May 28 : Written by 404EthanNotFound

6. Andor: Standing Up to Empire

Spoiler warning for ‘Andor’ Seasons 1 and 2 ahead.

‘Star Wars’ has been a major part of my life for as long as I can remember. My father collects ‘Star Wars’ paraphernalia and has been a collector since before I walked this earth. The films, the animated cartoons, the fanfare when a sequel trilogy was announced by Disney, the gut-wrenching disappointment when the Disney films largely failed to stick the landing, I have been there for it all. While I have certainly enjoyed plenty of ‘Star Wars’ content the Disney folks have produced, I largely still found that it lacked the potentcy of the first six films. Each new addition from Disney were safe installations into the franchise, rather than pushing the boundaries, something that George Lucas sought to do with each film. Yet, sifting through the mediocrity, we were granted Seasons 1 and 2 of ‘Andor’ which had something incredible to say and brought the soul back to ‘Star Wars’. To me, Season 1 of ‘Andor’ is 10 hours of the best ‘Star Wars’ in recent memory, easily. I was afraid Season 2 would be unable to deliver for me, but I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was well worth the wait. We were handed another 12 episodes that made me feel something palpable. This show pulled at my core being and reinforced for me why resisting Authoritarianism is so critical. Recontextualizing the cost of submission in a galaxy, far, far away made for an intensely unique viewing experience.

From the beginning, ‘Star Wars’ has been an anti-Authoritarian allegory. Lucas himself has stated that the Vietnam War was a large inspiration to ‘Star Wars’. While plenty of audience members missed the forest for the trees, and still do so today, it is undeniable that politics was welded into the original lifeblood of ‘Star Wars’. In Lucas’s analogy, the Empire would be akin to the United States. The ragtag group of fighters that the audience is meant to resonate with, the Rebel Alliance, are symbolic of groups who have found themselves the victims of Imperial takeover. In Lucas’s own words, the Vietcong were a direct inspiration for the Rebels.

Plenty of outcry exists from a portion of the ‘Star Wars’ fanbase who do not like reference to politics or current affairs reflected in their space shows or movies. In my opinion, these types of people have misunderstood the entire point of the franchise’s inception and how intertwined Lucas’s vision of resisting Authoritarianism is with the DNA of ‘Star Wars’.

Andor is a series that respects George Lucas’s vision for Star Wars. Many of the Disney+ series have had rocky reception at best. Tony Gilroy (‘Andor’ showrunner) sought to change that with 24 episodes that each make the viewer give a damn about the nascent Rebellion, showcasing how normal people in the galaxy made the largest of ripples. In a universe where magic space wizards can command telekinetic abilities and laser swords, it somehow feels cathartic to leave that all behind to focus on the lives of ordinary people who see the atrocity of the Empire and wish to change their reality.

‘Andor’ showcases the Rebellion in its infancy, following the actions of Luthen Rael and Kleya Marki as they create a network of rebels across the galaxy. This resistance will come to full fruition in movies like ‘Rouge One’ and the original ‘Star Wars’ trilogy. Many conflicting points of view emerge regarding the nature of rebellion. The titular character, Cassian Andor himself, is not committed to the cause at the beginning of the series, but through his experiences with the Empire, he becomes one of the most devoted Rebels. This transformation takes place throughout Season 1, whereas Season 2 takes a focus on the forming Rebellion which has grown beyond the small riff-raff we follow throughout the first season. The Rebel Alliance leadership has fractures and disagreements on the tactics they take. Some segments still believe in the ability for the Galactic Senate to reign in the Emperor, other sects have taken to violent methods of resistance against the Imperial military. Saw Guerrera (Forest Whitaker) and his militia are known for their intense violence, oftentimes taking no moral quandary if civilians are caught in the crossfire. The resistance to the Empire takes on many forms and ‘Andor’ does an incredible job of highlighting the cost of violence on both the Empire and the Rebels. On multiple occasions during the series, allies are sacrificed to preserve the greater Rebellion. The cause comes first and requires impossible decisions in order to ensure the fire of resistance does not fizzle out in the darkness.

In the first season of Andor, Cassian finds himself at the mercy of the Imperial court system for a crime he did not commit. Due to the recent heist of the quarterly payroll from the Imperial Aldani military base, Emperor Palpatine has enacted emergency resentencing guidelines which are designed to punish minor crimes with lengthy sentences.

I have no doubt that those running cover for the Empire would say that these extended sentences were to protect the law-abiding Imperial citizenry. Their hidden purpose however, is to gain a slave labor force which will be utilized to construct components for the Death Star. Cassian gets a front row look at this assembly line of death which further deepens his belief in the Rebellion. After escaping from the Imperial prison, Cassian spends the next season performing missions for the rebels. One such mission takes him to the planet Ghorman moments before catastrophe.

