A place to discuss Star Wars with a huge emphasis on positivity. Criticism of any content is allowed, but do so respectfully towards the creators as well as the fans. The Cantina is here for us to celebrate what we love about Star Wars. #SWC has joined other subreddits in protest against the recently announced API changes. Visit /r/ModCoord and /r/Save3rdPartyApps for more info. See infographic [here.](https://i.redd.it/zqptto18e34b1.jpg)
News/Marketing
From the article:
Despite the baggage, Best never stopped loving Jar Jar. When he meets fans — on the rare occasions that he agrees to appear at conventions — Best has noticed it’s usually young children, people with disabilities and those who have been ostracized who identify most with Jar Jar. “He’s misunderstood, but Jar Jar’s heart is so pure,” he said.
At the time of the backlash, Lucas assured Best that Jar Jar’s target audience — who were kids and for whom the character would become a fond childhood memory — would eventually come to his defense. “He was right,” Best said. “It’s a different story now.”
Witness the reception for Best in 2019 at “Star Wars” Celebration, an event dedicated to the franchise, when fans welcomed him with thunderous applause. “It really warmed my heart to see him get that,” Chiang recalled.
Heart comes up a lot when Best’s name is mentioned.
NYT article (paywalled): https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/03/movies/jar-jar-binks-actor-star-wars-ahmed-best.html
Non-paywalled article: https://dnyuz.com/2024/05/03/the-actor-who-played-jar-jar-binks-is-proud-of-his-star-wars-legacy/
Sort by:
Best
Open comment sort options
Best
Top
New
Controversial
Old
Q&A
Welcome to the Cantina! Friendly reminder regarding the Reddit spoiler tag which is as follows, >!Spoilers go here!<
The Cantina and many other subreddits have been protesting Reddit leadership due the changes in policy regarding 3rd Party Apps. Subreddits depend on 3rd Party Apps to keep the communities moderated, functioning, and running smoothly. If you enjoy this subreddit and the countless others on Reddit, please help us try and save 3rd Party Apps. Please visit r/Save3rdPartyApps and r/ModCoord for more information. See this Infographic here
Consider using an Ad Blocker such as UBlockOrigin.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
He never deserved the insane level of hate he got.
Absolutely agreed. I wasn't a PT fan but holy shit the absolute hate and vitriol for the character and actor was disgusting.
I can understand the hate for the character, but transferring that to the actor? How is he at fault here? Blame the bloody writers who came up with the character!
It's like Rose in the ST - I can't stand how incredibly dumb the character is, but taking it out on the actress is just wrong. Someone created the character, someone wrote her lines and story, they should get all the hate.
i mean all these actors are just doing their jobs, none of them deserve hate
No but Best and Jake Lloyd caught some of the absolute worst of it. Along with the woman who played Rose in the sequels.
Nor do the writers or directors. It’s fine to not like a not like a movie or how it’s made, but the writers and directors didn’t make the film to hurt you or offend you, they just had a different idea that you didn’t like.
they do.
I think it's absolutely fine to critique the racism that the writers put into a story. I'm glad about the rehab of the Nemoidians and Gungans to keep them from being racially insensitive stereotypes, but let's not pretend that wasn't an issue. When my son was eight, he made me turn TPM off because he was uncomfortable with Jarjar as a racially coded character. To this day, and even after seeing TCW, he still won't watch it. Of course, these writers are likely not racist but you don't have to be racist to perpetuate racial bias. It's an unfortunate artifact of our society.
Thanks for sharing. This is a joy to read. The hate directed at Best has been awful and it’s especially frustrating to see more recent Star Wars actors of color receive similar hate.
It’s wonderful that Best is finally getting the positive recognition he very much deserves, and I hope that Tran, Ingraham, and others get the recognition they deserve, as well.
His arrival in the Mandalorian as a Jedi was one of the most awesome Star Wars moments I can remember!!!
Speaking of the New York Times one thing we should remember is that he said that what would hurt him the most was news outlets like the times claiming jar jar was a racist caricature. He felt very hurt by that. It wasn't just stupid fans.
I always loved Best's enthusiasm for the Jar Jar role. Actually my favorite depiction of the character was on Robot Chicken. Best went full force on that one, held nothing back. It sounded to me like he enjoyed it.
And much as I enjoyed Kelleran Beq's surprise appearance in The Mandalorian, I'd love to see the character of Jar Jar get a redemption story too, something to help salvage the character in everyone's eyes. It's probably never going to happen, so I'll just take some reassurance in Best's love of the character and embracing of the role.
I really loved what they did with him in the Clone Wars animated series and I think he looked really good in that
As far as I’m concerned, Jar Jar doesn’t need redemption. The character is fine, Best enjoyed playing him, the crew enjoyed filming him, and he was used well in later media (Bombad Jedi is a great Clone Wars episode).
If you don’t like him or his portrayal, that’s fine, you’re entitled to your opinion. But it’s pretty unfair to treat it like the character or the actor has something to make up for.
I think SW fans discomfort with anything cute or silly has been bad. I might like Han Solo more than Jar Jar but Jar Jar fits into the classic fantasy idea that anyone can make a difference. I think Best and co worked hard to bring the character to life. To say nothing of Best's contributions to early mo-cap technology.
I loved Jar Jar as a kid and I still do to this day. His silly antics have always made me laugh and I’m glad that Ahmed Best is getting the love he deserves for doing a great job in the role
Whatever else happens in this new era of Star Wars I am grateful that he and Hayden got their victory lap.
Comment removed by moderator
You're better than this, don't spread hate