Connie Chung, CNN Banished from George Lucas Ranch After Questions On Racial Stereotyping

The Force.net, IMDB.com and Electronic Media Magazine ^ | Monday May 20, 2002 01:40:25 EDT | Internet Movie Data Base News Staff

[Liberal Classic]

Hey, I'm offended by that wimp Jar Jar!

[Jonathon Spectre]

But doesn't it feel good to know that Jar Jar is indeed responsible for the Rise of the Empire?

Yes. Yes it does. The politics in Episode II are just fantastic, ESPECIALLY the fact that it is that annoying puppet who destroys the Republic.

Notice that the rise of the Empire looks suspiciously like events leading to the US Civil War?

"We don't want to be in your Republic anymore."
"Well, you will be MADE to be in the Republic. All power to the dictator (for the duration of the conflict only, of course, and only to hold the Republic together, we promise). This mass of killing is for your own good!"

[Clemenza]

Notice that the rise of the Empire looks suspiciously like events leading to the US Civil War?

You must be a fellow DiLorenzo fan...

[codebreaker]

I always knew Lando was running Colt .45 contraband out of his 'city in the clouds..

[codebreaker]

I thought it was the last days of the Roman Empire..

[MarkWar]

>...she might have remembered Lando Calresian a prominent character in the Empire Strikes Back, played by Billy De Williams, a black man. So much for racial stereotyping.

"Cardplayer. Scoundrel. You'll like him. That was Han Solo's hurried precis on his old pal, Lando Calrissian. While the description is accurate, it barely scratches the surface of this complicated rogue. Calrissian is at home in the shadowy reaches of the fringe, the underworld culture that permeates the galaxy. While he has rubbed elbows with hunters, mercs, outlaws and gangsters, Lando's main difference is that his elbows were covered by some of the most expensive and fashionable clothes this side of the Core. Lando has style and class; some would say in excess. He is a man of sophisticated tastes, and settles for nothing short of the best in his surroundings, his belongings, his look, and his female companionship." [Official Star Wars LC bio]

"...the underworld culture... hunters, mercs, outlaws and gangsters... his elbows were covered by some of the most expensive and fashionable clothes this side of the Core... settles for nothing short of the best in his ... female companionship" Please. Lando is as stereotyped as every other character in the saga. The only thing he lacks is his pimp-mobile, and the only reason he doesn't have it is because he lost it gambling to Han... Mark W.

[Clemenza]

I can remember seeing Billy Dee in the Colt .45 commercials when I was six or seven and thinking that it had to be "cool" to drink because Lando said so!

[SunStar]

(the Frog Aliens were from Episode 1)

No, the two ambassadors of the Trade Federation are indeed in both movies.

[StriperSniper]

I think Jar Jar Binks was deliberately modeled on J.J. from "Good Times".

DYN-O-MITE!

[Hacksaw]

Actually, Vader threatened to confiscate Lando's Colt .45 bottling plant, a fate worse than death!

He also threatend to destroy all Nike shoes in the galaxy. I guess I should stop before I get banned :)

[rllngrk33]

Poor diluded Connie has probably never seen a Star Wars movie. If so she might have remembered Lando Calresian a prominent character in the Empire Strikes Back, played by Billy De Williams, a black man. So much for racial stereotyping

I think that Billy Dee Williams' character was an attempt to correct the allegations of racism aimed at the first Star Wars movie. I remember seeing a headline in a magazine (Jet or some other popular black oriented magazine of the late 70's)article questioning if Star Wars was racist because there were no black actors in the movie. The complaint was that only James Earl Jones' voice was used as the voice of the "evil" Darth Vader.

Does anyone out there remember this?

[DoughtyOne]

Funny. Great comments, but then that's a description of many heros over the years. When the chips were down, Lando came through proving that underneath it all, he was a good guy. That could be a very dynamic portrayal if trying to explain away the acts of certain groups. Connie might have gone to school on Lando. Instead she flunked out of Jar Jar.

[codebreaker]

Me too!!, I loved the ones with the pool tables and Bille Dee's ultra 'smooth side..' at the club.

[Clemenza]

The complaint was that only James Earl Jones' voice was used as the voice of the "evil" Darth Vader.

The same charges were leveled against Conan the Barbarian, where James Earl Jones played the bad guy. JEJ, classy guy that he is, dismissed such concerns as ludicrous.

[Hacksaw]

The complaint was that only James Earl Jones' voice was used as the voice of the "evil" Darth Vader.

Yes, I remember it. Jones has a great voice - I am not sure what they were upset about.

Wesley Snipes had to go through the same thing when he played the bad guy in a Stallone movie.

[Xenalyte]

Ahhh, but Billy Dee started out as a traitor!

I thought this was how he started out!

[codebreaker]

So Samuel L. Jackson is the Jedi equivalent of 'Shaft?'

[Hacksaw]

I have heard that "Hurricane" works faster and is cheaper.

[codebreaker]

ROTHFLOL! Yes...that is the one

[rllngrk33]

Billy Dee Williams looks like he has more than the people who actually drink Colt 45.

It's on par with Schlitz Malt Liquor.