I hope Bail Organa debut in Season 2 where he would be working with Mon Mothma the Idealist, Saw Guerrerra the Radicalist and Luthen Rael the Pragmatist as a mediator of the Rebel Alliance.
Luke happened to show up just at the right time, when the Rebellion finally hit a point of maturity to commit open warfare on the Empire after decades built on dirty and unsavory actions to build up a fighting force, while the Empire had literally just committed the most Heinous act in Galactic History with Alderaan. So Luke Lucks\willed by the force to be a massive hero at just the right time lol.
How is Alderaan a big deal? It is just NR propaganda any ways, they are just shocked that a bad thing could happen to a Core World, the Republic were perfectly fine with starving the Kalee which caused grievous and trying to wipe out the Sith species which causes KOTOR 1-2 and SWTOR and creating an f ton of super weapons which the sith easily hijack and letting the Trade Federation have a monopoly on trade and the Techno Union have a monopoly on manufacturing and the Banking Clan have a monopoly on banking which f**ed up the galaxy for literal centuries. But oh no, when the Empire commits a couple of atrocities and genocides that is suddenly the worst thing ever, even though they are the only ones actually improved many peoples' lives!
@@IliyaMoroumetz (Except the dark deeds of the Rebellion were most likely (read definitely) not part of the original canon and only popped up in books and now disney shows)
@@imlegos2153 Teastament to George's horrible world building, "stormtroopers are the best of the best", and they get fucked up by litreally everyone (except that opening scene).
Wow. You have my endless respect for calling out the reality of situations. A lot of people get involved in causes without understanding the complexity of the situation.
Yes but there are some misunderstandings here. The media narrative on Jan 6 and Brexit are far from the truth as to the ramifications, let alone the reality of the events. I was at the Capitol protesting on Jan 6 and the violence is way overblown. There was less then 5 mins of fighting and mostly from suspicious individuals that were shouted down by the crowd. I got peppersprayed because some idiot threw a weak jab at a cop. There were a small group of people with surplus tactical gear with black sun patches that didn't look like the avg trump supporter. There were clearly subversive elements present no matter how much the media says that we were rioting. Reality is messy and there are almost always attempts to rewrite history. I wish people would keep that in mind when they think about narratives about the 2020 election, especially as they continue to assert things lik Russiagate.
A phrase i like to use with rebellion narratives in fiction is "the air crew on the Enola Gay woke up and brushed their teeth the next morning." It's my biggest problem with SW. Like all rebellions, the "fun" part of tearing down the state is always shown. But its the difficult years after that truly define the righteousness of a cause. Because (my opinion here) the easy part of political change is the war. Good governance, fulfilling promises, and being the system/people you claimed to be in the aftermath is the real challenge.
I do think it’s important to note that not all rebellions are the same. Some are in fact more just than others. Some are based more on lies than truth and vice versa. They exist on a spectrum. As you noted, not 100% good or evil. I believe the distinction is between what the rebels believe and what the reality is. I also think we simply don’t really know what complexities that brought people to the point of rebellion. Is it a question of media stirring up resentment and hatred, or living daily with the fear your next traffic stop could end your life? And obviously real life can often be a mix. So using critical thinking to be willing to pick a part any “movement,” is wise. But also, sometimes the facts show that a rebellion was justified. That the oppression was very real. That’s not to say rebellion’s are something to jump in to. But sometimes one must weigh if a rebellion is required before it’s too late, even if that means rebelling before one is absolutely pushed into one.
Some rebellions (Colombia's FARC; The Maoist New People's Army in the Philippines) just drag on and on with either side able to gain a decisive victory over the other due to lack of manpower, terrain that's too vast and too rough to control etc. It's like a persistent infection.
I disagree about Luke being a bored moisture farmer. I think it’s clear that he has a good heart and wants to make a difference for good in his time like any decent person, then finds out that he’s something more than just human, and believes that with such power and abilities that he has a moral responsibility to do good and help the helpless rather than to sit on such great potential and do nothing while people suffer. One doesn’t need to be oppressed to join a rebellion or revolution. If their cause is just and pure one may join because of moral responsibility and convictions.
What I most disagree with was the desperation part, while he wasn´t as emotive as most would be the reality is that one day he woke up and the Empire decided to incinerate the people he was raised by. While it may not be obvious at first, his motivation for going to help save the princess , destroy the Death Star and join the Rebellion was effectively revenge. He may never quite internalised it, because Luke was often naive airheaded but when you get down to it Luke had desperation forced upon him and reacted like a cornered snake, which in a sense lead him to temporalily save the galaxy yet at the same time dooming him to a life of strife. It only makes sense for him to keep his morale high by looking at it through the lense of an adventure and even by the end of episode V it's doubtful he could see it as that anymore.
Like volunteering to fight in Ukraine. Not our war, not our country, but many a former soldier is over there at the moment because Russia is being a dick.
Being Force-sensitive is a curse. There are four choices available to you: - become a Jedi. A force for good but unable to tap into the feelings that most people take for granted out of fear of turning to the Dark Side. - become a Sith. Able to tap into great power (even more than a Jedi in some cases) but whose emotional state and training make them unapproachable. - become a Grey Jedi (or Grey Sith depending on your viewpoint). Able to tap into both sides of the Force while keeping ones emotional state but forever being hunted by both Sith and Jedi for straying from the true path. - Don't tap into the Force. Relatively safe and free but unable to use a great power that could help others (or yourself). For some morally inclined individuals (on either side) it could drive them insane.
I love both sides of this coin, its just there needs to be a whole lot more content with this structure. One side is the old, ww2 grand scale conflict. The new is a gritty, postmodern, cyberpunk, realism. We need characters, no individuals like Andor and Han Solo. In the OG trilogy Han (and here is where ill mention Dash) was shown as the scrappy guy, but he had more piloting skills than luke. Han's main scuff comes from him losing a bet or a debt payment, meanwhile Cassian is worried for his loved ones. It wasnt like that at first, but I think a message from Andor could be that once you wrap around an ideal, never let it go.
You're talking about Dash Rendar from Shadows of the Empire, correct? I just learned he got re-canonized in a Solo tie-in book. Still no Kyle Katarn though 😥
They are both two sides of the same coin but neither is new. Cyberpunk has always drawn from film Noir and so does andor. Andor reminds me of the film "Casablanca" from 1942. Which takes place in Nazi occupied France. It focuses on a well-meaning crook who tries to remain neutral when his town is invaded But is eventually radicalized into joining the French Resistance. The two have more than a few narrative similarities if you look deeper.
That's the point. Neither side is evil. But you got several forces tugging from the beginning, on what is the force. It was based on Taoism. Influenced by Lucas love of and theft of Japanese movies, and maybe Philip K Dick's Man in the high Castle. The problem is Lucas wants a bad guy. and some of those with him try to marry Taoist beliefs and Lucas wanting a bad guy. Taoist belief has no bad guys. The dark is equal to the light. The wisest , Qui Gon Jinn states, that we need someone to bring balance to the force. Not the light side to win. People forget, the first Rebel was the last separatist. People divided the original trilogy and the prequel, and forgot they were rooting for the Empire, when they were watching the prequel.
"Han's main scuff comes from him losing a bet or a debt payment" Actually it's worse than that. He was a drug smuggler for Jabba the Hutt whose cargo had been confiscated by the Empire. Being in debt is one thing, owing an intergalactic mafia slug is something else.
@@catrinastars Lack of options. Even Han joined the Imperial Academy hoping to go Navy fleet and become a TIE Fighter pilot before being demoted to Army grunt on Mimban. Luke faced a similar choice. Stay on a sand ball and farm moisture like his aunt and uncle, or be cool like his friend Biggs who did Imperial Academy but defected to the Rebellion.
Lukes good friend Biggs Darklighter (is that correct) had done this right before the movie starts. So Luke was likely influenced by that. Yes - this is the same Biggs who ends up flying an X-Wing in the attack on the Death Star and who dies escorting/protecting Luke on his "bomb run".
