STAR WARS HAS always been political, no matter what the MAGA types who cosplay as Imperial agents and scream about Disney shoving diversity into “their Star Wars” say.

The original trilogy showed a band of anti-imperialist fighters going up against a vicious pan-galactic state — based, according to its creator George Lucas, on the Vietnam War, with the Viet Cong “rebels” going up against the United States “Empire.”

The prequels showed the transformation of the Galactic Republic into the Galactic Empire of the original trilogy. In 2018, during Donald Trump’s first administration, James Cameron interviewed Lucas about Star Wars’ anti-authoritarian messaging, highlighting a line spoken by Senator Padmé Amidala as Emperor Palpatine declares that the Republic is now an Empire: “So this is how liberty dies, with thunderous applause.”

Lucas sold Star Wars to Disney in 2012 and hasn’t been involved in production since then, but Andor, the new series set in the universe, doubles down on its anti-authoritarian roots, focusing on the creation of the revolutionary Rebel Alliance. In the process, it gives us a glimpse into the messiness and conflict that often accompanies building a movement on the left, as activists fight over which political philosophies and strategies work best.

  • AnarchistArtificer@slrpnk.net
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    2 days ago

    I saw a post recently that your comment reminds me of. It said something like “leftists are often more concerned about not doing anything wrong than they are about doing something good”. Along those lines, I agree with both your point and the message of the OP — that it is important now more than ever to actually do something. Mass action is more powerful than individual perfection

    • Dalkor@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      Said most succinctly, we need to learn to not let perfect be the enemy of good.