How Andor is Inspiring Fans to Fight Authoritarianism in the Real World

Indivisible's Leah Greenberg talks about the Star Wars series and what it says about political resistance

Andor may be set a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, but fans of the Star Wars series are getting inspired by its political messages in the here and now.

The prequel, set in the years before the first Star Wars film, follows the journey of Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), a small-time thief who reluctantly becomes a key figure in the Rebel Alliance.

Created by Tony Gilory, the drama tells the story of the fractious resistance movement that will ultimately defeat the Galactic Empire. It has earned widespread praise for its incisive portrayal of life under a fascist regime and was honored with 14 Emmy nominations last week for its second and final season (though, in an egregious snub, the superb cast was almost completely overlooked).

The second and final season of the drama arrived this spring, as Trump 2.0 was in full, terrifying swing. Fans have drawn parallels between Andor storylines about propaganda and false-flag attacks and real-world circumstances. Signs referencing the series — especially the coded greeting, “I have friends everywhere” (used by members of the Rebel Alliance to identify themselves), and a character’s manifesto on the fragility of tyranny — have become a fixture at protests across the country. In digital spaces like Reddit, fans talk about how to organize politically while discussing the show’s connection to world events.

Leah Greenberg, co-director and co-founder of the Indivisible Project, recently spoke to The Contrarian about how the group is trying to connect with the Andor fandom as part of its One Million Rising mass training program.

Andor is “a story that’s fundamentally about power, about how people respond collectively to empire, how they take back their own power, and how they work together…to build a movement,” Greenberg said.

Part of what makes the series feel so relevant is that Cassian Andor is not a Jedi knight with extraordinary powers or a lightsaber; he’s an ordinary guy who rises to meet the moment.

Andor is “about how regular people who are living under this empire are choosing to resist and to push back, and how, collectively, all of their efforts add up to something incredibly important,” Greenberg said. “And for me, that’s a really inspiring message that you might not be a Jedi, but you actually are part of this movement that is going to make a difference.”

Indivisible is trying to reach Andor fans “who are looking for ways to take action and to be part of a broader social movement that is challenging authoritarianism,” she said.

Rather than sticking to a traditional playbook, Greenberg thinks political organizers should be thinking about ways to harness the power of pop culture fandoms — whether they’re devotees of Andor, Taylor Swift, or romance novels. “Fundamentally, they are communities of people who share some set of interests and values,” she said.

You can watch the entire conversation about Andor and what it has to teach us about fighting authoritarianism by clicking the video below.

Learn more about Indivisible’s One Million Rising program by going to: https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/803953/