> > I don't think so. Star Wars, right from its inception, is a
> > modern incarnation of myth, legend, and archetypal storytelling.
> > With "The Phantom Menace," Lucas chose to include Biblical elements
> > as well. I agree that the plot point was rather awkwardly executed, but
> > it does fit in perfectly well with the Star Wars epic. No, Anakin is
> > NOT Christ, but he is a Christlike figure of sorts. This is an
> > archetypal myth story, and the virgin birth of a prophesied "chosen one"
> > is a frequent element of the types of stories Lucas is attempting to
> > respin in the Star Wars universe. Again, I think it was a fascinating
> > plot development and an intriguing part of the Star Wars saga -- I just
> > think the scene that revealed that information was a little, well, awkward.
>
> Definitely an understatement.
>
> That scene was the only time I've ever heard -muttering- in a theater. Cheers and boos, yes, but muttering is new. I couldn't see a single happy face during this scene from where I was sitting.
>
> Perhaps it was because the moment was far too technologically inspired. Lucas should know that people don't go to Star Wars movies to hear techno-babble, and yet he had his characters spout off about midichloridians (spelling be damned), which incidentally killed a lot of the mystery surrounding the Force. All in all, that scene was the worst one in the movie. Hell, in all the Star Wars movies. It was almost as bad as something out of Star Trek: Voyager.
>
> Don't get me wrong - I liked TPM. It definitely wasn't Lucas' best work, though. Between the 'Wind in the Door' rip-off, the virgin birth, the identity of C-3PO's creator, the continued lack of Jar-Jar Binks' death, and the incredibly, incredibly racist bad guys who talked like stereotypical Chinese extras in some horrid B-movie, there were as many winces as cheers for this one. Hopefully he'll conveniently forget about most or all of this stuff in the next two movies.



I can't agree with the racist ideas. The trade federation guys sounded vaguely (and I mean VERY vaguely) like orientals because their voices were done by Thais. Jar Jar did not sound like anything even remotely resembling a Jamaican, either. Any alien accents done in any movie/TV show will have earth-accent flavoring to them because (surprise!) they were made on earth. On Star Trek, the Ferengi at first had vaguely oriental sounding accents as well. Are we to deduce that Roddenberry was therefore implying that the Japanese are a race of rat-creatures who want nothing but money? I really think not.

I won't say TPM was the finest thing Lucas has ever done, and I agree that the idea of biologically explaining the force was awful, and destroyed a great deal of the Star Wars flavor, but I cannot see any racism in his movie at all.