Lego Accused Of Racism Over Star Wars Jabba's Palace Set

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/24/lego-racism-star-wars_n_2541369.html?utm_hp_ref=business


Some Turkish leaders are offended by a Lego Star Wars set, claiming it resembles a famous mosque.

The Turkish Cultural Community of Austria said in a statement that a Lego set of Jabba's Palace from the Star Wars series is racist because it appears to closely resemble the Hagia Sophia mosque in Istanbul, the Jami al-Kabir mosque in Beirut and a minaret and therefore reinforces negative stereotypes about the Middle East, according to the Austrian Times. The statement threatened legal action against Lego if it does not withdraw the toys.

"The terrorist Jabba the Hutt likes to smoke a hookah and have his victims killed," a statement on their website reads, according to the Telegraph. The statement also claims that the characters look sinister and do evil things, such as keep slaves and commit murder.

(Scroll down for a picture of the Lego set)

Lego denies the charges. "The Lego Star Wars product Jabba's Palace does not reflect any actually existing buildings, people, or the mentioned mosque," Katharina Sasse, a spokesperson for Lego, told the Telegraph.

Star Wars has been accused of racism before. Some claimed that George Lucas' 1999 movie Star Wars: The Phantom Menace was racist because some of its villains seemed to reinforce Asian stereotypes.

Jabba the Hutt, for the uninitiated, is one of Star Wars' villains. He kept Han Solo frozen, tried to kill Luke Skywalker and, for a time, kept Princess Leia as his slave (fans will never forget her gold bikini). Luke and his allies ultimately freed Han Solo and Princess Leia and killed Jabba and his minions.

This is not Lego's first brush with racism accusations either. The artist Chris McVeigh claimed in 2010 that almost all non-white Lego faces scowl, according to Wired. The Wired article claims that Lego's toy sets based on Hollywood movies also highlight the racism already apparent in Hollywood casting.

 

oh come on

 

Racist?? Since when is perceived religious offense a racist matter. I'm getting sick of people equating their own persecution slights to racism. It negates true racism by mucking the waters. Evvveeeryone wants to throw their hat in. Rape? Oh its just like the (black)race struggle. Sexism? Oh its just like the race struggle. Homosexuality/homosexual marriage...its just like the racism struggle.

Its not. And neither is this.

 

im with you all day on that

 

So Jabba the Hut was elevated from being a local crime boss to a full fledged terrorist just to sell a phony racist claim??:smt104

 

lmao wut

 

This

 

Cosign.

It's interesting that you don't see people who are victim to racism comparing it to other people's plight. I wonder why

 

U know this forum turns a blind eye to the plight of others

TDKs ass woulda been the first one here

 

scuse me?

 

I just like black folks i wouldnt give a pass(like with jar jar binks uproar...it was bullshit). unless, i miss something in their explaination of why its racist then cool but .............so educate me on why its racist.



I mean how did they get jar jar binks to be a black man. come on!!!!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jar_Jar_Binks
Allegations of racial caricature

Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal described the character as a "Rastafarian Stepin Fetchit on platform hoofs, crossed annoyingly with Butterfly McQueen."[11] Patricia J. Williams suggested that many aspects of Jar Jar's character are highly reminiscent of the archetypes portrayed in blackface minstrelsy,[12] while others have suggested that the character is a "laid-back clown character" representing a black Caribbean stereotype.[13]

 

lmao i forgot about jar jar

 

yeah now that was some shit

 

The Mosque in question :





Jabba the Hutt's Palace :





Obviously this Lego set must be something that recently came on the market for some folks to be getting worked up about. Are they upset about the actual Jabba Palace from the movie as well or just the Lego toy set?

 

Jar Jar Binks was the only character in the entire Star Wars saga that really, really annoyed me. The character was intended as comic relief that then redeems himself and his people. Be that as it was, Jar Jar was still annoying.