I love Luthen's speech. It's what a soldiers and officers have taught me about war and rebellion from the age of fourteen, and I've been trying to share with people who cheer for violence ever since. There is a steep cost to war.
There was that scene in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story where Andor told Jyn that he had been in the Rebellion since he was six years old and had done things he wasn't proud of.
@@AdultThirdCultureKid1971 technically he was, according to dialog the kids on Kenari killed a republican soldier. The soldier the kids killed with seperatist icons, weird might've been undercover. Then he was adopted by scavengers who are definetly anti-empire and one of whom was executed. Kenari also is said to be an imperial mining dksaster, and all their clothes seem to be construction worker so they may have hated the republic/empire for leaving them with dead parents.
I really love your coverage of Star Wars, and as an editorial and critical device (not sure how else to say it). As a professional philosopher I admire the lessons you describe, analyze, interpret, and ultimately evaluate in your thought pieces. Thank you.
Always felt that part of the reason Star Wars' story resonated so well for people, at least the Rebels Vs Empire half of it, was because it reminded people of Old World War II films, comics and shows where plucky American and British forces triumphed with ingenuity, courage and luck over overwhelming odds presented by the Axis Powers, Like by the time Star Wars came out, a lot of those classic WWII movies like The Dam busters or Where Eagles Dare, and the War Comics were still somewhat in the public consciousness, and people saw the conflict as Space WWII, like the Western cultural memory of World War II was still incredibly strong by 1977, like to me it's pretty clear people tend to identify the rebels more with the RAF during the Battle of Britain or American soldiers fighting the Battle of the Bulge than the Vietcong.
True because Geroge Lucas did not make straight version of the US and North Vietnam in A New Hope but instead added influences from WW2 and the American revolution and well just being a space fairy tale... It made the Rebels and Empire became more related able and less politically focused.
Of course the cultural memory of WW2 was still incredibly strong - the people who had fought it and survived were still alive. 😉 A pretty fair number would be in their 40s at that time. Others in their 50s. Or 60s. Some of the generals/admirals (the younger ones) were even still around. There was a whole host of other WW2 movies that had come out by 1977. In fact the movie "Midway" (about the 1942 Battle of Midway in the Pacific) debuted in 1977 before Star Wars did. Part of the reason that the rebels might be viewed as the RAF was due to the Trench Run at the end of the movie. That was straight up an RAF dam-busting raid into one of the river valleys of the Ruhr from WW2. Flak, fighters, and all. It doesn't hurt that the Empire's uniforms, equipment, and ethos very much look like those of Nazi Germany. Which I am all but certain was intentional.
Hmmm - I still think, whatever George's original intention, Star Wars was a barely contained analogy for Britain v USA and the War of Independence A fledgling country standing up to an evil Empire that owned 25% of the entire planet! Nowhere could it be more obvious than the fact that ALL rebel pilots have American accents (including Luke and Han - Leia changes her accent halfway through A New Hope to an American one) - Wedge Antilles was played by a perfectly capable Scottish actor, but he got dubbed over with an American voice! Meanwhile - nearly ALL members of The Empire (which is a massive corporation with a monarchy) are British - including in the best Star Wars, Andor. Pompous and superior to all they survey/own. And here's my Slam-Dunk ... WITH A MASSIVE NAVY! But instead of "ruling the waves" they rule "the space waves" (lol) Honestly! They might as well have put the Union Jack on every vessel instead of the Imperial insignia! The Rebellion is less clear cut "USA" in Andor - many more diverse accents. An excellent shortcut into showing how a relative few pompous Brits have complete control over so many different races and cultures - mirroring history. India never had more than 5000 British soldiers in it - but "fear" kept the locals in line, until Ghandi performed his non-violent revolution (the revolution in Star Wars is of course a violent one - because the Empire would see nothing wrong in stamping an AT-AT's feet on thousands of peaceful protestors)
I tell you…I love your videos. I swear what you say is actual conversations I have with people. Thank you for your voice in this fandom. I’ve come back to it BECAUSE of Andor and the ideas it’s fostered.
14:22 "I prefer peace. But if trouble must come, let it come in my time, so that my children can live in peace." -Thomas Paine "And what country can preserve it’s liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. [...] What signify a few lives lost in a century or two?" -Thomas Jefferson
Honestly, it's great how they have showed so many of these struggles in Andor with it's brilliant acting and writing, for example some of my friends love the Empire and ISB scenes and see the rebels as terrorists, whilst others I know see them as freedom fighters.
Hell of an episode. A lot of wisdom being shared. None of our heros are the paragons of goodness we want to believe they are. History is written by the victor and they naturally paint themselves in the best possible light.
Andor did such a good job showing the justification of the Rebellion, the Empire is truly horrible and scary in it, also I like how they show the complicated environment rebellion exists in.
very true, this is why until the British made a rather stupid proclaimation forcing people to declare for them or be sanctioned, most Colonists in America were neutral or nominally on the side of a better status quo. And then the british knocked down the fence a significant number of people were happy to sit on. That's what the Death Star did, it forced everyone to pick a side, and the one-two punch of it being used and destroyed in short order made it where people who had livable conditions if not perfect began to believe 'if the Empire just blew up Alderaan of all places, what makes me so sure they just won't kill everyone they THINK is against them.' At which point there are no livable conditions. The number one rule of an opposing force, you must make peace the preferable option. You must make the option of peace seem like a deal where the 'loser' can be secure in their needs. This is the fault of the Versailes treaty. Germany was not offered a desirable peace. Germany had yielded in good order once the course of the war (WW1) had been decided and was dealt humiliating terms of surrender. While this led rather well known to the rise of fascism in Germany, more importantly it also led to the bitter enders of 1945, who fought to the last inch because of the fact Germany was not offered an honorable peace after an honorable surrender.
@@davidlewis5312 Quite right. And nice to see someone else (I think) that sees very obviously that the British are the main villains of Star Wars! I think - if George Lucas said it was supposed to be USA v Vietnam - he was just trying not to ruffle British feathers, the very people that were making most of his film in the UK! But COME ON! A completely dominant corporation that owns most of the galaxy, with a MASSIVE navy and a monarchy at the top of its structure? That's NOT the USA, not even now! Only one real-life empire in history can match this almost exactly - and that's the British! (the Spanish came second) And nearly everyone in command of said organisation has an elite British accent! (including in Andor - the best Star Wars) Of course - people might disagree with me, because Star Wars was mainly made in the UK (and that includes Andor, I believe) - so it makes sense that they would source from the local talent (which, as we've just seen, is INCREDIBLE ... the level of acting by the Brits in this show [and everybody else] was .. erm, "interstellar" - even down to every so-called "minor" character) But the 'just hiring superb Brits because they happen to be close by' argument falls down: a) Because these guys can pull off any accent they want - no more so than our two Irish lassies: Dedra Meera (Denise Gough) and Mon Mothma (Genevieve O'Reilly) - both Irish, but instructed to put on their poshest English accent, and doing it no problem at all ... otherwise we would think that the Irish were in control of the galaxy! [one day ... but not today] b) They "bussed-in" Diego Luna, Stellan Skaarsgard and Forest Whittaker - so why not a strong American actor to lead the ISB? Because he/she would have to put on a fake British accent - maybe it's possible, but why even try when you've got the real thing close by? The Empire MUST be British! It's non-negotiable. Even in this new, far superior, version of Star Wars - the rebellion can be made up of so many different races and cultures. But their callous rulers must always be British!
I actually love this video. I was watching Rogue 1 the other day with the fact that rebellions are overglorified in mind, and actually disliked the "rebellions are built on hope" line because from what I learned they start because people that start rebellions are hungry and/or angry, so they force change. They are built on hate for injustice (or perceived injustice) more than hope.
do this to Blake's 7 universe, where at the start only Blake was the idealist, stumbling across an alien supership with a crew of outlaws, descending to desperation and paranoia to the inevitable end. The Star Wars rebels win, Blake's rebels lose.
Alan knows how to get a point across without offending anyone one side. Takes a special kind of individual who knows how to convey a message in such a way that can make us more appreciative.
