The ability to speak does not make you intelligent

I find this passage of dialogue from TPM interesting:

QUI-GON : Are you brainless? You almost got us killed!
JAR JAR : I spake.
QUI-GON : The ability to speak does not make you intelligent. Now get outta
here!

Firstly, I am not sure how Qui Gon's attitude towards Jar Jar fits in with his "ultimate compassionate Jedi" role

Where is his sensitivity to all living things here?

Also the line seems to have some extra significance but I am not sure what

Any suggestions?

 

I think at the moment he was more concerned with the habitants of Naboo as a whle since the Trade Federation was pretty much invading at that point, but it does seem contradictory for his character.

As for the signifigance of the line, it all depends upon the context and interpretation. In the general scheme, it's true becuase how many people can talk but are just not that bright. From the in-universe perspective it can be applied to many things from the Jedi's lack of being able to see the Sith in front of them, to Padme falling prey to Palpatine's plot and inadverdently using her charisma and articulation to help him succeed in his plan, maybe Darth Maul who could talk(all be it limited) but made a stupid mistake fighting Obi-Wan, to even Palpatine and the fact it took more than just speaking for him to pull off what he did.


It's all up to the viewer.

 

Well, firstly, we could start with where Qui-Gon also uses the word "speak".

Two other instances come to mind, both on Coruscant:

(Day Time - Arrival Scene)

QUI-GON: I must speak with the Jedi Council. The situation has become much more complicated.

(Night Time - Departure Scene)

QUI-GON: They continually speak to us, telling us the will of the Force.

* * *

Implicitly, Qui-Gon appears to be questioning the intelligence of both himself and the midi-chlorians. We can probably conceive of other links/implications if we look/think/imagine hard enough.

* * *

Yes, the line to Jar Jar strikes me as brutally dismissive (particularly coming right after "Are you brainless?"). Qui-Gon is not being a compassionate Jedi here. On the other hand, he is obviously disgruntled with Jar Jar for almost ending their lives.

Another parallel seems to be with Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan on the landing platform on Coruscant. Here, with Jar Jar, Qui-Gon tells Jar Jar to "get out of here", clearly annoyed at his stupidity and lingering insistence, which, on the face of it, seems no different to Qui-Gon telling Obi-Wan to "get onboard" after Obi-Wan derides his master's faith in Anakin and appears to loiter for a second (for an answer to his antagonistic question: "They all sense it, why can't you?").

Just some basic thoughts here.

 

Well said, Cryo!

I love the simple, yet grand approach to this line. And it rings true in our galaxy, also. Just look at any celebrity nowadays, and the inane vitriol they spout at any given time. I like to use this line in situations where it calls for it. But I think Qui-Gon was shocked that a living creature could display such a lack of tact and intelligence in a tense situation. He does wind up sparing his life later on, so I think it's just a situational thing.

 

It IS very dismissive for the"bestest and only compassionate Jedi evah" . I see it as a moment of "being human;" Qui-Gon was focused on an entirely different matter when Jar Jar "intruded."

No one's perfect, even Qui-Gon.

 

Jar-jar did not say "speak" he sed "spek".

The whole exchange between them was the first instance of the tolerance/teamwork theme of the movie. Because jar-jar DOESNT really have the ability to speak doesnt make him any less stuped than all the people in the movie who can speak perhaps too well -ie palpatine ( ).


Same with the medichloriens. The force helps them to help life forms in order for everything to survive, but it has to all be in harmony another words in "balance" witch is what anakin needs to bring back to the force. The imagery of duel of the fates at the films climax is of the 3 most prominent "game changers" battling among the energy that is shared between the two main cultures of the planet in order to survive. Im talking about the energy in the power plant where the duel takes place, its the same energy the gungans harvest organically from the planet core that there shields are made of. Thats the reason why at the end of the movie padme hands boss nass the energy ball rather than it being just some kind of medal ala' a new hope. Its symbolic. Its why make TPM such a wonderful fairy tale for children and families. It sends a beautiful message about tolerance and harmony.

A lot of people tend to miss this overall theme and thats IMO one of the biggest reasons people misunderstand TPM. Thast why its such a dam shame the character of jar-jar was so horribly misunderstood in 1999. If you miss this then you miss the point of the film.

