Jedi Council racist?

[El Chuxter]

This might sound bizarre, but hear me out. The Council, as seen in the movies, has a tendency to favor the same few species over and over, regardless of individuals being replaced. I'm not sure I've ever seen this addressed; it looks like, if nothing else, the appearance of a bias could make for some awesome stories.

The TPM Council consists of two humans (Mace Windu and Depa Billaba), three very-near-human aliens (Ki-Adi Mundi, Eeth Koth, and Adi Gallia), two members of Yoda's species (Yoda and Yaddle), one humanoid whose species looked a lot like Yoda's (Evan Piell), three humanoid aliens (Plo Koon, Saessee Tiin, and Yarael Poof), and one totally non-humanoid (Oppo Rancisis).

Yaddle and Yarael Poof were offed between TPM and AOTC, to be replaced by Shaak Ti and Coleman Trebor (both humanoids, with Shaak Ti being far closer to human that Trebor).

A big shakeup in between AOTC and ROTS results in some big-time changes. Eeth Koth and Adi Gallia are both replaced, but by members of exactly the same species and ethnicity (Stass Allie is even related to Adi Gallia!). Coleman Trebor is replaced by Coleman Kcaj, another humanoid with a funny head and a familiar name. Depa Billaba and Oppo Rancisis are both replaced by humans, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, and Evan Piell was replaced by humanoid Kit Fisto. That leaves us with three humans, one Yoda, three very-near humans, and five humanoids (with Coleman Kcaj being the only one to have a remarkably un-human head).

I know it's likely a real-world concern (how to portray non-human aliens) that led to this, and EU around the films has filled in several non-human, non-humanoid members, but it looks remarkable human-centric in the movies. If it looks that way to viewers in the real world, how do non-humans in the SW universe view it? And has anyone asked this question (even if just some minor character saying something like, "Jedi, meh. They just care about humans and humanoids. Ever seen their Council?")?

[JimJamBonds]

I would've thought this was a dug up thread that was started by Stilla...

[Mr. JabbaJohnL]

This might sound bizarre

You are correct sir!

[Bel-Cam Jos]

Okay, here are my legitimate hypotheses (to be followed by flippant ones, sure)...
- with the Clone Wars in effect, planets of certain species have had Jedi of those same species as their defenders, so perhaps the "multicultural" aspect has been lessened as they stay closer to home
- when guests visit the Council of Jedi Masters, it is intimidating enough, but since most "aliens" seem to be humanoid, seeing the Jedi representatives similarly might put them more at ease
- humanoid species have more mobility, and therefore more chances to pass the Trials or be put into active duty, making them more well-known or open to courageous activities, thereby spreading their fame and noteriety

Then...
- the forms to fill out simply say "Humanoid" or "Other" to check the box
- those same forms offer decision-making scenarios that say "on one hand... on the other hand..." which confuse tri-handed (or more) species
- Yoda is the racist one, or rather, his confusing "Yoda-speak" makes many candidates simply resort to that justification for their denial on the Council
- expensive CGI is to similar aliens, as stock footage is to 1940s movies

[DarkJedi5]

Also, to shine a real-world light on part of the problem; when Adi Gallia and Eeth Koth were recast to appear in AOTC, it was felt that the new actors did not look similar enough to the actors they were meant to replace. So the easiest fix was just to rename them. If you can ignore a good portion of the EU, you might as well just imagine them as the same characters since they were always meant to be that way anyway.

[JimJamBonds]

If you can ignore a good portion of the EU, you might as well just imagine them as the same characters since they were always meant to be that way anyway.

I can ignore the whole portion of the EU.

[Maradona]

Humans can be such bigots. Just saying HUMANoid is species-ist in itself. Why not say bipedal, carbon based, oxygenated life forms?

;)

[JediTricks]

Also, to shine a real-world light on part of the problem; when Adi Gallia and Eeth Koth were recast to appear in AOTC, it was felt that the new actors did not look similar enough to the actors they were meant to replace. So the easiest fix was just to rename them. If you can ignore a good portion of the EU, you might as well just imagine them as the same characters since they were always meant to be that way anyway.
Hey, if they're not willing to call Kit Fisto something else from Ep 2 to Ep 3, then they clearly could have kept those others the same characters. :p

Anyway, no they're not racist, it's not their fault most of the Lucas-approved galaxy is humanoid.

[bigbarada]

Not racist, just low budget. :D

It is an interesting scenario to play out "in universe." So, the Jedi Council is just for oxygen breathers? Well I guess they got the one token non-oxygen breather. But what about all the other sentient species out there who only breathe water? I guess, unless you're amphibious, then you're just S.O.L.

BTW, I just read that Plo Koon's home world has an environment composed of mostly helium. If that's the case then why does he talk with such a deep voice in the Clone Wars cartoon?

[Mr. JabbaJohnL]

BTW, I just read that Plo Koon's home world has an environment composed of mostly helium. If that's the case then why does he talk with such a deep voice in the Clone Wars cartoon?
I would be surprised if they took that into account, though it's well known that Filoni is a big Plo Koon fan. But if that's the case, and helium works the same way in Star Wars that it does in reality, then we can assume that Kel Dors' voices sound much higher on the helium-rich world of Dorin and comparatively deeper everywhere else - so Plo Koon's voice might sound higher on his home planet, at a more normal human-like register.

[JediTricks]

Plo Koon is a non-oxygen breather, his species breathes a mix of helium and another gas. I suspect it's his mask that alters his voice, but if you think about it, for us nitrogen-oxygen breathers, helium makes our voices go up; so for helium breathers, nitrogen-oxygen air would make that voice go down.

[Darth Metalmute]

I think prejudice would be the better fitted for the council than racist.