Did MSNBC Host Compare Black Men To Wookies?

During her Sunday MSNBC show, Melissa Harris-Perry held a panel discussion about race and gender in the Star Wars saga. For many of us, we have heard this discussion before, including this argument made by Perry:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QG1R9tcdjCQ&w=560&h=315]

Perry’s rant is not a new argument. For Fox News, this seemed like the first time they heard this reflection when they questioned how Perry could think Darth Vader was a Black man when the movies had already revealed that he was the father of two white children. (Since when did that mean anything? Obviously the writer never met a person of mixed races.)

Others, however, are more disturbed by Perry’s other feelings on the Star Wars movies.

After one of Perry’s panelist, Princeton University Professor of Politics Amaney Jamal, stated,

Studies have shown that people will identify with people that look like them in these movies…It’s important for people to have characters they can identify with.”

Perry responded with,

“When I was a kid, I had Barbies that were African-American, and I hated Ken because he seemed kind of whack. So, I used to always marry them off to Chewbaca…I married all my Black Barbies off to Chewbacca. That was to be. He was all…hairy, kind of in control of the situation…And now that you’re saying this, yeah, I’m wondering about — I have concerns about my own childhood now.

As online columnist, Tommy Christopher, commented,

It…sounds to me like she’s saying that the Wookiee [sic] was the stand-in for black men. She couldn’t find a black GI Joe? Hell, what about Lando?”

Perry certainly implied that she identified with Chewbacca since her remarks were made in response to Jamal’s comment about how people will identify with those who look like them on the big screen.

Christopher questions, “what about Lando?”  My thoughts are, maybe Perry didn’t have a Lando Calrissian doll and perhaps Chewbacca, besides Ken, was the only male she had to marry her dolls to. I personally believe that Perry was just reflecting in that moment about how odd it was that she married off her Barbies to Chewbacca, conceivably questioning how she may have identified with this Wookie, warranting her concerns about her childhood. When it all boils down to it, Perry was more likely just a little girl who enjoyed playing with this character.

On the other hand, maybe Christopher’s right when he stated,

“Chewbacca embodies many of the brutish, bestial stereotypes that still resonate in [Black] culture, so maybe [Perry] is right to have concerns.”

Are Perry’s concerns warranted or is this just an over-analysis of this beloved movie saga? Let us know what you think.

To see the footage of Perry’s comments about marrying her Barbies to Chewbacca, click here.

Feature image is a screenshot from this Youtube video.