Love your stuff, Alan. You go way beyond the surface look so many others settle for, and really make Star Wars something to think deeply about. Keep it up!
I really love your commentary and it compels me to do something I try to avoid doing, which is the beloved TH-cam comments section essay. One thing I really like about Star Wars is that while the newer iterations are showing some necessary moral ambiguity, which is great, they are not devoid of morals. It is really good for a work of fiction to acknowledge that things aren't always black and white and that morality, bravery, and rationality are not always simple, but I hate it when it resorts to "nothing is good, nothing is evil, we know nothing and can do nothing." Star Wars has struck the correct balance. It can make the characters and the viewer *feel* like nothing matters without implying that nothing actually matters. About rebellion in general and the real world application, I think I can agree with you there. Personally, I feel very rebellious, and I am afraid that the world is going to necessitate a few rebellions soon. In the US and other first world countries, life is tolerable for most, but still the rich and powerful are lining their pockets, consolidating power, and taking our freedoms, and there is no option to slow or stop this process on the ballots. It will not be like this for long. Our world is changing. I am a Christian, and I need teachings like "give to Caesar what is Caesar's" to remind me that Christ's answer to worldly oppression was neither submission nor violent, vindictive defiance. The answer was not to burn down Rome and its corrupt emperors in order to create a new kingdom in its ashes, but to make that new kingdom somewhere else, somewhere beyond the cycles that plague this Earth. That is why he didn't call his disciples to be rebels, but fishers of men. But as for this Earth, there will always be tyrants, and as long as there are tyrants, there will always be rebels. It is as plain and natural as a rattlesnake biting your heel when you step on it. You can debate the ethics and morality of the rattlesnake's actions and whether it was warranted, but regardless, when you step on a rattlesnake, you get bit. We've had no shortage of rattlesnakes and no shortage of men who think they can stomp on them without getting bit.
Not all rebellions are good. The Nazi are a good example, before they grew in power and eventually was taking down. Star Wars lore is also about inspiration towards others to go against what's morally wrong and knowing your fighting for a good cause. Whether it's through stories like books, shows, or films. Even through movements like what Dr Martin Luther King did for equal rights.
@@armorclasshero2103 Not exactly they were voted in. They had many supporters and voters, yes. But Hitler became chancellor not by Reichstag elections but as a part of a presidial cabinet, alongside with conservative, rather monarchist ministers.
The nazis were not really rebels but I can agree to the rest. The CSA, for example, were also called rebels, especially by the Northeners. Their main reason for breaking up with the Union was to maintain slavery.
The problem with being too early. Not many comments to read. Wonderful Video as always Alan. I just recently subbed because I had been watching your videos consistently for some time now, so I was like "Why not" xD
Once again, your PhD level of Star Wars knowledge, critical thinking, and excellent communication skills shine through in another well thought out subject that gets my mind thinking in ways no other channel on TH-cam is capable. Thanks for all your content and contributions to our fun little community.
"Greatness has to be fought for it is not handed out freely." Absolutely. This is applicable to an individual level as well as a large group or operation like growing a large business or in influence. Be competitive
I've been following you for quite a while, and this is your best video so far, great job Allen! I, too, hope that Disney saw the numbers and will keep releasing their SW content in the style of Andor.
If anyone has listened to the Revolutions podcast by Mike Duncan, you see a lot of things he was talking about in the show. He commented a bit on Twitter about Andor.
Logically the times have changed, the original SW was more idealistical, now we are more realistic/cynical, we know that there's always a shade of gray also in the most noble of men. Naturally the difference btw the "good" guys and the baddies is that the former are haunted by their actions, contrary to the latters that often are really sociopaths (think how was haunting the interrogation of Bix by ISB, they LIKED their job!).
Yeah because Lucas was a college student in the 60s, he saw the Vietcong as the pure good guys and the US as the evil empire. But the truth is more nuanced then that.
The great thing about Star Wars is that all of the sci-fi and fantasy tropes exist in this Universe. Broad strokes to tell a story that gives up more details upon repeated viewing.
I believe this is the exact reason why George made the rebellion in the Original Trilogy the good guys, but the separatists in the Prequels the bad guys. They were both fighting for the same thing, just on a different moral compass, showing that a rebellion can be a good thing and a bad thing. Where once there was light, now there is dark. Where once there was dark, now there is light. Edit: i also believe that’s the reason why all of the GREAT Star Wars TV series we have now exist in the grey. The Bad Batch is now a gang of smugglers and bounty hunters, Andor and the people in that realm are all fighting for the same thing as the rebellion in the OT but taking much more risky and dirty actions to get there. We’re bound to have more “grey areas” now than ever before.
Love your take on this and all the Andor coverage. I am a huge fan of this new more realistic bent that Star Wars has been taking. I hope it and the challenges it brings with it continue.
Allen can you do this type of analysis on the modern Disney formula? What is the message that's being sent with all the "babysitter" shows? The Mandalorian and Grogu, The Bad Batch and Omega, and Obi-Wan and little Princess Leia? At first glance one might say it's to draw in really young fans but are little kids recruited by Grogu and little Leia? It seems most of us were more interested in Boba Fett the bounty hunter than Wicket the Ewok. I just imagine the Disney corporate board sitting around trying to decide what the premise of all the Disney shows are going to be and over and over again the "Let's turn the main characters into babysitters." idea keeps getting approved. I really hope a new generation of kids are being drawn into the universe but is this the dynamic that's behind 3 of the shows? Speaking of Boba Fett and marketing; Was the Mod Gang a Disney attempt to recruit the Honda Grom subculture into the Star Wars universe? There's a Wicket action figure but there are no MOD gang or little Princess Leia action figures. What's going on?
Don't forget, this is Disney we're talking about... Quick, who were Snow White's parents? (None!) Who were Cinderella's parents? (None!) Who were Rey's parents? (Well, that's apparently up for debate...)
The single most pivotal character of the whole SW arc is quite possibly Bodhi Rook, the Imperial cargo pilot in Rogue One. His backstory, from becoming a military pilot to flying for secret military programs to being convinced to betray the Empire and deliver the plans of the most powerful weapon to ever threaten the galaxy over to what was considered by both sides a terrorist would be fantastic... and questionably within the imagination of Disney producers.
I would also love to see a show touch on the theme that the New Republic is misguided by attempting to revive the Old Republic. The whole idea of a functioning democracy on that scale is flawed. It could never work and this was one of the major causes for the Old Republic to become corrupt and fall.
I think it’s important to draw the distinction between democracy as a form of government versus the power of the government being too centralized. I think the problem with the old Republic was that it concentrated too much power at its core so was too distant from the constituents. I lived in Denmark for seven years and I came away with a better understanding of how democracy can work. The federal government in Denmark does not control the lion’s share of the tax income. Their equivalent of counties and municipalities control the majority of the government’s budget. I believe this is critical in how successful they’ve been. The resources and those that control them are closer to the people. You also benefit from there not being one giant pile of money and power concentrated in one place. These types of concentrations attract the most ambitious and power hungry within an entire nation. But break that up and you end up with a higher percentage of actual public servants than you otherwise would have. I don’t know where things stand today, but that’s how things were when I left about 15 years ago.
@@thekaxmax now I’m just imaging crashing space internet every election cycle trying to count votes from a direct every-citizen-votes-no-representatives democratic system
@Lentlemen Productions why? Voting is voting. You can do local votes counts and collate, it's not hard. Also, there's a few ways to do universal voting; ours is rated as the best in the world, for example.
I couldn't have said it better. This more realistic look at the Rebellion is what Star Wars needed. I hope there's another season or two before it leaves off where Rogue One started.
Great take on recent developments. One of the things I liked the most about Daley, Zahn, and Stackpole was that their books allowed the franchise to grow into stories with greater subtlety and intrigue. The CSA, Thrawn, and Iceheart were competent, driven, and exceedingly dangerous. The essential core of optimism is still there, but the characters have a lot more depth and conflict. Not everyone managed to let the series grow up with us fans, but it was a general trend. The prequels and sequels were very disappointing; given where the books had already taken us that brand of storytelling felt like a big step backward. I loved Rogue One because that was literally the story those old 'Legends' books had prepared me for. I haven't seen Andor but I intend to.
