deird_lj: (Default)
[personal profile] deird_lj
...bit of a misleading title, really, because there are many thousands of reasons why Jar Jar Binks sucks. And I'm only going to mention one of them.

But here's one of the reasons Jar Jar sucks:
He owes Qui-Gon a lifedebt, and he's happy about it.


So, what we've basically got is a guy who runs around after the Jedi Knights, pathetically grateful to them for saving his life, and desperate to help them out in any way because they're just so awesome.

And really, when that's the character you're writing, pretty much your only option for making him entertaining is
a) to make him really clumsy
b) to make all his efforts to help go wrong
and
c) to make him cute and huggable

Clumsy and inept don't really work in Star Wars, unless you're an ewok. And "cute and huggable" is already R2-D2's job.

But what are the alternatives?

One version of The Phantom Edit had an alien-language-dubbed Jar Jar believing that Qui-Gon owed him a lifedebt - that he had saved Qui-Gon's life, and Qui-Gon needed to pay him back. And then he spent the rest of the movie following them around insisting that Qui-Gon become his loyal servant.

That worked.
Instantly, you eliminate the clumsy, inept, cute, and huggable aspects of Jar Jar, and replace them with a very snobby, greedy annoyance that is, really, much more fun to watch. You don't need him to be clumsy and cute - because he's really entertaining anyway.

Or...

Like I said, the premise of Jar Jar Binks in TPM is that he:
a) owes Qui-Gon a lifedebt
and
b) is really happy about it

What if, instead of that, he:
a) owed Qui-Gon a lifedebt
and
b) thought it really sucked

What if he thought that lifedebts should be repaid, and was utterly dedicated to repaying the debt in full, but was really annoyed about it?
After all, running around after someone you've just met, trying to figure out how to repay them for saving your life, has got to be a real pain.

What if a character was saved, heroically, from a certain death, and his first reaction was to look up and say "You saved my life! ...oh CRAP!"


Just a thought.

Date: 2008-10-02 12:53 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] gabrielleabelle.livejournal.com
I'd never given much thought to Jar Jar beyond "Damn, he annoys me." I think what Lucas was trying to do was do up another character like Chewbacca (Who owes Han a life debt) and cross it with the Ewoks to make some devoted servant that the kids would like.

As you so eloquently pointed out, though, it completely didn't work because Jar Jar annoyed the shit out of everyone.

Course, I think that a lot went wrong with the prequels, and Jar Jar is just a small part of the epic FAIL there.

/geek

Date: 2008-10-02 06:53 am (UTC)
deird1: Fred looking pretty and thoughful (Default)
From: [personal profile] deird1
I think what Lucas was trying to do was do up another character like Chewbacca (Who owes Han a life debt) and cross it with the Ewoks to make some devoted servant that the kids would like.

I think you might be right on that one. Lucas is great at world-building, but fairly crap at making characters...

Course, I think that a lot went wrong with the prequels, and Jar Jar is just a small part of the epic FAIL there.

Definitely agree with you there. I mostly try to pretend that the prequels don't exist.

From Laney

Date: 2008-10-02 10:44 am (UTC)
From: (Anonymous)
I don't like them much... but I did like seeing how the whole Tragedy builds up. I enjoyed the completion of the story from that point of view.

And although I found Hayden Christensen INTENSELY annoying in his whole Brooding-Hero-who-makes-all-the-teen-girls-swoon persona - that really is EXACTLY how I see kids of that age who have a chip on their shoulder about how the whole world doesn't understand them and a very blinkered inflated view of their own importance and a belief that their passion is more intense and real than anyone else's...

Hmmm. Maybe H.C. is actually a brilliant actor after all... ;)

Date: 2008-10-02 01:02 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] mauvedragon.livejournal.com
I agree that the second would work better. It maximises the potential for conflict and that always works better in fiction.

Iestyn also has told me that Jar Jar sounds like an equally annoying black character from a 70s soap.

Date: 2008-10-02 06:49 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] taiba.livejournal.com
I think the Phantom Edit got it right. While the 2nd idea would work, it feels a bit cliche.

Date: 2008-10-02 07:14 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] roccondilrinon.livejournal.com
It's not the Phantom Edit, it's the MagnoliaFan edit. The Phantom Edit (both versions) merely eliminated Jar Jar as much as possible.

Date: 2008-10-02 07:39 pm (UTC)
deird1: Fred looking pretty and thoughful (Default)
From: [personal profile] deird1
You're probably right. But not being terribly picky about Star Wars, I decided that "version of Phantom Edit" would work as a general term for all the major re-edits of TPM...

Date: 2008-10-02 07:03 am (UTC)
elisi: (Fannish Inquisition by scarah2)
From: [personal profile] elisi
Very neat. I have to admit that my memories of Jar-Jar are rather hazy, as I only saw the movie when it came out and never again. But if I ever re-watch I'll keep this post in mind. :)

Date: 2008-10-13 02:43 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dreamincolor.livejournal.com
You know, Jar Jar being annoying is actually the only thing I rememebr from that movie.

Strange.

Date: 2008-10-13 09:39 am (UTC)
deird1: Fred looking pretty and thoughful (Default)
From: [personal profile] deird1
To be honest, there wasn't much more than that...

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