 

I really don't like the hero worship qui gon seems to receive these days. Especially given this kind of line. Indeed he only saves jar jar because he thinks he will help the jedi on their quest.

 

I hadn't even open the thread, but I barely saw the title, I started to think just that. (Something that I never thought about before.)

 

Perhaps reading WAY too much into this than need be? Qui-Gon isn't questioning his heritage or his sentience, more like a lack of common sense perhaps?

As for the ever compassionate Jedi-He'd been betrayed, gassed, shot at, stowed away a ship full of machines which to kill him and runs into Jar-Jar acting like a nit wit and couldn't have had enough and had a human slip up?

 

It is funny though it is Jar Jar speaking to Amidala on Coruscant later in the film about the Gungan army that gives her the idea leading to the heroes' success.

 

ummm? Did you not just read my post explaining the whole exchange between gui-gon and jar-jar? Its right there, right above yours...

You too Alexrd.

See thats the problem right there, someone makes an accusation about one of the PT films, it gets explained to them and yet they just choose to ignore it.

Gui-gon wasn't "just being mean" by saying that. The whole exchange was purposefully written into the movie for a reason witch i have explained as simply as i could.

I don't mean to come off as pushy or anything, really, im just saying it shouldn't have to be so frustrating trying to get one simple point through on these boards. You could have at least acknowledged my post.

 

I read your post but I am not sure what question it is answering

It certainly isn't the one I created the thread for

 

How is your explanation supposed to change my thoughts when I saw the thread's title? Because that's what my reply was about. I'm no Jar Jar hater, much less Qui-Gon (which is my favourite character from the prequels).

 

Umm... how to say this. Maybe others need help interpreting the films and maybe others just interpret it differently. What's obvious may not be obvious or may not be accurate to others. Maybe there's both a superficial and deeper level to the films.

Your interpretation is no more and no less valid than others.

 

I really don't get this thread. Jar Jar was being an idiot and almost got them killed, naturally Qui-Gon wondered if he was a brainless beast.

And no, the ability to speak does not make you intelligent. Of course he wanted Jar Jar to scram, who wants to be around that moron?

The elevation of Qui-Gon is pretty ridiculous, but this is just false.

If you're talking about their initial meeting, Qui-Gon didn't even know who Jar Jar was, or even if he was intelligent. How could he know that Jar Jar would end up helping them? Qui-Gon saved Jar Jar because he just happened to be there, and honestly Qui-Gon also saved his own life at the same time. They were both in danger.

 

I just HAVE to have fun with this (sorry to hijack your post, CT) - it's funny how a few (er, a lot and not on this thread) elevate Qui-Gon to this uber-compassionate, sees-the-value-in-the-most-unassuming but those same usually jump both feet first down Obi-Wan's throat for his "pathetic lifeform" words uttered even before Qui-Gon informs him of who they speak.

Anakinfansince1983 (AF ok for short?): I know of what you speak. Politics and many commercials - some of it is quite pathetic.

Its less the words and far more the mind behind the words that demonstrate intelligence or the lack of - and strangely, one can be intelligent in one arena and not in another.

 

THIS

Qui-Gon was simply caught in the heat of the moment, almost run down by a Trade Federation Tank or whatever...he admonished Jar Jar and that was the end of it...obviously he was ultimaately compassionate becuae he did in fact save Binks from being tortured by Boss Nass

 

I can see the point being made about Qui-Gon's line to Jar-Jar being a little mean, but I agree with others above that it was more a slip in the heat of the moment than anything else. The line that bothers me more coming from Qui-Gon (with his supposedly compassionate view) is when he tells Shmi, "well, I didn't actually come here to free slaves". Not to derail this thread, but that line always hits me as unnecessarily cold.

