Gungan’s Advocate

Across movies, books, games and comics, many interesting characters have made their mark in the Star Wars universe. Few are quite as interesting as a certain Gungan. The village idiot turned war hero turned junior senator known as Jar Jar Binks has the unlikeliest story arc in the Star Wars universe, one that would rival that of Forrest Gump. And yet, this extraordinary figure is often vilified, not just by fans, but by the very people that reside in his universe. How can such a humble and well meaning character fall to such depths of resentment from multitudes of people? What did he do to deserve such unfair treatment?

I propose that we look at Jar Jar in a different light; that we regard him not as a villain, not even as a nuisance, but rather as a hero victimized by unfortunate circumstances. A hard-luck hero, if you will. As such, allow me to state his case and prove that Jar Jar Binks is...not so bad after all.

Village Idiot

First, let's look at the humble and unlikely origin of this Gungan hero. We pick up his story in the forests of Naboo where Jar Jar is caught up in the Trade Federation's invasion and is saved by Qui-Gon Jinn. Out of the goodness of his heart and his deep appreciation of Qui-Gon, Jar Jar commits to repay a life-debt. This is a great example of Jar Jar's benevolent nature and sense of integrity. It is through casual conversation that we discover that poor Jar Jar has been banished from his village. Allegedly, he was banished for being “clumsy”. You might agree with Jar Jar’s punishment given what you have seen him do in his adventures. However, regardless of how clumsy Jar Jar may be he is the victim of a society that unfairly punishes unfortunate and unintentional incidents. This is confirmed by the treatment Jar Jar received upon returning to Otoh Gunga. He was arrested for trying to help two refugees find their way to Theed. And if not for the fortunate intervention of Master Qui-Gon, Jar Jar would’ve been sentenced to something far worse than banishment. Say what you will about Jar Jar, but Gungan society has a dark side that is far worse than anything that Jar Jar may have done to them. Boss Nass, his council, and the rest of the Gungan people are guilty of branding Jar Jar as a village idiot, treating him as a menace, and even going as far as implementing cruel and unusual punishment just because Jar Jar is “clumsy”. Jar Jar is treated as a criminal when he should be seen as a victim. fortunately, this unfair public perception of Jar Jar would soon change.

Diplomatic Roots

After a lengthy adventurous detour through Tatooine and Coruscant, we rejoin Jar Jar's story back on Naboo where he has been tasked with coordinating a historic diplomatic summit with the Gungans by Queen Amidala herself. The purpose of this meeting is to form an alliance between the Gungans and humans of Naboo to repel the Trade Federation from the planet. Think about this for a minute, think about the magnitude of this, Queen Amidala trusted Jar Jar to act as an intermediary between two races that had a tense relationship in order to fight a war that would determine the fate of an entire planet. That is huge and shows what kind of judge of character Queen Amidala is. She looks past the "criminal clumsiness" of Jar Jar and sees his integrity and benevolent nature. Amidala goes beyond the stigma placed by the Gungans and others and judges Jar Jar strictly by his character. Amidala's trust is well placed as Jar Jar delivers and sets up the meeting between her and Boss Nass. As a result of this meeting, the alliance is formed and a long-lasting peace between Gungans and the Naboo begins. Boss Nass himself credits Jar Jar for bringing both races together. Jar Jar Binks played a critical role in this situation and both races should be eternally grateful for his contributions.

War Hero

Seeing Jar Jar's potential as a leader, Boss Nass appoints him as a General for the upcoming battle against the Trade Federation. Overwhelmed by this immense honor, Jar Jar faints. He probably was immensely surprised and delighted that Boss Nass and his people finally saw the error in their ways as they ceased to see him as a “clumsy criminal”. They finally saw him for what he was, a patriotic Gungan with good intentions. Also, note that Jar Jar did not balk at his promotion to General, he was not overcome with fear and immediately declined. He didn’t run away from this great responsibility, he showed no cowardice. Jar Jar accepted this new role knowing full well that his life and the lives of those he would lead were on the line. No one can say that Jar Jar Binks wasn’t brave. He led the Gungans into battle and emerged victorious. Now, you may say that he surrendered once he found himself surrounded by the droid army. This is true, however, it doesn’t take away from the fact that Jar Jar is a hero. He chose to surrender because he was thinking of his people over himself. He’d rather see them live to fight another day than see them slaughtered by the droid army. Once again, Jar Jar’s good nature is shown in the decisions he makes. That is the mark of a true leader. Also, let's not forget about Jar Jar’s heroics in the battlefield. He more than pulled his weight in the battle by fighting off droids that were surrounding him as well as single-handedly taking out a few tanks. After the battle of Naboo, Jar Jar Binks took his hard earned place alongside the other heroes of the battle to celebrate the victory.

