More on Jar Jar Binks and the New ‘Star Wars’

I want to comment on Eric Harrison’s article about “Star Wars” (“A Galaxy Far, Far Off Racial Mark?” May 26).

People have a right to their opinions. Therefore, it’s fine that a large number of people don’t like the new character Jar Jar Binks. But implying that Lucas is stereotyping certain racial groups is negligent of the movie-making process.

The article states that “Nute Gunray, the evil Viceroy of the Federation, seems based on an Asian stereotype.” What the article fails to mention is the voice-over process.

A director goes into a movie with a visual picture of certain characters along with the dialogue that is spoken by these characters. Sound designers go through dozens, sometimes even hundreds, of sounds until they find one that strikes them as appropriate.

This is exactly the case with Nute Gunray (who is a Neimoidian). The voices used for the Neimoidians were indeed Asian; Thai, to be specific. Ben Burtt, the sound designer for Episode I, has said he was looking for an exotic sound different from any of the voices used in the original trilogy.

The article also states that “Watto, young Anakin Skywalker’s sleazy owner, strikes some viewers as an offensive caricature of an Arab.” Watto actually speaks in an Italian accent. (Being Italian, I had to laugh in spite of myself because I could’ve sworn that my grandfather did the voice-over.) In any event, the Toydarian junk dealer’s voice is also a product of the sound design process.

Lastly, the article explains that Lucas substituted aliens for other races, while the humans depicted were only British-speaking white people. Lucas has clearly stated in numerous interviews that it was simply a matter of economics for the first movie. He said that, at the time, British actors were cheaper to hire than Americans.

People need to stop reading so much into this movie and just enjoy it for what it is: a high quality movie that is simply intended to entertain people.

MATT OSSO

Costa Mesa

Thank you, Marc Olson, for putting into words what I’ve been thinking for more than 20 years (“As Sci-Fi, ‘Star Wars’ Is Forced,” Riffs, May 20).

“Star Wars” is an amalgamation of scenes from westerns, war films, and super-hero comics dressed up in spiffy costumes and special effects. It panders to the least common denominator of intelligence.

Despite using state-of-the-art filmmaking equipment, Lucas’ story eschews technology for some New Age mumbo-jumbo. “Star Wars” is fantasy, pure and simple, certainly not science fiction.

Thankfully, I’ve got my DVDs of “2001: A Space Odyssey” and “Blade Runner” to hold me until the “Alien” series is released on DVD.

NORMAN L. COOK

Buena Park