The Phantom Menace: The Racist Origin Story We Had to Have
In celebration of May the Fourth, our family watched The Phantom Menace (1999).
The Phantom Menace is part of the Star Wars prequels. It is the origin story of Anakin Skywalker and the rest of the Star Wars franchise.
When The Phantom Menace was released in 1999, the fans were underwhelmed. The lines were cheesy. The acting was wooden. And then there was Jar Jar Binks.
But what ruined the movie for me was the appalling racial stereotyping. Baddies with flat noses, slanty eyes, and Oriental accents? A slimy mechanic with a hooked nose, dark skin, and a Middle Eastern accent. Really?
Fans asked why did this movie have to be made? We were already on a good thing with Star Wars. The Phantom Menace was unnecessary.
But what The Phantom Menace proved to me was that we need an origin story.
Things can’t just exist. There has to be an origin. A story. A direction.
As humans we face the same choice. Do we just exist? Or are we part of a bigger story? How did I get here? Where am I going?
Star Wars gives us the bigger story of The Force, which is the force that unites the universe. For all the chaos that goes on, there is One Single Story that Unites us all. The Force.
But in the end, the Force is impersonal. It doesn’t really care about you. It’s not part of any story. It just is.
But in the Bible, Jesus is The Logos, the Ancient Greek equivalent of Star Wars’ The Force. According to the Greeks, The Logos, which we translate loosely as “The Word”, is what organises our universe into one coherent whole.
But, unlike The Force, Jesus is supremely personal. He cares. He cries. He weeps. He rejoices.
Ultimately Jesus comes to live with us. To die for us. To take us into his bigger story.
On this May the Fourth, I hope that you enjoy a personal encounter with the true personal force who is behind the Universe.
No matter what the shape of your nose is.
If you liked this, check out Russell Matthew’s (Third Space) review of THE RISE OF SKYWALKER
LIKE us on our FACEBOOK page
and follow Dr Sam Chan at Twitter @drsamchan