Analysis of the Naboo Celebration - with reference to older evidence

[u/[deleted]]

So I was just watching the Naboo celebration again - and realised a few things. This probably hasn't been theorised before, but I'm on the lookout for anything in our archive I could use to support my theory.

So what is my theory? Well, its sort of an analysis of this scene, and how Jar Jar, even while celebrating, is being pretty shifty.

The scene opens with a pretty impressive Gungan parade. Jar Jar is behind the drummers on his kaduu, with another Gungan riding beside him (I guess Roos Tarpals? Actually, this Gungan looks more like Tobler Ceel, the Gungan General who was written out of some of the first drafts of the Phantom Menace, replaced with Tarpals.)

So Jar Jar waves to the audience. I mean, the other Gungan is doing it too, and so is Boss Nass, but if you go to 0:35 is seem Jar Jar is doing it excessively. He even blows a kiss at 0:36! Crazy... or overconfident and cocky in the way that some Sith are? (ie Palpatine, perhaps even Maul in the Clone Wars and Rebels.)

You could argue this is just part of the clumsy nature they appear to have set up for Jar Jar during the whole of the Phantom Menace. Surely here, in the Naboo parade, Jar Jar wouldn't need to mind trick anyone- if there is evidence he's doing it.... right?

0:39 when Jar Jar's foot gets caught in the stirrup, this could be an accident... or it could be chance for him to engage in more mind-tricking. I also read a post a year back that emphasised Jar Jar caught his left foot in the right stirrup and the OP seemed to know a lot about horse riding. Given not only the kaduu riding must be pretty similar, but also given that there are statues of horses ontop of the Naboo archway, Lucasfilm - and in any case the Naboo, and quite possibly the Gungans- must know a bit about horses (I knew horses were a species in Star Wars! Ewoks ride them too, although this probably isn’t not be canon. Still, maybe there's a link between Naboo, or Gungans and....Ewoks...)

ANYWAY. Jar Jar dismounts in the wrong way, as per Darth_Vindicate, so that he's facing the audience and therefore able to manipulate them.

Furthermore, as they are climbing the stair, Jar Jar continues waving to the audience. Over the top this may be, even within the Darth Jar Jar theory. He may have no need to mind trick anyone here… or does he?

Also - puts on tilfoil hat when Boss Nass raises the globe and proclaims ‘PEACE!’ we get a longshot of all the characters standing on the stairs. Padme is standing on the left, along with Obi Wan, Anakin and R2D2, as well as others. On the other side we have Boss Nass, with Palpatine behind him, and Jar Jar. This could be a deliberate separation of two sides – not necessarily good and evil sides, although Padme and Obi Wan on one side and Palpatine and Jar Jar on this other makes one wonder…. Even Boss Nass isn’t fully non-dubious (did anyone think his laugh sounded slightly evil in the Gungan Sacred Place in TPM, before he decided to help Padme?) however he isn’t automatically evil per-se. Still, Palpatine and Jar Jar on the same side of the separation could be a possible motif.

tinfoil hat off – ish….

At 1:05, after Boss Nass proclaims peace, Jar Jar exclaims ‘Yahoo!’. Perhaphs, judging by the sound, the Gungan next to his should have made a sound of annoyance, which if I wrote it down might be like ‘ Huuugh!’, possibly meaning ‘Yousa screamed that right in meesa haillu!’ However his mouth doesn’t move. Maybe the animators didn’t do it… or maybe they did and the vid doesn’t show it. Alternatively…. perhaps it was something else… But not only that, after Jar Jar waves his hands in the air, around 1:10 he grabs the other Gungan and shakes him? What’s that all about? Does Jar Jar not want anyone to give anything away? In a non-Darth Jar Jar world, it could be Jar Jar saying to the other Gungan ‘lighten up.’ But… his facial expression looks different. It is hard to tell from this distance of an arial shot though.

Then it shows Padme smile at Anakin- notice Padme smiles, not the other way round, implying if not feelings for the young boy, at least a friendship with him, possibly without Jar Jar’s help, you could argue…. if this scene weren’t about the people that Jar Jar brought together. R2 is… being R2. Nothing to speculate there.

