Star Wars reproduces the Arab-as-merchant and veiled-woman stock figures

Evidence

Outside the white (human) encampments, Tatooine is populated by all kinds of creatures. According to Star Wars lore, the Jawas and the Tusken Raiders are the only “indigenous” inhabitants of the planet. The Jawas are small, unthreatening, and wily creatures. Known for bargaining skills (just like the Arab merchant), the Jawas dress in the type of robes seen in Lawrence of Arabia and other films situated in the Arabian Desert. … Princess Leia is shown wearing a full headscarf when she records the message to Obi-Wan Kenobi. The princess, who is spunky and independent in her interactions with all the other men in the film, is deferential in this segment—not only does she speak quietly and respectfully, she covers her head with a hijab. — Sophia Rose Arjana, Muslims in the Western Imagination, 607

Categorization

• SEED: A ready angle: how children’s beloved sci-fi franchises smuggled in the monster/merchant Other imagery decades before modern politics — the ‘fear without object’ seeded in a toy aisle.