

The following was originally published in The St. John's Express
(Newfoundland Canada). The copyright is held by both the author and
Robinson-Blackmore Publishers.
http://www.rb.nf.ca/express/expcol5.htm

Star Wars: impressive, but offensive 
By Mikel J. Koven 
'A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.' Those words still echo
through my memory, when 22 years ago, an excited nine-year-old saw Star
Wars for the first time. 

It changed all of our expectations about what could be shown in a science
fiction movie. Over two decades later, and 16 years after the last
installment of the series, Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace may
very well be the most anticipated film in cinema history. Unfortunately,
although noteworthy for the unprecedented hype, special effects, and
anticipated box office, it will not be remembered as the kind of classic
Star Wars was. 

Set a generation before Luke, Leah, and Han battled the dark side of the
Force, Episode I presents us with Queen Amidala (Natalie Portman - a
democratic monarch?) who is placed in the unenviable position of watching
as the evil Trade Federation invade her planet of Naboo. Jedi master
Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and his young apprentice, Obi Wan Kenobi (Ewan
McGregor) are sent to negotiate a peace settlement with the Federation. 
While moving the Naboo queen and her court to safety, their ship crashes on
Tatooine (remember, that's where Luke came from), and there they meet a
10-year-old wunderkind named Anakin Skywalker, who just may be the
prophesized one who will bring 'balance to the Force'. 

The press notes identify five separate storylines in Phantom Menace, and
that is probably the first indicator this movie has gone seriously wrong.
George Lucas, the mastermind behind the entire Star Wars legacy, has
returned for the first time to the writer/director's chair since his 1977
epic, and in the interim it looks like he forgot how to tell a story. Ever
notice how little kids tell the plot of their favorite movies? 
"So the Queen goes and does this. And then the Jedi guy goes and does this.
And then they get together. And then the ship crashes. And then ... yadda,
yadda, yadda." 

That is how Lucas wrote Phantom Menace; it does not feel like a script as
much as an outline for a script. There is no character development, or
emotional engagement with any of the characters. Lucas writes like a
five-year-old with Attention Deficit Disorder. Any single plot line in the
movie would have been sufficient to develop a film around. With five
separate storylines, nothing gets beyond the level of a blueprint. 
We identified with Luke Skywalker, because he was 'us', the every man,
trapped on a desolate rock with dreams of something better. His adventure
was our adventure, and why we go and see movies like this is to vicariously
experience that which we never will. There is no one to identify with in
The Phantom Menace. Therefore there is no one to care about. 

Because of this, Phantom Menace feels very cold. For all of its positive
messages about heroism and spirituality, it is profoundly misanthropic; an
anti-human picture. So misanthropic, in fact, that Lucas, disappointed with
Natalie Portman's voice, altered it with a synthesizer. Yes, the special
effects are fabulous, but they should support the human cast, not the other
way around. 

Even more disturbing is the blatant racism of the movie. To dismiss the
characters as just fantasy figures is not a valid argument. Lucas, to his
credit, develops definite cultures for his alien races, but unfortunately,
he chooses Earth stereotypes as his models. And even though these creatures
are computer generated fictions, they still resonate with Earthling
cultural stereotypes. 

The invading Trade Federation are clearly modeled on the Japanese. And at
the beginning of the movie, when we first see Queen Amidala, I was struck
by how Chinese the costumes and sets were. I thought this might be an
interesting exploration of Japan's imperial take-over of Asia in the 1930s.
Nope, just racist stereotypes. 

Then we meet comic relief Jar Jar (computer generated, but voiced by Ahmed
Best), and he takes us to his 'under the sea' colony on Naboo. Since an
African-American actor is the voice of the character, it is reasonable to
expect that the character will take on some of those cultural and ethnic
attributes. But in the 'sub continent' (get it?) of Jar Jar's people, the
African stereotypes flourish, even with an Idi Amin type leader. And making
Jar Jar lazy, shiftless, incompetent, stupid, and a functional 'Uncle Tom'
figure to the rest of the clean, intelligent, white characters really made
me cringe. 

Finally we get to the slave owner who owns Anakin and his mother, and has
them working in his shop. With his clearly hooked nose, stubbly beard, and
his unscrupulous business practices, not to mention his 'Mediterranean'
accent, I couldn't figure out whether he was supposed to be Jewish, Arab,
or even Italian, but then I'm not so sure Lucas makes a distinction between
those groups either. 

Having your invaders modeled on the Japanese, your comic relief based on
African-Americans, and your shifty business men Semitic are too specific
cultural references, and presented too stereotypically. So on the one hand,
I was horrendously offended by the blatant racism of this movie. 
But on the other hand, the special effects are impressive. Unfortunately,
too much of the spectacle has already been given away in TV ads and 'behind
the scenes' footage on Entertainment Tonight. The big adventure moment, the
fight scene between Darth Maul, Qui-Gon and Obi Wan, has been ruined by
advanced promotions: we know that Darth Maul uses a two-ended lightsaber,
so it's no surprise when he lights up the other end, punctuated with a
musical 'ta-da'. It was months after the initial release of Star Wars that
we got the 'making of' specials, which demonstrated how those amazing
effects were done. Now we've been so inundated with information about the
movie before hand, it all feels anti-climatic. 

This is not to say the movie isn't a fun two-hour time waster. It is. And
Ewan McGregor does a great impersonation of Alec Guinness. Science fiction
fans in general, and Star Wars fans in particular, are an undiscriminating
lot. They'll see Episode I - The Phantom Menace a dozen times, buy as much
merchandise as their student loans will allow, and sell out movie houses
for months. I know I'll be among them. But when even the fan reviews are
luke warm there is something wrong. 
Rating (out of 4): ** 1/2