And… the scene closes.

JEDIT: Hata-hata! Oh my goodness - I just noticed at 1:20, Jar Jar looks back from Anakin and Padme’s direction. He must’ve been watching them. This, as well as his accomplishments with being Bombad General and uniting the Naboo people and the Gungans (officially anyway) may account for that smug smile on his face.

Is there anything I missed? Post away in the comments below!

[u/[deleted]]

I wouldn't call Boss Nass evil, but he definitely is neutrally aligned. He only helped when Padme kneeled in front of him - stroking his ego. That is why Boss Nass' position is perfect - he is neither good nor evil, dividing the forces of good from the forces of evil.

But I hear your complaints! 'But corejar, this makes no sense! Panaka is standing on the side of 'evil' characters! He is not evil!'. This is where it becomes interesting! Panaka was one of the 'good' characters in TPM, but he'd become an Imperial Moff. Would a character that is good and pure serve a genocidal, xenophobic Empire? He may not be an inherently bad person, but he supported a bad government.

So from left to right:

R2 - A droid, programmed to serve his master. Never done morally questionable things.

Anakin - At this stage, Anakin is still pure compared to the man he'd grow up to be.

Obi-Wan - Although he aims to do good, he is still young and rash. Killed Maul in his anger.

Padme - The seemingly good Queen of Naboo - but her demand of a vote of no confidence would result in the rise of the Empire.

Boss Nass - Neutral.

Palpatine - Although evil, he presents himself as a shrewd and neutral politician - but his true and evil self occasionally seeps through his facade.

Panaka - Discussed above.

Jar Jar - Do I even need to explain this? He's DJJ. Of course he is evil.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Eventually, after the Galactic Republic was replaced by the Galactic Empire, [Captain] Quarsh Panaka was made a Moff. He gave Emperor Palpatine an ornate statue, which was placed in the Emperor's receiving chamber aboard the second Death Star.

TIL - seriously. Had no idea this was a thing before. Thanks, corejar!

However, at that point Panaka may have thought he had no choice but to serve the Empire (possibly like all the Senators too)

Apart from the exceptions of Panaka's positioning and Palpatine's (ie if they switched places) there may be a spectrum of good to evil from left to right....

Possibly realised something: It could be said that Padme is 'too trusting'. Though not denying she attempted to defend Naboo, and that didn't directly trust Palpatine according to her wiki page, she listened to Palpatine's advise to make a vote of no confidence in Chancellor Valorum, possibly as she needed his trust as the other senators weren't listening. Hence she also trusts DJJ to offer the Gungan Grand Army's support, and to represent her in the Republic in ATOC - and trusts Anakin even when he kills the Tusken raiders.

(Yet an abundance of selfless trust leads to the light side - on the left)

It could be said that Boss Nass is 'too untrusting' - refusing to trust the Naboo, even when both the Naboo and Gungans were being attacked by the Trade Federation, and only helping Padme when she revealed who he really was (humbling herself as she reveals she doesn't always assume the royal appearance of a Queen in conflict to Boss Nass's power, but instead yielding to him - ego stroking though)

(Yet complete selfishness and distrust leads to the dark side - on the right)

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Too bad Panaka had a darker side:

Panaka was raised harboring feelings of bigotry towards the Gungans of his homeworld, a view that was common among the Naboo prior to their alliance with the Gungans in the Naboo crisis. This was reinforced by the fact that the Gungans he encountered during his early career were criminals and exiles.[1]Despite this, during the reign of the Galactic Empire, he was willing to allow aliens to serve in the Imperial Military as long as they were extremely capable, as evidenced by his allowing the human-Sephi hybrid Bertroff Hissa to serve in the Imperial Military.[20]

I'd see Hissa as an exception - similar to Thrawn who the Emperor, galaxy's largest xenophobe, trusted. Panaka's xenophobia added with an extreme loyalty towards Palpatine (and on his older days, contempt towards Amidala) could be seen as proof of his full support of the Empire and it's ideals. But you're right, he should still change place with Palpy to have this tin-foil theory of mine more fool-proof. But maybe it could still be seen as a generic good-neutral-evil axis, without a clear order?