Monday, September 1, 2008

Ziro the Hutt

Today I went and saw the new Star Wars movie, titled "The Clone Wars," and was mildly surprised. The movie wasn't good, but it was watchable. I'm not a fan of any of the prequels to begin with, so I was nearly dreading going into the theater. I really dislike what they've done with the franchise in the last 10 years.
But my hatred for George Lucas' "recent" universe was magnified by this new character:Ziro the Hutt. If you haven't seen the movie, Ziro is Jabba the Hutt's uncle, and has recently created an uproar for being the first ever "gay" Star Wars character. They don't come right out and say it, since the Hutts are hermaphrodites, but it's very obvious by the way he acts, talks, and looks. Apparently, during the production of the movie, George Lucas himself told the director of the movie to make Ziro talk like famous gay writer Truman Capote. He sounds exactly like him, even when speaking the Hutt language Huttese. It's clear that they crossed the line. I even noticed that during the movie, the parents behind me were whispering their worries to each other about Ziro's assumed homosexuality. Like I said, it's obvious this was their intent.
Anyways, the famous gay blog AfterElton spoke out about the near-defamation of the gay community, also pointing out that there are several other stereotypes within the SW universe. Whether it be Watto and the Jews, Jar Jar Binks and black people, or Nute Gunray and Asians, I think the writer of this post was spot-on. I also think it is interesting to note that all four of these characters are part of the new trilogy, and not the old. I think George Lucas (and maybe Lucasfilm as a whole) are getting far too cocky, and now it's biting them in the ass.
I don't care, though. Maybe it'll shock them enough to get them to make a good movie like the old days.

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