 

Another thing going on in this scene is that Qui-Gon does not initially realize how child-like Jar Jar is. Neither does Obi-Wan. It's only when Jar Jar mentions the "hidden city" of Otoh Gunga and then hesitates to take the Jedi there that Qui-Gon changes his tone. Listen to the way he says "no?" as he walks up to Jar Jar. He's now speaking to him like a child. Obi-Wan follows suit with his threat about them all being blasted into a thousand pieces, even glancing over at Qui-Gon after he delivers his threat, as if saying, "How'd you like that one, Master?" So, some of Qui-Gon's apparent upset and disdain with Jar Jar is simply a result of him not understanding Jar Jar's true nature. It's not that Jar Jar's "brainless". He's merely a big kid. Better things come the Jedi's way when they embrace this and use it to their own advantage.

 

Cryo please write a book on every scene in the saga.

 

Thank you- that's a lot of my thoughts on Jar Jar wrapped up into a nice, concise, eloquent package. He IS a big kid- he's got a very naive, happy-go-lucky worldview. It's a huge part of why I love the character so much.

I see a lot of myself in him.

 

Thanks, guys 'n' Gungans.

No, Mr Wolvo. Not a book. I've thought about putting a website together, however.

Yes, dewback. Jar Jar is arguably one of the most significant movie characters of all time. Certainly, he's one of my favourites.

I should correct a couple of things in my last post:

Firstly, Obi-Wan actually says, "If they find us, they will crush us, grind us into tiny pieces and blast us into oblivion". Secondly, "better things" (coming the Jedi's way) can be read seriously or ironically, depending on your POV. One needs to look at the short-term, mid-term and long-term when studying this saga.

On the official StarWars.com forums, I was just going over a Jar Jar thread there, and I stumbled on a cool observation. Someone noted that Jar Jar bears no ill will to his fellow Gungans, even worrying about their fate ("Gungans get pasted too, eh?"), despite them having banished him. I realized that this (and other matters) makes Jar Jar a foil for ROTS Anakin. Consider: As stated, Jar Jar appears to have no prejudice towards his own people, in spite of his total exclusion from their societies, but Anakin says to Palpatine in ROTS, "More and more, I get the feeling that I'm being excluded by the Council". Quite the contrast. You also have Jar Jar fainting when Nass promotes him to "Bombad General", while Anakin seethes with resentment at being denied the rank of "Master". Another link ties even more directly into this discussion. Qui-Gon's "are you brainless?" swipe at Jar Jar for almost getting them killed can be plugged into Anakin getting many Jedi killed, by enabling Palpatine/Sidious to run Order 66, and killing Jedi at his behest, in the second half of ROTS. This is significant in light of the fanciful story Palpatine/Sidious ensnares Anakin with. Also, Anakin and Obi-Wan almost literally, and do, in a sense, metaphorically, kill themselves on Mustafar, in what is clearly the most elaborate and visually prolix of all the lightsaber duels.

What I personally take from the above -- at least, as of right now -- is that Lucas is saying an upbeat, effervescent attitude is better than a cynical, distrusting one. This is the principal difference between Jar Jar and ROTS Anakin. Jar Jar's happy-go-lucky ways, and his creative spirit (e.g., Jar Jar getting his foot caught in the remnants of a battle droid and taking other battle droids down with a burst of ingenuity), are celebrated to the hilt -- as I see it -- in TPM. Jar Jar's ways (at least, before civilization takes a hold of him) are entertaining, regenerative and life-giving. But ROTS Anakin is a stormy, bleak figure, whose own entertaining of morbid consequences (he has visions of Padme in duress, but does he really see her dying?) take him down a dark path. Jar Jar just "is", but Anakin nose-dives and then tries to put a political face on things (a morbidly predictable outcome in light of his various dealings with Palpatine and politics and corruption at the highest levels of government). These contrasts are quite striking, I think, given the relatively short amount of screen time bewteen the end of TPM and Anakin pledging himself in ROTS. (Notice how, too, the pledge itself darkly mirro

 

Whatever the medium, start by compiling all of your posts from here... lots of great ideas, very eloquently presented.

 

I don't know about "hero worship" but I've always liked him. He seemed like a more action-oriented version of old Ben. Despite some questionable methods, he's also the closest to the wise and noble Jedi warrior vibe you get from Obi-Wan's spiel. He's also the only one who cares about the actual beings around him, not just the Jedi code, he's both warm and introspective. Of course, casting Liam Neeson didn't hurt either

It's not like he snaps at everyone without a reason.