You're right. I would add context of the preceding cultural conditions. The idealism in 60s America was bound to evaporate. It is historically accurate, however, that Star Wars specifically reanimated warfare in our zeitgeist.
You do some of the best life deep dig analysis that I’ve seen. My daughter is studying acting and media in general and I wish she would watch a few of your insights so that she could understand characters that she herself may create. Keep it up, I always look forward to watching your videos. Then again I also look forward to watching the videos from the United Spot as well. I suppose you both have a slightly rebellious attitude and in the end that might be all that stands between us and ruthless tyranny.
one brilliant aspect of the evolution in star wars lore is the acceptance that rebellions are initially supported by a minority of the disaffected - and that the wider acceptance only emerges after the 'oppressor' starts using heavy handed tactics and poor judgement. The US War of Independence only gained popular support when the British (and mercenary auxiliaries) began employing heavy handed measures, the Irish only achieved wide support in their rebellion (1921) when when the British acted similarly. So important is this transition that it is almost always an early and critical goal of the insurgency to achieve an escalation by the ruling government. David Galula [1964] stated that the role of the counter insurgent is always more complex and difficult than that of the insurgent: they don't just need to defeat the insurgent - they need to govern as well. This requires energetic and thoughtful leadership, control of the narrative and judicious use of force without undue compromise of civil liberties. Most authoritarian regimes lack the requisite variety to govern well in peace time let alone when confronted with embarrassing challenges to their power. Galula went on to say that the insurgent's problem set is significant less complex at the outset of a movement - and thus they have a credible advantage in terms of freedom of movement and messaging . If they overload the regime - expose its inadequacies and force it to respond in a ham fisted manner - then the numbers of the disaffected increases and insurgency goes from annoying trouble makers to bold freedom fighters. The writers of Andor seem to know this - hopefully other SW writers will follow suit.
Love what you said. I tried myself my own way of rebellion for the last 10 years and I always thought things were more complexe that it seemed and nobody wanted more that job than me. So I gave up eventually, but I'm still cherishing and sharing my personal view of the world. But I had one thought while listening to you video, specially when you compared different movement around the world. You can push the individual around. This individual is going to adapte. But push the mighties around, the whole world is going to adapte. Sounds cliché, but there's a few good exemples that make me think the status quo is going down a nasty rabbit whole.
Disney isn’t going to allow that. Andor is the most they are willing to be lax in regards to censorship. They won’t let there be a Saw show where the main character is a literal Terrorist from near start to end. If they would ever do a Saw show, they would water it down so much that it would ruin the canon and the character.
This is a very mature and well said commentary. i agree wholeheartedly, rebellion is a last resort, when all other options have failed. And in the end, rebellions fail so often, because empires know how to keep the right people happy. And happy people will almost never rebel. Why would they?
Good video Alan. I think I would have used the word "terrorist" a couple times, but only to illustrate that not everything is black and white. You said all the things you needed to though. Thank you.
5:38 But didn't the Ewoks eat the defeated Stormtroopers at the end of RtoJ? I mean they were about to eat the main cast, and they played music on a dead ST helmet at the end. Pretty brutal if you ask me.
Allen I think you should be a dungeon master for some tabletop I bet you would rock at it just by the angles you spin on this universe very good critical thinking even when you are speaking of the evilpire lol love your videos
Honestly, when it comes to rebels in real life, there will always be more people becoming like Saw Guerra than Luke Skywalker. Instead of sticking to be a good person and only becoming a rebel when you have no choice , they instesd become like the Partisans, causing unnecessary violence and destruction, and sometimes going further than that.
I’m glad you set the record straight on the Vietcong. Too many in our culture have a very oversimplified view of the Vietnam war, Lucas unfortunately included. It also doesn’t help that a lot of those who protested the Vietnam war went into academia and pushed false notions about the war itself.
Perfect! Exercising those critical thinking muscles is essential! The Star Wars Universe is surely a dark and dingy one, and those things drive individuals and groups to fight for change - a better tomorrow via sacrifices today.
That, was a pretty deep and nuanced take. The draws from personal experience, and allusions to real life really made it pop. I think we need more realism of motivation and disposition in scifi, because as audiences become better educated about science and themselves, the bar for suspension of disbelief rises.
Don’t forget
“The Empire has been choking us so slowly we started not to notice”
@That Guy no it's
"What?"
"What?"
Governments everywhere have been doing this for centuries
I hope Bail Organa debut in Season 2 where he would be working with Mon Mothma the Idealist, Saw Guerrerra the Radicalist and Luthen Rael the Pragmatist as a mediator of the Rebel Alliance.
Jimmy Smitts showing up on a hot show to make it better?...nah...oh wait!
Stop getting me this hype!!! That sounds lit!!
Some people were Rebels from the order to jump.
Bail Organa was the Rebel who gave that order.
It's true, Andor showed just how desperate and rag tag the rebellion truly was.
Too bad the KK Empire squished the hope of anyone watching the shows.
[Looks at viewing numbers] oh, not as many people as you think think like you
@@Subject_Keter huh? Ppl love the shows, with Andor arguably being the best one. Lol 🤦
@@thekaxmax Disney didn't exactly help with their poor advertising. I only saw ads for it after the show was half way through
I always thought the rebellion was desperate and rag rag. It’s in the word rebellion. Look it up.
Luke happened to show up just at the right time, when the Rebellion finally hit a point of maturity to commit open warfare on the Empire after decades built on dirty and unsavory actions to build up a fighting force, while the Empire had literally just committed the most Heinous act in Galactic History with Alderaan. So Luke Lucks\willed by the force to be a massive hero at just the right time lol.
How is Alderaan a big deal? It is just NR propaganda any ways, they are just shocked that a bad thing could happen to a Core World, the Republic were perfectly fine with starving the Kalee which caused grievous and trying to wipe out the Sith species which causes KOTOR 1-2 and SWTOR and creating an f ton of super weapons which the sith easily hijack and letting the Trade Federation have a monopoly on trade and the Techno Union have a monopoly on manufacturing and the Banking Clan have a monopoly on banking which f**ed up the galaxy for literal centuries. But oh no, when the Empire commits a couple of atrocities and genocides that is suddenly the worst thing ever, even though they are the only ones actually improved many peoples' lives!
One final act
To break the siege.
Luke's luck? George Lucas. XD I mean, it's even in his name! Luke S.(kywalker)? Lukes? Lucas?! Plain as day, people!
@@IliyaMoroumetz (Except the dark deeds of the Rebellion were most likely (read definitely) not part of the original canon and only popped up in books and now disney shows)
@@imlegos2153 Teastament to George's horrible world building, "stormtroopers are the best of the best", and they get fucked up by litreally everyone (except that opening scene).
Wow. You have my endless respect for calling out the reality of situations. A lot of people get involved in causes without understanding the complexity of the situation.
Yes but there are some misunderstandings here. The media narrative on Jan 6 and Brexit are far from the truth as to the ramifications, let alone the reality of the events. I was at the Capitol protesting on Jan 6 and the violence is way overblown. There was less then 5 mins of fighting and mostly from suspicious individuals that were shouted down by the crowd. I got peppersprayed because some idiot threw a weak jab at a cop. There were a small group of people with surplus tactical gear with black sun patches that didn't look like the avg trump supporter. There were clearly subversive elements present no matter how much the media says that we were rioting.
Reality is messy and there are almost always attempts to rewrite history. I wish people would keep that in mind when they think about narratives about the 2020 election, especially as they continue to assert things lik Russiagate.
It’s not bad to be inspired to do great things, but we must remember that we are all flawed human beings.
Well said
And others species... mostly
Truth
A phrase i like to use with rebellion narratives in fiction is "the air crew on the Enola Gay woke up and brushed their teeth the next morning."
