Science & Technology

25 Years after Phantom Menace, Jar Jar Binks Actor Ahmed Best Reflects on the Power of Redemption

Published

7 months ago

May 3, 2024

What does it look like to be a better human on the internet? Explore this question with host Dylan Marron as he revisits the story of Jar Jar Binks — 25 years after the premiere of Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace. In this six-part journey through the early internet, he sits down with actor Ahmed Best to learn more about how the character and the actor who played him became the targets of one of the first-ever online hate campaigns.

You may think you know this story — but there’s way more beneath the surface. Listen to “The Redemption of Jar Jar Binks” wherever you get your podcasts:

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22 Comments

@munashetanguay

May 3, 2024 at 12:55 pm

This thread is a testament to the power of dialogue to inspire, educate, and unite.😻

Reply
@1hjehje

May 3, 2024 at 1:02 pm

I liked the Jar Jar Binks character.

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- @cameronvincent
  
  May 3, 2024 at 5:18 pm
  
  He was my favourite character as a kid
  
  Reply
@pluribus_unum

May 3, 2024 at 1:05 pm

What a great perspective. Inspiring, unflinching, a[nd] patriotic all at once. Bravo.

Reply
@wireup4321

May 3, 2024 at 1:11 pm

Boooooo jar jar ….

Reply
@IMP3TIGO

May 3, 2024 at 1:41 pm

In retrospect, Jar Jar is the best part of The Phantom Menace.

Reply
- @xensonar9652
  
  May 3, 2024 at 2:07 pm
  
  No.
  
  Reply
@thinkbeyond3457

May 3, 2024 at 2:19 pm

Jar Jar is still super lame, but I don’t blame Ahmed for that at all. At the end of the day it’s George Lucas in creative control.

Reply
@galaxy_mosaic3587

May 3, 2024 at 2:23 pm

for some reason I had thought Jar Jar had been CGI… but the actor is thoughtful and his facial characteristics do look like Jar Jar… I guess it was a well designed costume

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@KuroGR

May 3, 2024 at 3:48 pm

This short shows that it takes a really intelligent man to deliver a really Great simple minded being act❤

Reply
@stevejamson

May 3, 2024 at 8:03 pm

The only thing I cannot get past is that this black actor must have read the script and the words he had to deliver, “meesah this, meesah that”. Did he not realise at the time that this was a racist parody of black slaves? This was a despicable caricature of that. And i’m a white guy from Britain who had the sense to realise this. So why did he take the part? Out of blind ignorance?

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@zoo-xibbitjayne2081

May 3, 2024 at 9:04 pm

Wonder why they bring in two star wars actors? Hmmm… Who are the ‘mord sith’ going to try to redeem? Biden? Trump? Net the yahoo? Chessmen, ten moves ahead….

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@thomasw4422

May 4, 2024 at 2:25 am

Darth Jar Jar would have been the best twist i still believe this

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@Be.Sm_art

May 4, 2024 at 3:03 am

Interesting poin 😮

Reply
@Glennsharpe0516

May 4, 2024 at 3:53 am

25 years?! Twenty five?! I’m getting up there

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@jeremymr

May 4, 2024 at 1:48 pm

When I was a kid, Jar Jar was my favorite Star Wars character. George Lucas just wanted to make a weird awkward alien like Goofy for a bit of comic relief and specifically making kids laugh. And I was one of those kids who laughed. I had a Jar Jar action figure from Taco Bell I carried with me everywhere for a good chunk of my childhood. To this day my entire perception of Jar Jar is still positive. If you erased him from the prequels, the prequels would have lost something. A little bit of wackiness is part of the DNA of what makes Star Wars what it is. All the allegations about stuff like racial stereotypes is people projecting stuff about earth prejudice onto another galaxy that wasn’t intended by the makers at all. To quote Ahmed Best, “Back in the day, Chewbacca was seen as the Black character… And then Yoda was ridiculed for being an Asian stereotype. Then the Neimoidians were ridiculed for being an Asian stereotype. ‘Star Wars’ has had a history of being a lightning rod. That’s because it’s so successful.” Thank you Ahmed and thank you George.

Reply
@SaurabhKumar-hg7uu

May 6, 2024 at 4:09 am

Karm करो
fal ki chinta na karo

Reply
@SaurabhKumar-hg7uu

May 6, 2024 at 4:09 am

❤❤❤

Reply
@SaurabhKumar-hg7uu

May 6, 2024 at 4:09 am

I love @TED❤❤

Reply
@shady8479

May 6, 2024 at 5:34 pm

I loved JarJar such a sweety nutty creature

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@leyubar1

May 8, 2024 at 7:29 pm

OMG!!! I still think of those three as the new ones

Reply
@InspireTEDOfficial

May 11, 2024 at 6:12 am

nice

Reply