Since “Star Wars: A New Hope” first premiered in 1977, it was apparent that the movies were closely related to the U.S. and its actions. Creator and director George Lucas has indicated for decades that the Galactic Empire resembles the U.S. and the Rebel Alliance represents the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War.
“Star Wars” is one of, if not the most recognizable, franchises in all of media. Fast forward to the present day, the Disney+ show “Andor” holds a mirror to our world and our country, showing the unraveling of democracy into fascism.
“Andor” creator, Tony Gilroy, recently did an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, revealing what he couldn’t talk about during the release of the show.
“We were pretty much doing a story about authoritarianism and fascism, and the Empire is very clearly a great example of that,” Gilroy said.
The Ghorman arc is what stands out the most when recalling the events of season two in relation to Gilroy’s comment. In it, the residents of Ghorman gather in the capital to peacefully protest the occupation of the Empire on their planet.
Tensions rise and the Empire kills nearly everyone in the town square, effectively committing genocide.
The genocide draws parallels to the recent shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota. The two individuals protesting peacefully, or at the very least not posing much of a threat to ICE agents, were both fatally shot.
“So you get out your ‘fascism for dummies’ book for the 15 things you do, and we tried to include as many of them as we could in the most artful way possible,” Gilroy added.
Examples from the show include the Imperial Security Bureau (ISB), which uses extensive monitoring and fear, the Narkina prison using forced labor in terrible conditions and the Empire being run by middle managers who treat suffering as a daily report.
The main character, Cassian Andor, was sent to Narkina without a fair trial and was sentenced to six years. Upon arrival, many prisoners with similar sentences had been there twice as long, effectively serving life sentences.
“How were we supposed to know that this clown car in Washington was going to basically use the same book that we used?” Gilroy said. “So I don’t think it’s prescience so much as the sad familiarity of fascism and the karaoke menu of things that you go through to do it.”
Connecting fictional Ghorman to real life Greenland is very simple. President Trump wishes to acquire Greenland for its natural resources and expand the U.S. national security interests. The Empire occupied Ghorman for the natural minerals, which were integral to the construction of the Death Star.
Stellan Skarsgård gives a powerful performance as Luthen Rael, an early figure of the Rebel Alliance. When meeting with one of his spies, Rael is questioned whether he is sacrificing enough for the cause and gives an emphatic response.
“I’m condemned to use the tools of my enemy to defeat them…I burn my decency for someone else’s future…I burn my life to make a sunrise that I know I’ll never see.”
The most powerful scene of the show, the scene many consider won Gilroy an Emmy for Outstanding Writing of a Drama Series, was Mon Mothma’s (Genevieve O’Reilly) speech to the Galactic Senate speaking out against the Ghorman genocide.
Genevieve O’Reilly’s delivery and portrayal carry each word with a desperate plea for another senator, a civilian, anyone else to open their eyes to what’s in front of them and wake up.
One line speaks volumes about our world, “The death of truth is the ultimate victory of evil. When truth leaves us, when we let it slip away, when it is ripped from our hands, we become vulnerable to the appetite of whatever monster screams the loudest.”
Everyone deserves the truth, yet those who grasp at absolute power wish to do away with any. Only their truth is the “truth.” Once they control the truth, no one can stand up against it, only wishing it was stopped sooner.
The saying “history repeats” itself is a saying for a reason. In the world we live in today, with phones, videos and easy internet access, the flaws in our systems have never been easier to see.
If those flaws aren’t exposed, leaders and citizens become afraid to step up against a tyrannical state and any freedom once had will turn to dust.
It turns out the galaxy from far, far away is closer than we all think, and we all have friends everywhere.