It's my biggest problem with SW. Like all rebellions, the "fun" part of tearing down the state is always shown. But its the difficult years after that truly define the righteousness of a cause. Because (my opinion here) the easy part of political change is the war. Good governance, fulfilling promises, and being the system/people you claimed to be in the aftermath is the real challenge.
Some of us are incomparable to others.
Noone is without flaw, but some are without value
I do think it’s important to note that not all rebellions are the same. Some are in fact more just than others. Some are based more on lies than truth and vice versa. They exist on a spectrum. As you noted, not 100% good or evil. I believe the distinction is between what the rebels believe and what the reality is.
I also think we simply don’t really know what complexities that brought people to the point of rebellion. Is it a question of media stirring up resentment and hatred, or living daily with the fear your next traffic stop could end your life? And obviously real life can often be a mix.
So using critical thinking to be willing to pick a part any “movement,” is wise. But also, sometimes the facts show that a rebellion was justified. That the oppression was very real. That’s not to say rebellion’s are something to jump in to. But sometimes one must weigh if a rebellion is required before it’s too late, even if that means rebelling before one is absolutely pushed into one.
There are certainly many things worth protesting vehemently and repeatedly; which is a very different thing than “acting in rebellion”.
Some rebellions (Colombia's FARC; The Maoist New People's Army in the Philippines) just drag on and on with either side able to gain a decisive victory over the other due to lack of manpower, terrain that's too vast and too rough to control etc. It's like a persistent infection.
I disagree about Luke being a bored moisture farmer. I think it’s clear that he has a good heart and wants to make a difference for good in his time like any decent person, then finds out that he’s something more than just human, and believes that with such power and abilities that he has a moral responsibility to do good and help the helpless rather than to sit on such great potential and do nothing while people suffer. One doesn’t need to be oppressed to join a rebellion or revolution. If their cause is just and pure one may join because of moral responsibility and convictions.
What I most disagree with was the desperation part, while he wasn´t as emotive as most would be the reality is that one day he woke up and the Empire decided to incinerate the people he was raised by. While it may not be obvious at first, his motivation for going to help save the princess , destroy the Death Star and join the Rebellion was effectively revenge. He may never quite internalised it, because Luke was often naive airheaded but when you get down to it Luke had desperation forced upon him and reacted like a cornered snake, which in a sense lead him to temporalily save the galaxy yet at the same time dooming him to a life of strife. It only makes sense for him to keep his morale high by looking at it through the lense of an adventure and even by the end of episode V it's doubtful he could see it as that anymore.
Like volunteering to fight in Ukraine. Not our war, not our country, but many a former soldier is over there at the moment because Russia is being a dick.
I get it now... Luke is Spiderman. Uncle Owen is Uncle Ben. Darth Vader is the Green Goblin, and Jar Jar Binks is Galactus. It all makes sense now.
Being Force-sensitive is a curse. There are four choices available to you:
- become a Jedi. A force for good but unable to tap into the feelings that most people take for granted out of fear of turning to the Dark Side.
- become a Sith. Able to tap into great power (even more than a Jedi in some cases) but whose emotional state and training make them unapproachable.
- become a Grey Jedi (or Grey Sith depending on your viewpoint). Able to tap into both sides of the Force while keeping ones emotional state but forever being hunted by both Sith and Jedi for straying from the true path.
- Don't tap into the Force. Relatively safe and free but unable to use a great power that could help others (or yourself). For some morally inclined individuals (on either side) it could drive them insane.
That's the standard high fantasy protagonist, which Luke is
I love both sides of this coin, its just there needs to be a whole lot more content with this structure. One side is the old, ww2 grand scale conflict. The new is a gritty, postmodern, cyberpunk, realism. We need characters, no individuals like Andor and Han Solo.
In the OG trilogy Han (and here is where ill mention Dash) was shown as the scrappy guy, but he had more piloting skills than luke. Han's main scuff comes from him losing a bet or a debt payment, meanwhile Cassian is worried for his loved ones. It wasnt like that at first, but I think a message from Andor could be that once you wrap around an ideal, never let it go.
You're talking about Dash Rendar from Shadows of the Empire, correct? I just learned he got re-canonized in a Solo tie-in book. Still no Kyle Katarn though 😥
They are both two sides of the same coin but neither is new. Cyberpunk has always drawn from film Noir and so does andor. Andor reminds me of the film "Casablanca" from 1942. Which takes place in Nazi occupied France. It focuses on a well-meaning crook who tries to remain neutral when his town is invaded But is eventually radicalized into joining the French Resistance. The two have more than a few narrative similarities if you look deeper.
That's the point. Neither side is evil. But you got several forces tugging from the beginning, on what is the force. It was based on Taoism. Influenced by Lucas love of and theft of Japanese movies, and maybe Philip K Dick's Man in the high Castle. The problem is Lucas wants a bad guy. and some of those with him try to marry Taoist beliefs and Lucas wanting a bad guy.
Taoist belief has no bad guys. The dark is equal to the light. The wisest , Qui Gon Jinn states, that we need someone to bring balance to the force. Not the light side to win.
People forget, the first Rebel was the last separatist. People divided the original trilogy and the prequel, and forgot they were rooting for the Empire, when they were watching the prequel.
"Han's main scuff comes from him losing a bet or a debt payment"
Actually it's worse than that. He was a drug smuggler for Jabba the Hutt whose cargo had been confiscated by the Empire. Being in debt is one thing, owing an intergalactic mafia slug is something else.
Luke said he hated the empire. He saw them as evil and wanted to fight them even before his Aunt and Uncle were killed.
And he still wanted to join their academy to get off planet
@@catrinastars real life government trade interactions
@@catrinastars Lack of options. Even Han joined the Imperial Academy hoping to go Navy fleet and become a TIE Fighter pilot before being demoted to Army grunt on Mimban. Luke faced a similar choice. Stay on a sand ball and farm moisture like his aunt and uncle, or be cool like his friend Biggs who did Imperial Academy but defected to the Rebellion.
@@arcturionblade1077 hence why I said to get off planet.
Lukes good friend Biggs Darklighter (is that correct) had done this right before the movie starts. So Luke was likely influenced by that.
Yes - this is the same Biggs who ends up flying an X-Wing in the attack on the Death Star and who dies escorting/protecting Luke on his "bomb run".
I love Luthen's speech. It's what a soldiers and officers have taught me about war and rebellion from the age of fourteen, and I've been trying to share with people who cheer for violence ever since. There is a steep cost to war.
The steep cost in question: being cool and epic 😎
Excellent video. I'm really looking forward to your analysis with all the upcoming series.
Andor really did the Rebellion and the Empire the justice both really needed.
There was that scene in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story where Andor told Jyn that he had been in the Rebellion since he was six years old and had done things he wasn't proud of.
@@AdultThirdCultureKid1971 technically he was, according to dialog the kids on Kenari killed a republican soldier. The soldier the kids killed with seperatist icons, weird might've been undercover. Then he was adopted by scavengers who are definetly anti-empire and one of whom was executed. Kenari also is said to be an imperial mining dksaster, and all their clothes seem to be construction worker so they may have hated the republic/empire for leaving them with dead parents.
I really love your coverage of Star Wars, and as an editorial and critical device (not sure how else to say it). As a professional philosopher I admire the lessons you describe, analyze, interpret, and ultimately evaluate in your thought pieces. Thank you.
I love a channel that doesn't turn a blind eye to the DOLPHIN THREAT!!!!! GO ALLEN!!!!
Always felt that part of the reason Star Wars' story resonated so well for people, at least the Rebels Vs Empire half of it, was because it reminded people of Old World War II films, comics and shows where plucky American and British forces triumphed with ingenuity, courage and luck over overwhelming odds presented by the Axis Powers, Like by the time Star Wars came out, a lot of those classic WWII movies like The Dam busters or Where Eagles Dare, and the War Comics were still somewhat in the public consciousness, and people saw the conflict as Space WWII, like the Western cultural memory of World War II was still incredibly strong by 1977, like to me it's pretty clear people tend to identify the rebels more with the RAF during the Battle of Britain or American soldiers fighting the Battle of the Bulge than the Vietcong.
