Before you read this article, please be warned it contains major spoilers for season two of “Andor.”
“The death of truth is the ultimate victory of evil,” is a poignant quote by Senator Mon Mothma, representative of Chandrila in the Imperial Senate, delivered in the aftermath of the Ghorman Massacre.
Of course, Mon Mothma is a fictional character representing a fictional planet, but her point rings true regardless, and the writers knew what they were doing when they wrote “Andor.”
“Star Wars” has always been a political franchise. I love this franchise. One of the reasons I love it is because it is an easily digestible political commentary on our world.
George Lucas, creator of “Star Wars,” has said it himself. In James Cameron’s 2018 documentary, “Story of Science Fiction,” Lucas drew a direct comparison between the Rebel Alliance fighting the Empire and the Viet Cong fighting the United States in the Vietnam War.
In the documentary, Lucas said the Empire was meant to represent a major colonial power, and the Rebels, who were the protagonists of the film, were meant to be anti-colonial freedom fighters, describing them as the Viet Cong.
That is an incredibly political statement to make. The Vietnam War was a very divisive issue in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s, and for Lucas to model the good guys after the people fighting the Americans in the Vietnam War is not accidental.
In the same documentary, Lucas directly compared the Empire, who are unequivocally portrayed as the bad guys in the film, to the United States and the British Empire.
“America was the Empire during the Vietnam War,” Lucas said.
Lucas was trying to spread a message of anti-imperialism and anti-authoritarianism with the original trilogy of “Star Wars.”
Let’s move ahead in time to the prequel trilogy of the “Star Wars” movies, which began in 1999 with “The Phantom Menace” and concluded in 2005 with “Revenge of the Sith,” where the political commentary was so thick it was almost impossible to miss.
The entire trilogy is about how the Galactic Republic is infiltrated by an authoritarian populist and experiences democratic backsliding, being corrupted and morphed into the evil, fascist Empire. Oh, and we can’t forget the secondary antagonists of the trilogy, the Separatist Alliance, are a separatist movement founded by mega-corporations and ultra-wealthy bankers.
One of the most well-known quotes from the trilogy is spoken by the character of Senator Padme Amidala from Naboo: “So this is how liberty dies: with thunderous applause,” delivered at the climax of the film when Chancellor Palpatine announces the Republic is being reorganized into the Empire, with himself being crowned Emperor.
You cannot get more obvious than that with your political commentary. The prequel trilogy is a critique of how democracy can be corrupted by the ultra-rich and by authoritarian populists who are legitimately elected to power and then use their position to amass power and turn themselves into a dictator.
That sounds a lot like our current political climate, where billionaires are free to throw hundreds of millions of dollars at their favorite populists to elect them to powerful positions and are all too eager to support the erosion of our democracy.
Let’s circle back to the example I used at the beginning from “Andor.” I firmly believe the series is the most transparently political piece of pop culture media created in years. It is completely naked with its political messaging. I think that’s wonderful.
“Andor” examines how normal people are radicalized into becoming revolutionary leaders by the cold, calculated cruelty of a fascist regime. For example, showrunner Tony Gilroy said in November 2022, the character of Nemik was modeled on the historical figure of communist revolutionary Leon Trotzky as a “young, naïve radical.”
The show investigates themes of police brutality and how conformity and silence strengthens a fascist regime.
However, it never gets more obvious than the climax of the show’s second season that centers around the Empire’s attack on the people of Ghorman, an incident dubbed the Ghorman Massacre.
In season two, the Empire occupies a planet and decides they need to get rid of the civilian population in order to steal the planet and its resources.
What unfolds is a massacre of the planet’s population, who cry out for help to the galaxy. However, their cries for help are ignored, and the news media, which is controlled by the Empire, instead depicts them as terrorists and threats to public safety. The Imperial Senate does not question the narrative and condemns the so-called terrorists. The only politician who has the backbone to speak out against the Empire, Senator Mon Mothma, uses the word “genocide” to describe the incident. She is then ejected from the Senate and forced into hiding. That’s where the quote at the top of this article comes from.
If that does not sound familiar to you, then let me make it clear: This show closely parallels the ongoing war in Gaza.
“Star Wars” is political.
Ashton Pack can be contacted at [email protected].
