Why People Hate It: Jar Jar Binks. Pretty much that. Meesa Jar Jar Binks. Meesa become the scapegoat for everything wrong with Lucasfilm. Even though Meesa a harmless minor character whose only crime was being a victim a bad writing and special effects. Also, Jake Lloyd. But if you're going to blame the downfall of a celebrated film franchise on a little boy, we don't know what to tell you. Why People Should Hate It: There's so many legitimate reasons to hate this film that the fixation on Jar Jar Binks is almost comical. Let's talk about the blatant stereotypes that we see with the Nemoidians and the Toydarians. Like, caricatures that would make Michael Bay's racist robots seem like well-adjusted, healthy cultural representations. Or there's the fact that anyone thought making a movie about a trade dispute would be even remotely interesting. Maybe in a normal film you could get away with it, but Star Wars? When audiences are anticipating a fast-paced adventure film and you give them a dissertation on macroeconomics and the intergalactic version of C-SPAN...well, that's just unforgivable.
Audrey Fox is an ex-film student, which means that she prefers to spend her days in the dark, watching movies and pondering the director's use of diegetic sound. She currently works as an entertainment writer, joyfully rambling about all things film and television related. Add her on Twitter at @audonamission and check out her film blog at 1001moviesandbeyond.com.