True because Geroge Lucas did not make straight version of the US and North Vietnam in A New Hope but instead added influences from WW2 and the American revolution and well just being a space fairy tale... It made the Rebels and Empire became more related able and less politically focused.
A lot of the visuals for the original movies' battle sequences are drawn from WWII footage also, it's something they set up intentionally.
Of course the cultural memory of WW2 was still incredibly strong - the people who had fought it and survived were still alive. 😉 A pretty fair number would be in their 40s at that time. Others in their 50s. Or 60s. Some of the generals/admirals (the younger ones) were even still around.
There was a whole host of other WW2 movies that had come out by 1977. In fact the movie "Midway" (about the 1942 Battle of Midway in the Pacific) debuted in 1977 before Star Wars did.
Part of the reason that the rebels might be viewed as the RAF was due to the Trench Run at the end of the movie. That was straight up an RAF dam-busting raid into one of the river valleys of the Ruhr from WW2. Flak, fighters, and all. It doesn't hurt that the Empire's uniforms, equipment, and ethos very much look like those of Nazi Germany. Which I am all but certain was intentional.
Thought Alan said that it was the Ewoks who were based on the Viet-Cong. Not the Rebellion as a whole.
Hmmm - I still think, whatever George's original intention, Star Wars was a barely contained analogy for Britain v USA and the War of Independence
A fledgling country standing up to an evil Empire that owned 25% of the entire planet!
Nowhere could it be more obvious than the fact that ALL rebel pilots have American accents (including Luke and Han - Leia changes her accent halfway through A New Hope to an American one) - Wedge Antilles was played by a perfectly capable Scottish actor, but he got dubbed over with an American voice!
Meanwhile - nearly ALL members of The Empire (which is a massive corporation with a monarchy) are British - including in the best Star Wars, Andor. Pompous and superior to all they survey/own.
And here's my Slam-Dunk ... WITH A MASSIVE NAVY! But instead of "ruling the waves" they rule "the space waves" (lol)
Honestly! They might as well have put the Union Jack on every vessel instead of the Imperial insignia!
The Rebellion is less clear cut "USA" in Andor - many more diverse accents. An excellent shortcut into showing how a relative few pompous Brits have complete control over so many different races and cultures - mirroring history.
India never had more than 5000 British soldiers in it - but "fear" kept the locals in line, until Ghandi performed his non-violent revolution (the revolution in Star Wars is of course a violent one - because the Empire would see nothing wrong in stamping an AT-AT's feet on thousands of peaceful protestors)
The portrayal of the rebels in recent Star Wars movies has been excellent in my opinion.
I tell you…I love your videos. I swear what you say is actual conversations I have with people. Thank you for your voice in this fandom. I’ve come back to it BECAUSE of Andor and the ideas it’s fostered.
14:22
"I prefer peace. But if trouble must come, let it come in my time, so that my children can live in peace." -Thomas Paine
"And what country can preserve it’s liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. [...] What signify a few lives lost in a century or two?" -Thomas Jefferson
0:53 That is one of the reason why I like this channel, just going a little deeper than what other channels are doing, I love it and keep it up!!!
Honestly, it's great how they have showed so many of these struggles in Andor with it's brilliant acting and writing, for example some of my friends love the Empire and ISB scenes and see the rebels as terrorists, whilst others I know see them as freedom fighters.
Being a rebel, it arises from catastrophic imbalances within society which breaks individuals down and ultimately creates rebels from the survivors.
Hell of an episode. A lot of wisdom being shared. None of our heros are the paragons of goodness we want to believe they are. History is written by the victor and they naturally paint themselves in the best possible light.
Andor did such a good job showing the justification of the Rebellion, the Empire is truly horrible and scary in it, also I like how they show the complicated environment rebellion exists in.
When things get so bad that it comes for everyone then "In the end we all have to chose a side" is true.
Apathy is death
very true, this is why until the British made a rather stupid proclaimation forcing people to declare for them or be sanctioned, most Colonists in America were neutral or nominally on the side of a better status quo. And then the british knocked down the fence a significant number of people were happy to sit on.
That's what the Death Star did, it forced everyone to pick a side, and the one-two punch of it being used and destroyed in short order made it where people who had livable conditions if not perfect began to believe 'if the Empire just blew up Alderaan of all places, what makes me so sure they just won't kill everyone they THINK is against them.' At which point there are no livable conditions.
The number one rule of an opposing force, you must make peace the preferable option. You must make the option of peace seem like a deal where the 'loser' can be secure in their needs. This is the fault of the Versailes treaty. Germany was not offered a desirable peace. Germany had yielded in good order once the course of the war (WW1) had been decided and was dealt humiliating terms of surrender. While this led rather well known to the rise of fascism in Germany, more importantly it also led to the bitter enders of 1945, who fought to the last inch because of the fact Germany was not offered an honorable peace after an honorable surrender.
@@davidlewis5312 Quite right. And nice to see someone else (I think) that sees very obviously that the British are the main villains of Star Wars!
I think - if George Lucas said it was supposed to be USA v Vietnam - he was just trying not to ruffle British feathers, the very people that were making most of his film in the UK!
But COME ON! A completely dominant corporation that owns most of the galaxy, with a MASSIVE navy and a monarchy at the top of its structure?
That's NOT the USA, not even now! Only one real-life empire in history can match this almost exactly - and that's the British! (the Spanish came second)
And nearly everyone in command of said organisation has an elite British accent! (including in Andor - the best Star Wars)
Of course - people might disagree with me, because Star Wars was mainly made in the UK (and that includes Andor, I believe) - so it makes sense that they would source from the local talent (which, as we've just seen, is INCREDIBLE ... the level of acting by the Brits in this show [and everybody else] was .. erm, "interstellar" - even down to every so-called "minor" character)
But the 'just hiring superb Brits because they happen to be close by' argument falls down:
a) Because these guys can pull off any accent they want - no more so than our two Irish lassies:
Dedra Meera (Denise Gough) and Mon Mothma (Genevieve O'Reilly) - both Irish, but instructed to put on their poshest English accent, and doing it no problem at all ... otherwise we would think that the Irish were in control of the galaxy! [one day ... but not today]
b) They "bussed-in" Diego Luna, Stellan Skaarsgard and Forest Whittaker - so why not a strong American actor to lead the ISB? Because he/she would have to put on a fake British accent - maybe it's possible, but why even try when you've got the real thing close by?
The Empire MUST be British! It's non-negotiable.
Even in this new, far superior, version of Star Wars - the rebellion can be made up of so many different races and cultures. But their callous rulers must always be British!
Fantastic video very well done. One of your best. Thank you.
Ok it was kind of nice to see someone else acknowledge there in no way he planned Luke and Leia being siblings
great vids you've been making. appreciate them 🤝🏼
I actually love this video.
I was watching Rogue 1 the other day with the fact that rebellions are overglorified in mind, and actually disliked the "rebellions are built on hope" line because from what I learned they start because people that start rebellions are hungry and/or angry, so they force change. They are built on hate for injustice (or perceived injustice) more than hope.
Same here. The woman who asked, "What chance do we have" probably raised a valid point there.
Rebellions are sparked by anger, but sustained by hope. You have to hope for something better at the other side of the rebellion.
do this to Blake's 7 universe, where at the start only Blake was the idealist, stumbling across an alien supership with a crew of outlaws, descending to desperation and paranoia to the inevitable end. The Star Wars rebels win, Blake's rebels lose.
I'd love to see a Generation Tech breakdown of Blake's 7.
@@arwenspicer B7 is brilliant. Sure the effects are dodgy and the sets wobble but the story and characters are first rate.
Alan knows how to get a point across without offending anyone one side. Takes a special kind of individual who knows how to convey a message in such a way that can make us more appreciative.
Love your stuff, Alan. You go way beyond the surface look so many others settle for, and really make Star Wars something to think deeply about. Keep it up!
