Caesar, and let's not forget CGI Yoda, Maz Kanata, and Snoke.

 

Another thing 3P0 says during this sequence that is all too human is "Oh, what a nightmare!" Do droids really understand the concept of dreaming enough to use it in context of their own experiences? Do androids dream of electric sheep?

 

If he feels machine making machines is perverse, makes you wonder what kind of dream he could have had when Anakin made him. Infact he recognizes Anakin as the Maker. Interesting too that Anakin who made C3PO was all human, but later became more machine than man.

Maybe Im talking gibberish.

MJ

 

This little scene makes me smile every time I watch the film. One of the many small ways the PT is bursting with heart.