Hello,

What follows is a repost of parts 1+2 of my “We Live In Star Wars Now” Essay Series. I think its very interesting looking back almost a year later, how different this shaped out to be form what I planned, and that is clearly visible throughout, but enjoy!! perhaps ill finally finish this series eventually!

Major spoilers for Andor and most of Star Wars below.

This is part 1, I’ll be releasing this in a few parts rather than all at once, as I wanted to get what I have out, and have more time to work out some other ideas. Subscribe to make sure you get the rest!

This is more a collection of separate ideas that interweave with each other to form a cohesive argument than anything else, so feel free to jump between sections, which are marked by headers.

Intro:

“So this is how liberty dies, with thunderous applause.” -Padme Amidala.

This quote is stated upon the declaration of the empire and the destruction of the republic. In a moment that is a not-so-vague allegory for how democracies die, how liberty dies, which is what the prequels (and clone wars show) are intended to be about, how liberty, how democracy dies. And then there is the masterpiece of Andor, which is about how one is radicalized, and how a rebellion forms, then rouge one, about the costs of that rebellion, and the original trilogy about the warfare of the rebellion. There are stories like ahsoka, and the amndolorian about how a new republic rises (and falls) and there is the force awakens, about how the fall of that new regime occurs via the radicalization of young men into a dangerous fascist ideology, (something the prequels also explore) Now, if some of these stories sound taken right out of the headlines this week, youre not mistake, a lot of what star wars has been commentary on for a long time, is happening on a much more obvious level now, especially in the united states. We have our own empire, and our own complacent congress. We have a system that has failed us time and time again, and as a result, is falling. We are witnessing the death of liberty, it is the sparks that are unknown. This will be a Series of essays about the politics of Star Wars, especially Andor, and how they reflect our current situation.

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Andor: Oppression, Radicalisation, and Rebellion.

This is Nemik’s Manifesto, a very important plot piece in Andor season 1. This manifesto also has its layers of meaning in our own world, and that meaning is all too real right now. Nemik is meant to be an ideologue of sorts, and he is meant to radicalize Andor into joining the rebellion, one of the core themes of Andor. I would like to highlight the last half of this, about the need for control by authoritarian regimes, by the “empire,” and how unnatural it is. How oppression exists because of fear. They oppress those they fear. They fear us, and one day, all the small acts of defiance against their rule. Will overwhelm. One day. Nemik’s manifesto talks about how oppression works and that it needs to be reinforced, and how its unnaturalness, juxtaposed with the natural order of freedom, will eventually be its downfall.

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It comes for its own, inevitably.

“Look, fascism doesn’t just take down the oppressed. It doesn’t just come for the people it’s trying to control. It inevitably destroys the people who have worked the hardest to build it. And that’s been true all through history as well.” - Tony Gilroy.

At the very end of Andor’s finale, Dedra Meero, A character who works for the empire and truly believes in the cause, is accused of being a rebel spy, or at minimum, accessing secrets that led to the rebels’ gain of information. Dedra is one of the main villains of the show, and is through and through pro-empire, so this is a shock to the viewer. The series ends with a shot of Dedra in a prison that is very similar to the work camp-esque prison that Andor was in in season 1 (more on that later). This shows how fascism will always, eventually eat its own, because it needs to control. It needs to rule. Its power is unnatural, and it cannot simply be happy controlling what it has; it must infinitely gain more power. It is infinitely ambitious, and like Dedra, that will be its downfall.

Narkina 5, The prison labor system, and CECOT.

In season one, episode 8, Andor is sent to a prison by the Empire, charged with an obscure random crime, and sentenced to six months. In this prison, he would soon learn that the Empire treats these people incredibly horribly, with flavorless food, and forces them to build parts for “something” (we know this is the Death Star, the characters do not). After murdering an entire floor, the empire shows its cruelty to these prisoners. And they learn they will never actually be freed, just transferred from prison to prison. This prison is two things to me, it is A. a representation of real labor and concentration camps, such as the ones currently being used by the American government, such as CECOT. And B., it represents the feeling of living under a totalitarian regime, the prisoners are always watched. And good behavior is rewarded with things such as flavor in their food. But bad behavior is met with death. And the characters have to walk a very thin line in this prison. This is exactly how it feels to live under a repressive totalitarian regime.

