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'The Redemption of Jar Jar Binks' podcast explores internet outrage and its aftermath

Published July 19, 2023 at 9:40 AM EDT
A figure of the character called Jar Jar Binks from "The Phantom Menace." (Matt Campbell/AFP via Getty Images)
A figure of the character called Jar Jar Binks from "The Phantom Menace." (Matt Campbell/AFP via Getty Images)

1999’s “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace” introduced audiences to a technological marvel: Jar Jar Binks, cinema’s first major motion-captured character. But the comic-relief alien also became the target of one of the internet’s first hate campaigns, with vitriol spilling over to the actor who played Jar Jar as well.

The new podcast “The Redemption of Jar Jar Binks” tells this story and how it informs online discourse today. Here & Now‘s Celeste Headlee speaks to podcast host Dylan Marron, also known for his writing work on “Ted Lasso” and his podcast “Conversations with People Who Hate Me.”

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.