As I watched the 8th episode of ‘Andor’ Season Two, titled “Who Are You?”, I found myself in a world sitting on a powder keg. The Ghorman people, enraged at the Empire who have brought in mining equipment to strip the planet dry of a mineral they desire for the Death Star. They begin to protest in the capital city of Palmo, specifically in the city square. What begins as a peaceful demonstration is cut short as the Imperial forces begin to open fire on the crowd. The Ghorman Front, the rebel sect, attempts to defend against the attack but they are incapable of matching the military prowess of the Empire. The series does an excellent job of showcasing the callous slaughter of those who stand in opposition to the Imperial objective, but I wish to highlight what happens directly before this confrontation. The air is tense. A select few in the crowd have identified what the Empire is about to do, but their warning falls on deaf ears. The crowd roars “We are the Ghor. The galaxy is watching”. The voices ring out in unity, until their chants are replaced with screams.

While it may be soothing to mentally transport to a galaxy far, far away, I am here to say that the same problems that plague the galaxy in Andor are here in our very real world.

The Ghorman Massacre is bravely identified as a genocide by Senator Mon Mothma, courageous enough to speak out against the Empire in the Imperial Senate. Many in the chambers refuse to acknowledge this truth, leaning into the Imperial propaganda that the rebel insurgency incited the fighting. As I watched and rewatched this episode, I could not help but draw parallels to the plight of the Palestinian people in Gaza. As Israeli bombs continue to rain down on a starving population, I see the parallels of a galaxy disregarding the wanton destruction of the Ghorman with the governments of this world ignoring the outcry and opposition to the barbarism which our tax dollars have funded.

The Republican Party, led by their God Emperor Donald Trump, represent the illness of capitalism’s inevitable final form, fascism. This inward facing nationalism has done an astonishing amount of damage over the past decade, accelerated to terrifying new rates with the second Trump presidency. They make peaceful revolution impossible through their crackdown on free speech (arresting those who protest the genocide in Gaza) and through the incitement of fear against undocumented persons in this country. The scene of Cassian being absurdly sentenced for a crime he did not commit sounds exactly like our present-day destruction of due process, where charges are handed down with complete disregard for concepts like habeas corpus (the protection all persons on this American soil have requiring the government to publicly produce, meaning through the court system, cause for imprisonment and detention).  Republicans will even joke that perhaps the Empire was in the right without the smallest hint of irony.

The Democratic Party, led by their gross incompetence, fail to meet the moment at every turn. By failing to listen to their constituents (Uncommitted National Movement for an example) and by acting on ego (Joseph Biden reneging on his campaign promise of being a one-term president) the Democrats have landed us in our current reality. The voices seeking universal healthcare, the abolition of ICE, or the initiation of a green economy have been deemed outside the favor of corporate interest. This paralyzes the corporate stooges in the Democratic Party leading to either passive blue states unable to meet the needs of its constituents or in the worst cases, Republican victory in races that the Democrats could have won simply by acknowledging their constituents. While there are a standout few left leaning politicians who are doing good work (Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar), they are undermined at every turn by Democratic leadership. The present senior leadership would rather the ship sink that be bolstered by an actual populist left movement because then they would actually have to govern effectively.

Both major parties have been bought and paid for. The corporate class, the true elites of society, have done everything they can to keep the masses under their thumbs. They restrict healthcare so you feel more obligated to stay with your job to avoid loss of insurance. They fund political campaigns (legal bribery) in order to pressure politicians to kick back massive tax breaks so that the wealthy get wealthier. They utilize ownership of major communications platforms in order to bend narratives and trick the media illiterate population into passiveness. It is no coincidence that the present opposition party has been defanged by big monied influence. The signs have always been there for those of us who were listening. This vicious cycle has been brewing for decades at this point. However, it feels like a tipping point is not too far away. The unease in the air is palpable. Many people in this nation have had their eyes opened to the reality that their voices were never going to be listened to. When peaceful revolution is made impossible…

I do not condone violence, but I am not stupid enough to ignore that violence is bound to occur if this nation stays on its present course. This feeling of dread right before the violence is perfectly encapsulated in the moments before the Ghorman massacre in ‘Andor’. The powder keg of emotion that has been festering required the tiniest spark for a violent, explosive reaction to occur. A social media trend has been rising in past days/weeks where folks will post things like “Somebody’s got to do it” and “Just do it”. While never explicitly stated, there is a collective understanding that these requests are calling for the assassination of Donald Trump.

I will reiterate, I do not support violence. Harkening back to the idea that when peaceful revolution is made impossible, it is no wonder that violent sentiment would become more appealing to others. My major takeaway from these types of social media posts is that many Americans want this present political nightmare to end. Many have become so exhausted that they resort to requesting that someone arrives with the initiative to ‘do what must be done’ in their words. I fear that this may indicate a deeper more damaging mindset that all we can do is sit idly by and wait for ‘someone to do it’. This is not the case. There is plenty of work still to be done on informing and educating the general public. We must hold onto the hope that peaceful revolution is still possible. As Cassian learns and reiterates, “Rebellions are built on hope”.

It is time for all of us to do our part to ensure that the Empire stays closer to fiction than fact, exiled to be nothing more than a distant memory from a long time ago in a galaxy, far, far away. Talk to people in your life about the issues at hand, even those who disagree with you. Educate yourselves on the levers of power that have been and are being utilized to distract and divide. Watch ‘Andor’ and then reflect on the real-world parallels. Research the real inspirations for the show and ‘Star Wars’ as a whole. Welcome to the Rebellion.