Leftist infighting: The Maya Pei Brigade

When andor escapes with the tie avenger, he lands with a group of rebels who are not supposed to be there, but are, and ends up in the middle of this massive sort of civil war within this group of rebels. This group is then unable to get anything done, other than take Cassian as a hostage, and starts fighting, causing the deaths of a few of their members. Their inability to get anything done is a direct result of their fighting. This is very similar to the modern American left, where we spend much more time fighting over how to do things, rather than doing them.

Young men are anakin

“Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists,” - U.S. President George W Bush, after 9/11

“If you are not with me, then you are my enemy”-Anakin Skywalker, Revenge of the Sith.

Anakin Skywalker is a beloved character, particularly with young men. This is because much of his character is incredibly relatable. He is under immense pressure to be this perfect man and this perfect Jedi. He has aimlessness, he has pain, and arrogance. And all of this, combined with the arrogance, complacency, and ambition of the Jedi Council, led to Anakin’s turn to the dark side. But this is also very clearly meant as a metaphor; Anakin saying something that is almost word-for-word what President Bush did is no mistake. It is intentional symbolism.

These issues, these very real issues, along with a host of other issues, are the reason why young men are turning to the “dark side” of fascism. It is why the young men of this coutnry, of this world, idolize anakin, because, One, he is a badass, but it is also because he relates to, he speaks to their struggles. And he offers a solution, in the same way Trump does.

Thanks for reading! Sorry, I had to split this up into parts. I wanted to do it all at once, but it was just too much! I’m hoping to have the next part out sometime this week! Subscribe to make sure you get it!

The next part will talk about:

The death of truth (and Mon Mothma’s speech)

The abuse of power by immigration officers

The Cultural Genocide on Aldhani

The Genocide on Ghorman

And a few other topics!

Andor is great! So, please go watch both seasons! And I hope you enjoyed!

May the force be with you,

Aarav

Inspirations:

PART TWO!!!

So, this was supposed to be a VERY different essay, But shit keeps happening that is even closer to Andor and star wars than the comparisons and analysis i meant to make so, here we go

LA is ghorman. Im not the first person to make this comparison, but i wanna explore it.

L.A. like Ghorman, is an example of an imperial power taking peaceful protestors, and creating chaos as a means of manufacturing consent for continued abuses.

AND

they’re doing the same fucking shit:

like………..

A SITTING SENATOR WHO IS REPRESENTING HIS PEOPLE WAS ARRESTED FOR DOING HIS JOB???? in a galaxy far far away…

oh but also in like… real life

Eerie right

Well anyway “keep politics out of Star Wars not everything has to be political”

star WARS. it has always been political, and America has ALWAYS been the empire, but now we are living directly within this period, and our empire is rising.

BUT

in much better news, and what inspired me to write part 2 of the essay in this way and not the analysis I intended, Our resistance is forming as well

Yesterday June 14th, Was no Kings Day. I saw MANY andor themed signs, here are a few of them, then some analysis on how rebellion is forming against this regime from an unqualified teenager who reads a lot of political science books and thinks he’s smart

“Freedom Is A Pure Idea. It occurs spontaneously And without instruction. Remember this. Try” -Karis Nemik, Andor S1

Yesterday, our hope began. 11 Million plus people protested. We Have had small wins, and we have a reason to be hopeful, that we can, and will get through this. But we MUST continue fighting. Freedom is beginning to occur, and one day, hopefully soon, there will be-as Nemik said- too many acts of freedom, of resistance, and the gates of our empire, of this regime, will be overwhelmed, and we will be victorious, we will be free.

We have friends everywhere.

Thanks for reading!

—Aarav