Everyone forgets that Dolphins invaded Venice in 2020
Wow you really hit it out of the park with one. Great analysis Alan.
I really love your commentary and it compels me to do something I try to avoid doing, which is the beloved TH-cam comments section essay.
One thing I really like about Star Wars is that while the newer iterations are showing some necessary moral ambiguity, which is great, they are not devoid of morals. It is really good for a work of fiction to acknowledge that things aren't always black and white and that morality, bravery, and rationality are not always simple, but I hate it when it resorts to "nothing is good, nothing is evil, we know nothing and can do nothing." Star Wars has struck the correct balance. It can make the characters and the viewer *feel* like nothing matters without implying that nothing actually matters.
About rebellion in general and the real world application, I think I can agree with you there. Personally, I feel very rebellious, and I am afraid that the world is going to necessitate a few rebellions soon. In the US and other first world countries, life is tolerable for most, but still the rich and powerful are lining their pockets, consolidating power, and taking our freedoms, and there is no option to slow or stop this process on the ballots. It will not be like this for long. Our world is changing. I am a Christian, and I need teachings like "give to Caesar what is Caesar's" to remind me that Christ's answer to worldly oppression was neither submission nor violent, vindictive defiance. The answer was not to burn down Rome and its corrupt emperors in order to create a new kingdom in its ashes, but to make that new kingdom somewhere else, somewhere beyond the cycles that plague this Earth. That is why he didn't call his disciples to be rebels, but fishers of men. But as for this Earth, there will always be tyrants, and as long as there are tyrants, there will always be rebels. It is as plain and natural as a rattlesnake biting your heel when you step on it. You can debate the ethics and morality of the rattlesnake's actions and whether it was warranted, but regardless, when you step on a rattlesnake, you get bit. We've had no shortage of rattlesnakes and no shortage of men who think they can stomp on them without getting bit.
Thank you for another excellent video. IMHO, Rogue One and Andor were the best things to ever happen to Star Wars since The Empire Strikes Back.
Not all rebellions are good. The Nazi are a good example, before they grew in power and eventually was taking down.
Star Wars lore is also about inspiration towards others to go against what's morally wrong and knowing your fighting for a good cause.
Whether it's through stories like books, shows, or films. Even through movements like what
Dr Martin Luther King did for equal rights.
The nazis were never rebels. Learn some history. They were a political party, and they were voted in.
@@armorclasshero2103
Not exactly they were voted in. They had many supporters and voters, yes. But Hitler became chancellor not by Reichstag elections but as a part of a presidial cabinet, alongside with conservative, rather monarchist ministers.
The nazis were not really rebels but I can agree to the rest.
The CSA, for example, were also called rebels, especially by the Northeners. Their main reason for breaking up with the Union was to maintain slavery.
The problem with being too early. Not many comments to read.
Wonderful Video as always Alan. I just recently subbed because I had been watching your videos consistently for some time now, so I was like "Why not" xD
Dude I'd love to be able to smoke a blunt with you and discuss this topic. This episode could be an abstract for a philosophy paper. Well done homie.
Good analysis of the Rebel archetype. Finally, I'm hearing honesty about the rebel's journey with the show Andor and it's reviews on the show.
Chirrut Îmwe : "There is more than one sort of prison, Captain. I sense that you carry yours wherever you go."
Luke trilogy: the documentary
Andor: behind the scenes
Luke trilogy: the recruitment poster
Andor: actual missions
Fuck yeah, this is that good good content, like “good, good, let the social commentary flow through you”
This analysis of rebellion within Star Wars and it’s broader implications in reality is spot on. Tip o’ the hat to you. Great job indeed.
Once again, your PhD level of Star Wars knowledge, critical thinking, and excellent communication skills shine through in another well thought out subject that gets my mind thinking in ways no other channel on TH-cam is capable. Thanks for all your content and contributions to our fun little community.
"Greatness has to be fought for it is not handed out freely."
Absolutely. This is applicable to an individual level as well as a large group or operation like growing a large business or in influence. Be competitive
Love the rant about thinking!
This is a good take on things. Lots of subtle truths to pack into a 15 minute video.
Alan, thank you for reminding the world of the genre called Fables.
I've been following you for quite a while, and this is your best video so far, great job Allen! I, too, hope that Disney saw the numbers and will keep releasing their SW content in the style of Andor.
If Bad Batch is any indication thus far then Andor is the beginning of the great reset.
If anyone has listened to the Revolutions podcast by Mike Duncan, you see a lot of things he was talking about in the show. He commented a bit on Twitter about Andor.
Logically the times have changed, the original SW was more idealistical, now we are more realistic/cynical, we know that there's always a shade of gray also in the most noble of men. Naturally the difference btw the "good" guys and the baddies is that the former are haunted by their actions, contrary to the latters that often are really sociopaths (think how was haunting the interrogation of Bix by ISB, they LIKED their job!).
Yeah because Lucas was a college student in the 60s, he saw the Vietcong as the pure good guys and the US as the evil empire. But the truth is more nuanced then that.
Star Wars was once a space opera fairy tale. Luke has in 4-6 the classical hero's journey just out of the book like Campbell described it. We
The great thing about Star Wars is that all of the sci-fi and fantasy tropes exist in this Universe. Broad strokes to tell a story that gives up more details upon repeated viewing.
I still can't believe you guys don't have a million subs yet. Hope you get there one day :)
This is a really concise and thoughtful breakdown of a very complicated topic, big props I love it.
Generation tech is just the best Star Wars channel being honest
I believe this is the exact reason why George made the rebellion in the Original Trilogy the good guys, but the separatists in the Prequels the bad guys. They were both fighting for the same thing, just on a different moral compass, showing that a rebellion can be a good thing and a bad thing. Where once there was light, now there is dark. Where once there was dark, now there is light.
Edit: i also believe that’s the reason why all of the GREAT Star Wars TV series we have now exist in the grey. The Bad Batch is now a gang of smugglers and bounty hunters, Andor and the people in that realm are all fighting for the same thing as the rebellion in the OT but taking much more risky and dirty actions to get there. We’re bound to have more “grey areas” now than ever before.
Your best video yet and all great points especly the last one that more and more people seem to have fallen into.
Love your take on this and all the Andor coverage. I am a huge fan of this new more realistic bent that Star Wars has been taking. I hope it and the challenges it brings with it continue.
Allen can you do this type of analysis on the modern Disney formula? What is the message that's being sent with all the "babysitter" shows? The Mandalorian and Grogu, The Bad Batch and Omega, and Obi-Wan and little Princess Leia? At first glance one might say it's to draw in really young fans but are little kids recruited by Grogu and little Leia? It seems most of us were more interested in Boba Fett the bounty hunter than Wicket the Ewok. I just imagine the Disney corporate board sitting around trying to decide what the premise of all the Disney shows are going to be and over and over again the "Let's turn the main characters into babysitters." idea keeps getting approved. I really hope a new generation of kids are being drawn into the universe but is this the dynamic that's behind 3 of the shows? Speaking of Boba Fett and marketing; Was the Mod Gang a Disney attempt to recruit the Honda Grom subculture into the Star Wars universe? There's a Wicket action figure but there are no MOD gang or little Princess Leia action figures. What's going on?
Don't forget, this is Disney we're talking about... Quick, who were Snow White's parents? (None!) Who were Cinderella's parents? (None!) Who were Rey's parents? (Well, that's apparently up for debate...)
Allen,
Awesome and insightful video!
Thank you.
The single most pivotal character of the whole SW arc is quite possibly Bodhi Rook, the Imperial cargo pilot in Rogue One. His backstory, from becoming a military pilot to flying for secret military programs to being convinced to betray the Empire and deliver the plans of the most powerful weapon to ever threaten the galaxy over to what was considered by both sides a terrorist would be fantastic... and questionably within the imagination of Disney producers.
Never has your sign-off been more apt, Alan.
Well said. Well done. Thank you.
I would also love to see a show touch on the theme that the New Republic is misguided by attempting to revive the Old Republic. The whole idea of a functioning democracy on that scale is flawed. It could never work and this was one of the major causes for the Old Republic to become corrupt and fall.