Junior Senator

Up to this point, Jar Jar Binks has assembled quite the resume, he’s responsible for the alliance between the Naboo and the Gungans and a hero of the battle of Naboo. Not bad for a “village idiot” huh? Due to his accomplishments, both political and military, Jar Jar Binks is appointed by Senator Amidala as the Junior Representative of Naboo. Jar Jar once again makes history as the first Gungan to be part of the Galactic Senate. Not only is he a hero, but a pioneer for Gungans everywhere breaking barriers for his people. If it were not for Jar Jar and his courage and willingness to serve, Gungans wouldn't have a voice or role on the galaxy's biggest stage: the Senate. After a plot to assassinate Senator Amidala is discovered, she appoints Jar Jar to fill in for her while she goes into hiding. Once again, Amidala trusts Jar Jar with a huge responsibility and once again he does not run away from it and humbly accepts. Need I say more about Jar Jar and his sense of responsibility and duty; and how he serves his people despite the risks and the danger he may face. Despite his character and impressive resume, Jar Jar will be infamous over one decision that he made during his tenure as Junior Representative of Naboo.

One Mistake, Fall from Grace

As the threat of the separatists gets more serious, the pressure is on the Senate to come up with a solution. Many in the Senate feel that an armed conflict is inevitable, and an army of the Republic must be assembled. In order for this to happen, emergency powers must be granted to Chancellor Palpatine. Seeing a need to defend the Republic that he serves, Jar Jar takes it upon himself to give these powers to the Chancellor. Thus, the Clone Army of the Republic is formed and the Clone Wars begin shortly thereafter. Many will point to this moment as the origin of the Empire and blame Jar Jar for it. Yet again, Jar Jar is seen as a gullible fool instead of what he is, a victim. People will argue that Palpatine easily manipulated Jar Jar by taking advantage of his naiveté and inexperience. On the surface, this is a valid argument, Jar Jar was indeed inexperienced in politics and had a innocent demeanor that can be exploited by veteran politicians. However, the truth is that anybody in that situation could have been fooled, not just Jar Jar. Let’s not forget, Palpatine is a master manipulator and fooled almost an entire Senate into welcoming the Empire with “thunderous applause”. Therefore, whether or not Jar Jar was naïve and inexperienced is irrelevant. Palpatine could almost as easily manipulate more experienced politicians from other systems had they been in Jar Jar’s position. For example, Palpatine became chancellor because he manipulated Queen Amidala into calling a vote of no confidence on the previous chancellor. Think about this, Palpatine used Amidala as a puppet. Amidala was educated in politics, already had more experience in it than Jar Jar, and was still fooled into doing Palpatine's bidding. Not to mention that Palpatine was even able to fool the entire Jedi order into fighting a war that they were never meant to win. A powerful council of the wisest beings in the galaxy and 10,000 other Jedi were manipulated into their extinction by a single man. So forgive Jar Jar for falling for old Palpatine's tricks; which evidently even the wisest and most educated people find themselves doing. But alas, poor Jar Jar shoulders the blame for the actions of the thousands of senators and Jedi that led to his infamous decision of giving more power to the Chancellor. That hardly seems fair, for Jar Jar to be used as the scapegoat for the creation of the Empire.

A Tarnished Legacy

It's funny how despite all his accomplishments and his honorable intention to serve the Republic, Jar Jar Binks is back to were he started. Except this time instead of being seen as a village idiot, he's branded as the idiot of the entire galaxy. All it took was one decision that only seemed poor in hindsight. But of course, nobody will acknowledge that. Nobody blames Amidala for putting an inexperienced junior representative to act in her stead. Nobody blames the thousands of Senators that agreed on giving the Chancellor emergency powers. And nobody blames the Jedi for being so blind to Palpatine's plot and for hesitating to stop it once it was discovered. Everybody blames the poor and humble Gungan from Naboo that managed to reach a height greater than any Gungan before or since. A Gungan that defied the odds, became a hero in the Battle of Naboo, remained one throughout the Clone Wars and became the first Gungan to represent his people in the Galactic Senate. All the good that he had achieved was eclipsed by one decision. And the unfortunate result? Jar Jar gets to live the rest of his life in disgrace and poverty being treated as a social pariah by his people. He's resorted to becoming a street performer, doing tricks and using his clumsiness to entertain children. And yet, despite how far he's fallen, Jar Jar even takes pride in making kids laugh. He still has a good heart that wants to serve others and bring them joy. It's a shame that no one else in the galaxy can see that.