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The Redemption of Jar Jar Binks

TED

Jar Jar Binks is the most hated character in the Star Wars franchise, but whatever became of the man who played him? Hating Jar Jar Binks sets out to explore the aftermath of a widespread hate campaign that united the internet against a young, talented Black actor getting his big break in a blockbuster franchise long before we spoke of toxic fandoms, cancel culture, and online mobs. On May 19th, 1999 the world was introduced to a goofy CGI sidekick in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Jar Jar Binks was written as comedic relief, but fans of the franchise quickly turned on the character and he soon became the most hated in the Star Wars universe. Legions of fans united in their distaste for this new addition to the canon. Some criticized him for being too annoying, while others cited the offensive ways the role was a Black caricature. As is custom with the internet, all of that hate blended together and was directed at one person: Ahmed Best, the up-and-coming actor who thought he was hitting the big time, but was instead driven to contemplate suicide. Hating Jar Jar Binks goes on a quest to find out what went wrong, how it happened, and where Ahmed Best is today. Framed around interviews with Best, the show is less about finding the actor and more about telling a story that has been, until now, a mere footnote in the preface of Internet Culture. Star Wars creatives, die hard fans, leaders of the anti-Jar Jar campaign, social psychologists, and Best himself will create the quilt of interviews that piece together this missing story. The story of Jar Jar Binks and Ahmed Best should have been a harbinger of things to come, a warning sign, but instead it was treated as an entertaining, perhaps even deserved, reckoning. But this twenty year old story is just as relevant today in an era when the internet seems to produce a new person to hate every day, a new Jar Jar—a digital facade, obscuring the human beneath.

  • 35 minutes 15 seconds
    Episode 6: Redemption

    Two decades after The Phantom Menace premiered, the world is finally reconsidering how it treated Ahmed Best and the character he brought to life. But back in our galaxy, are we doomed to stay on the dark side of internet culture? Or is it not too late to redeem ourselves and stop making the same online mistakes over and over again? Transcripts for The Redemption of Jar Jar Binks are available at go.ted.com/jarjar

    2 August 2023, 4:00 am
  • 33 minutes 1 second
    Episode 5: The Most Loving Story

    In the wake of the anti-Jar Jar backlash, Ahmed begins to rebuild his life. In the meantime, we try to make sense of internet hate by talking to one of the original Jar Jar haters: the person who created The Jar Jar Hate Page. Transcripts for The Redemption of Jar Jar Binks are available at go.ted.com/jarjar

    26 July 2023, 4:00 am
  • 37 minutes 38 seconds
    Episode 4: The Hardest Part

    While Ahmed faces Jar Jar hate websites and death threats, an even more thorny and challenging set of criticisms hits close to home, pushing Ahmed to a breaking point. Transcripts for The Redemption of Jar Jar Binks are available at go.ted.com/jarjar

    19 July 2023, 4:00 am
  • 35 minutes 34 seconds
    Episode 3: A Web of Hate

    The reviews for The Phantom Menace are in. And they’re… not great. Unfortunately, that’s just the beginning. Taking on a life of its own, the anti-Jar Jar backlash bounces from the acid pen of film critics, to the pixelated grain of early websites, to the black-and-white pages of traditional media, and heads straight for Ahmed. Transcripts for The Redemption of Jar Jar Binks are available at go.ted.com/jarjar

    12 July 2023, 4:00 am
  • 35 minutes 54 seconds
    Episode 2: Becoming Jar Jar

    Meet the real man behind the iconic role. Before fan forums, prequels, and motion capture catsuits, Ahmed Best was just a young Star Wars superfan growing up in the South Bronx. But after traveling to his top-secret audition at the Skywalker Ranch, Ahmed's life changed forever. Transcripts for The Redemption of Jar Jar Binks are available at go.ted.com/jarjar

    5 July 2023, 4:00 am
  • 31 minutes 11 seconds
    Episode 1: The Internet’s First Main Character?

    It’s 1999, and sixteen years after its original release, a new Star Wars is finally coming. Fans have been camping out in front of theaters across the country just to be the first to see it. The beloved intergalactic saga is set to debut a slew of brand new characters, one of whom is a revolutionary CGI creation named Jar Jar Binks. Whispers begin to spread about big changes coming to the galaxy far, far away – and not everyone’s happy about it. Transcripts for The Redemption of Jar Jar Binks are available at go.ted.com/jarjar

    28 June 2023, 4:00 am
  • 2 minutes 29 seconds
    Introducing: The Redemption of Jar Jar Binks

    As the man behind one of the most divisive characters in cinematic history steps forward to tell his side of the story, host Dylan Marron goes back to reckon with the online hatred Jar Jar inspired, and what we can learn from it today. Coming June 28th from the TED Audio Collective.

    4 May 2023, 4:00 am
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