I think it’s important to draw the distinction between democracy as a form of government versus the power of the government being too centralized. I think the problem with the old Republic was that it concentrated too much power at its core so was too distant from the constituents.
I lived in Denmark for seven years and I came away with a better understanding of how democracy can work. The federal government in Denmark does not control the lion’s share of the tax income. Their equivalent of counties and municipalities control the majority of the government’s budget. I believe this is critical in how successful they’ve been. The resources and those that control them are closer to the people. You also benefit from there not being one giant pile of money and power concentrated in one place. These types of concentrations attract the most ambitious and power hungry within an entire nation. But break that up and you end up with a higher percentage of actual public servants than you otherwise would have. I don’t know where things stand today, but that’s how things were when I left about 15 years ago.
It's a republic.
The usa trumpets 'democracy' when it is not. It's a republic. This misperception extends to star wars
@Willis Hampton a republic is a democracic form of government. The distinction isn't really significant at this level.
@@thekaxmax now I’m just imaging crashing space internet every election cycle trying to count votes from a direct every-citizen-votes-no-representatives democratic system
@Lentlemen Productions why? Voting is voting. You can do local votes counts and collate, it's not hard.
Also, there's a few ways to do universal voting; ours is rated as the best in the world, for example.
This guy always loves his morally grey plots.
Yep. Too much.
I couldn't have said it better. This more realistic look at the Rebellion is what Star Wars needed. I hope there's another season or two before it leaves off where Rogue One started.
Great take on recent developments. One of the things I liked the most about Daley, Zahn, and Stackpole was that their books allowed the franchise to grow into stories with greater subtlety and intrigue. The CSA, Thrawn, and Iceheart were competent, driven, and exceedingly dangerous. The essential core of optimism is still there, but the characters have a lot more depth and conflict. Not everyone managed to let the series grow up with us fans, but it was a general trend. The prequels and sequels were very disappointing; given where the books had already taken us that brand of storytelling felt like a big step backward. I loved Rogue One because that was literally the story those old 'Legends' books had prepared me for. I haven't seen Andor but I intend to.
Your analysis is as good as it gets. Thank you for wading into the truth.
You're right. I would add context of the preceding cultural conditions. The idealism in 60s America was bound to evaporate. It is historically accurate, however, that Star Wars specifically reanimated warfare in our zeitgeist.
Thanks for the thoughtful video!
Awesome . Keep up the good work.. love the neutral viewpoints you use..
You do some of the best life deep dig analysis that I’ve seen. My daughter is studying acting and media in general and I wish she would watch a few of your insights so that she could understand characters that she herself may create. Keep it up, I always look forward to watching your videos. Then again I also look forward to watching the videos from the United Spot as well. I suppose you both have a slightly rebellious attitude and in the end that might be all that stands between us and ruthless tyranny.
Way to raise the bar! Great work
I'm very happy with this real depicted world and reasons for a real rebellion. Thank you for this serious video❤️
one brilliant aspect of the evolution in star wars lore is the acceptance that rebellions are initially supported by a minority of the disaffected - and that the wider acceptance only emerges after the 'oppressor' starts using heavy handed tactics and poor judgement. The US War of Independence only gained popular support when the British (and mercenary auxiliaries) began employing heavy handed measures, the Irish only achieved wide support in their rebellion (1921) when when the British acted similarly.
So important is this transition that it is almost always an early and critical goal of the insurgency to achieve an escalation by the ruling government. David Galula [1964] stated that the role of the counter insurgent is always more complex and difficult than that of the insurgent: they don't just need to defeat the insurgent - they need to govern as well. This requires energetic and thoughtful leadership, control of the narrative and judicious use of force without undue compromise of civil liberties. Most authoritarian regimes lack the requisite variety to govern well in peace time let alone when confronted with embarrassing challenges to their power.
Galula went on to say that the insurgent's problem set is significant less complex at the outset of a movement - and thus they have a credible advantage in terms of freedom of movement and messaging . If they overload the regime - expose its inadequacies and force it to respond in a ham fisted manner - then the numbers of the disaffected increases and insurgency goes from annoying trouble makers to bold freedom fighters.
The writers of Andor seem to know this - hopefully other SW writers will follow suit.
Love what you said.
I tried myself my own way of rebellion for the last 10 years and I always thought things were more complexe that it seemed and nobody wanted more that job than me. So I gave up eventually, but I'm still cherishing and sharing my personal view of the world.
But I had one thought while listening to you video, specially when you compared different movement around the world.
You can push the individual around. This individual is going to adapte. But push the mighties around, the whole world is going to adapte. Sounds cliché, but there's a few good exemples that make me think the status quo is going down a nasty rabbit whole.
We need A Gerrera show! (Or a movie) (or maybe even a trilogy!)
Not a trilogy, trilogies are and have been for the Skywalkers
@@rainellx the trilogies are for R2D2 and C3P0. Think about it! They're in pretty much all the movies
Che?
Disney isn’t going to allow that. Andor is the most they are willing to be lax in regards to censorship. They won’t let there be a Saw show where the main character is a literal Terrorist from near start to end. If they would ever do a Saw show, they would water it down so much that it would ruin the canon and the character.
@@lembitmoislane. well yeah, but it could be cool to see the mentality of such a broken man more closely and how the hatered consumed him bit by bit
The audience wasn't "simpler" then. It was around 12 years old. Lucas always said that this was his main target group.
Love your "take" on Star Wars... You are a smart guy.
Brilliant, Alan...
I saw some sort of dolphin meme and immediately thought of generation tech. It was probably a month ago.
Thanks, connected the dots perfectly...
Great breakdown!! Love your takes on how stars wars mimics the world around us… thx!!
This is a very mature and well said commentary. i agree wholeheartedly, rebellion is a last resort, when all other options have failed.
And in the end, rebellions fail so often, because empires know how to keep the right people happy. And happy people will almost never rebel. Why would they?
Good video Alan. I think I would have used the word "terrorist" a couple times, but only to illustrate that not everything is black and white.
You said all the things you needed to though. Thank you.
5:38 But didn't the Ewoks eat the defeated Stormtroopers at the end of RtoJ? I mean they were about to eat the main cast, and they played music on a dead ST helmet at the end. Pretty brutal if you ask me.
Great analysis
Allen I think you should be a dungeon master for some tabletop I bet you would rock at it just by the angles you spin on this universe very good critical thinking even when you are speaking of the evilpire lol love your videos
I appreciate the maturity at 7:00 about these various sides seeing themselves as just. That's honestly a really rare thing to see nowadays.
Alan is such an intelligent social/political philosopher able to really geek out on the Star Wars Uni. Keep those videos coming :-)
Another great video, are you sure your not a Battletech fan?
Honestly, when it comes to rebels in real life, there will always be more people becoming like Saw Guerra than Luke Skywalker. Instead of sticking to be a good person and only becoming a rebel when you have no choice , they instesd become like the Partisans, causing unnecessary violence and destruction, and sometimes going further than that.
great Video, Sir.
I’m glad you set the record straight on the Vietcong. Too many in our culture have a very oversimplified view of the Vietnam war, Lucas unfortunately included. It also doesn’t help that a lot of those who protested the Vietnam war went into academia and pushed false notions about the war itself.
Perfect! Exercising those critical thinking muscles is essential!
The Star Wars Universe is surely a dark and dingy one, and those things drive individuals and groups to fight for change - a better tomorrow via sacrifices today.
As Hunter put it in yesterday's episode,"Kids don't get to be kids, not in this galaxy."
We left the theatre on opening night of Return of the Jedi and everyone thought the Ewoks totally stupid.
Thank you for this video
This intro brings new meaning to "'So Long and thanks for all the fish"
That, was a pretty deep and nuanced take.
The draws from personal experience, and allusions to real life really made it pop.
I think we need more realism of motivation and disposition in scifi, because as audiences become better educated about science and themselves, the bar for suspension of disbelief rises.