It would be impossible to stage a defence of the film without at least addressing its faults, which are certainly legion. “I had people come to me and say, ‘You destroyed my childhood.’”) All of a sudden, The Phantom Menace was loathed. In the early days of the internet, both actors were unprepared for the now sadly commonplace levels of abuse the toxic side of fandom can discharge. Special hatred was reserved for Jar Jar, played by Ahmed Best, and for young Anakin Skywalker (the then nine-year-old Jake Lloyd).
(George Lucas strenuously denied any racial stereotyping, making these elements of the film, at best, bewildering oversights.) Questions were asked of the relevance of the CGI aliens’ accents, from the Caribbean patois of Jar Jar and the south-east Asian timbre of the Trade Federation Neimoidians to the slave-owner Watto, who was accused of being equally offensive to both Arabs and Jews. The wow-factor of the CGI rubbed away, revealing the creaky bones of the film beneath. In the months following the movie’s release, opinion shifted.
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