The Force Is Strong With Stereotypes: A Critical (and Slightly Roasted) Look at Racism in Star Wars

Ah, Star Wars. A galaxy far, far away where spaceships zip through hyperspace, lightsabers hum gloriously, and somehow, despite all the aliens, robots, and magic, the franchise still manages to drag real-world racism across the stars like a Jawa with a grudge. Let's talk about it.

Episode I: The Phantom Menace (of Racial Stereotypes)

Let’s start with a bang. Or rather, a Gungan.

Enter Jar Jar Binks, the floppy-eared, accident-prone CGI creature who sounds like a Caribbean stereotype got stuck in a washing machine. The Gungan speaks in broken English (“Ex-squeeze me?”), performs slapstick comedy that would make Bugs Bunny cringe, and is widely regarded as one of the most irritating characters in cinema history, which is saying something in a universe that also gave us C-3PO doing stand-up at Jabba’s palace.

Many critics have noted that Jar Jar’s speech, mannerisms, and subservient attitude resemble a caricature of Black minstrel characters from early 20th-century entertainment. George Lucas, who created him, insists it was all innocent fun. But if "innocent fun" looks like a digital Stepin Fetchit with flippers, we might want to question our idea of innocence.

And don’t get us started on the Trade Federation aliens—Neimoidians with thick pseudo-Asian accents who talk like they’re trying to return a toaster at Space Costco. It’s the intergalactic version of “ching chong” jokes. Yikes.

Episode II: Attack of the Tokenism

Star Wars loves a good token character. Mace Windu, played by Samuel L. Jackson, is the one Black guy on the Jedi Council. He’s powerful, sure, but he’s also about as warm and cuddly as a malfunctioning vending machine. His only defining features are his purple lightsaber and the simmering rage of a man who’s spent too long being the only Black person at Jedi HR meetings.

Meanwhile, the Clone Army? They're all genetically identical, based on a brown man (Temuera Morrison, of Māori descent), and raised to be obedient soldiers. Which, when you think about it, means the Galactic Republic mass-produced brown bodies for disposable warfare. That’s not just dystopian sci-fi—that’s historical allegory with a side of “Yikes Deluxe.”

Episode III: Revenge of the Scriptwriter

In Revenge of the Sith, Anakin Skywalker finally becomes Darth Vader, but let’s take a moment to appreciate that this saga involves a white guy being “seduced by the dark side,” becoming evil, donning a black suit, and speaking with the deep, menacing voice of James Earl Jones. You know—the one Black part of Darth Vader is literally his voice after he turns evil.

Coincidence? Sure. But if Darth Vader started wearing gold chains and rapping, we’d all agree something went very wrong in the Jedi writers’ room.

The Sequel Trilogy: We Tried, Kinda

Flash forward to Disney’s sequel trilogy, which starts with a lot of hope and just enough melanin to give us a glimmer of progress. Finn (John Boyega) is a stormtrooper-turned-rebel, and for a second, it looks like we might get a Black Jedi lead. And then—whoops—he’s demoted to comic relief, love triangle fodder, and background screamer. By The Rise of Skywalker, Finn’s primary role is yelling “REEEEEY!” like a space dog that lost his human.

Boyega himself spoke out about how he was pushed aside in the marketing and storytelling, and he wasn’t wrong. The posters in China even shrunk his character to an elbow-sized thumbnail, because apparently lightspeed racism is still faster than the Falcon.

Meanwhile, Kelly Marie Tran (Rose Tico), the franchise’s first major Asian-American female character, got so much racist harassment online that she left social media entirely. In The Last Jedi, she had a substantial role. In The Rise of Skywalker, she had less screen time than R2-D2’s left wheel.

Other Species: Aliens or... Racial Stand-ins?

Aliens in Star Wars often reflect real-world stereotypes, consciously or not. The Tusken Raiders are depicted as violent, grunting desert people with no culture—until The Mandalorian came along and finally gave them some nuance. The same goes for the Ewoks, who are essentially “noble savages” that defeat the Empire with sticks, rocks, and righteous cuteness. It’s like watching a teddy bear uprising sponsored by National Geographic.

Even the Wookiees, bless their hairy hearts, fall into the trope of the “loyal brute”—Chewbacca is strong, vocal, and unintelligible, existing mainly to back up white protagonists like Han Solo. He’s like the ultimate space sidekick who never gets his own plotline, taxes, or dental plan.

Do you think Star Wars has done enough to fix its diversity problem?

• Not even close
• They’re getting better
• Yes, chill out
• I never noticed it 🤷🏽‍♂️

Conclusion: There Is a New Hope

All criticism aside, there’s room for optimism. Shows like Andor and The Mandalorian are making efforts to diversify both the cast and perspective. We’re getting more actors of color in leading roles (Diego Luna, Rosario Dawson) and more complex, less caricatured writing. But let’s not pretend it’s all fixed. When your franchise has more scenes with robots feeling emotions than it has Black women with speaking lines, it’s time to reprogram the narrative droid. In the end, Star Wars is a powerful myth with a lot of potential—and a problematic past that deserves to be examined with both a critical eye and a snarky meme or two. After all, racism doesn’t need hyperspace to travel. Sometimes it’s right there, nestled between the lightsaber duels and poorly explained prophecies. So yes, Star Wars may be a galaxy far, far away—but some of its problems are uncomfortably close to home.