Mastodawn

Now that I've finished #Andor .... Does anyone who hasn't seen it want to watch it with me so I can pause it repeatedly throughout each episode to kick off individual two hour long discussions on political analysis, history, theory and praxis, and pop culture metaphors with a finger on the pulse of the current cultural zeitgeist?!??!!

Tinker ☀️May 14

One big thing, among many many many aspects of the series, that I absolute LOVE...

...is that it *humanizes* fascists.

And I mean that in a terror filled way.

It shows many different people living in and supporting fascism. It shows the sociopathic leaders who will consume their own people to get power. It shows people who try to capitalize on the system to move themselves up the socio-economic ladder. It shows people who are true believers and think they are superior to others and desire a state of order where those others are oppressed or snuffed out. It shows people living privileged lives unaffected (until they're not) by fascist actions on the fringe.

It shows how we can't DISMISS fascists as just "monsters". They are human. Through and through.

Other series have attempted to do this, but they run the very real risk of being fascist apologists or inadvertently showing an idealized world that modern day fascists celebrate (I'm looking at you "Man in the High Castle"!!!)

#Andor is able to humanize fascists WHILE condemning their acts as evil.

Neither a caricature of cartoonish villianry nor an apologist coddling of fascism.

Just masterful.

Tinker ☀️May 14

One other aspect, on the opposite side, is #Andor shows the fractious nature of rebellions.

The rebellion is NOT a monolith.

And those that rebel are not always good in all of their acts.

It is able to do this while still celebrating the rebellion as a needed and justified act against the evil of fascism.

Many other shows try to "subvert expectations" of justified rebellions by showing that EVERYONE IS EVIL and ITS ALL GRAY!

Andor doesn't do this. The greater rebellion is justified. The acts of rebellion is justified... even if the actors themselves are not perfect. This echos many real life rebellion leaders and actors. Humans are humans and no one is perfect. We can celebrate just acts while condemning wrong acts, even within the same person.

Lastly, it shows the infighting of many leftist and revolutionary groups. Its a justified meme that leftist infighting and purity tests often break apart groups.

Where fascism consumes itself from the inside, constantly looking for new others to destroy. Leftist groups often suffer from fracturing, infighting, and demanding philosophical perfection.

Andor shows this. Shows the struggle of different groups with different members with different motivators all trying, and often failing, at working together towards the one common goal they can agree on... fighting fascism.

Just a truly remarkable critique on our current events and groups and near past history.

Guillaume Rossolini May 14

We can celebrate just acts while condemning wrong acts, even within the same person.

I believe that as well, but sometimes it’s tough IRL

Tinker ☀️May 14

@GuillaumeRossolini - It absolutely is tough. And I'd argue it should be tough. We should take the time to thoroughly analyze actions and determine which are good and which are bad.

Guillaume Rossolini May 14

@tinker my cat is a better judge of character than I am

Daniel Pache⚓May 14

Man Luthen was bad. I didn't like him at first. But he was right, and he was necessary. Without Luthen, there would have been no rebellion.

Andor shooting the imperial soldier, Luthen shooting his inside man... was maybe necessary to protect the rebellion. But it was also very sinister.

Nice that Andor shed light on both sides.

Anthony Sorace May 14

@tinker @darthnull What I like most about season one was how throughout the whole season Luthen has these complicated machinations, trying to move all these pieces around like he’s playing chess, and then at the end some random people he hadn’t even considered kick off the rebellion he’d been working towards by just kicking over the board. You can just feel him looking at that crowd going “oh shit, I think I missed something“.

Mark 🇨🇦💪May 14

@tinker any ideological group suffers from this

Jonathan Hartley May 15

@tinker people who like these toots will LOVE Damien Walters science fiction podcast, many recent episodes of which are about Andor. There is a sibling YouTube channel, which has merit, but the audio podcast is the real gold.

Jonathan Hartley May 15

@tinker this guy https://damiengwalter.com/podcast/

Podcast

“Fascinating and urgent.”***** The Science Fiction podcast with Damien Walter explores the best in SF storytelling & asks what happens when logos meets mythos, reason meets imaginat…

Damien Walter

EverydayHuman(I0)May 15

@tinker
Interesting, so your not only pausing andor, your pausing life to talk about life and watch andor while living life. I confused myself and I am going now.

Matemático Fã do Euler May 15

@tinker I’ve always considered #StarWars a second-rate franchise — an adventure story that can occasionally be exciting, but is ultimately hollow. I've always felt that, unlike #StarTrek, it lacks deep moral dilemmas and allegories about the real world, such as racism, the Vietnam War, and LGBT themes. And unlike #Babylon5, #StarWars lacks the kind of interesting diplomatic plots I enjoy.
But I have to say, your description really made me want to watch #Andor lol.

Tinker ☀️May 15

@matematico314 - I completely agree with you.

I enjoyed the original trilogy as science fantasy. Love it. Love dark fantasy as well.

But I really have not enjoyed much other Star Wars except for the first couple of seasons of The Mandalorian (space western yay!) and Andor/Rogue One.

Andor and Rogue One are a class in and of themselves. And if you HATE Star Wars, you'll probably love Andor because of the things that you hate about the other series, hehehehe

zaicurity May 15

@tinker The it could happen here podcast has some episodes discussing season 2 that I think you might enjoy https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/it-could-happen-here/id1449762156?i=1000705645690

May Day Special: The Gang Reviews Andor Season 2, Ep. 1-3

Podcast-Folge · It Could Happen Here · 01.05.2025 · 41 Min.

Apple Podcasts

a fish named dog 🎗️✡️♾️May 14

@tinker Honestly I think that's the scariest part of fascism and something a lot of people don't get. Fascists aren't born looking like a devil. They don't necessarily kick puppies.

Forty percent of Germans voted for Hitler.

If you asked their family members and friends, they'd probably say the Hitler voters were generous, funny, and caring.

The scary thing is that they could be telling the truth.

@FishNamedDog @tinker Fascism came about because of economic difficulties and rising inequality in Germany. The lesson should have been you can't fight fascism by "fighting fascism", bcz by then it is too late. US became economically right wing thanks to Clintons, Obama now they bitch and moan people voting for the Orange Hitler. Econ problems will not go away by worrying, being on guard about its symptoms.

@tinker I mean, I finished it too, a watch and discussion party would be cool

alpha1beta May 14

@tinker Hahaha that's exactly how I'm going to watch it tonight.

Also with my copy of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich in arm's length.

alpha1beta May 15

@tinker Also, there's a Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire book. Not the best - bit verbose and from the point of view of the in-world author so there's a lot they don't know that we do, but written as a fictional history book, including footnotes. It very much seems modeled after Shirer's works.

Sérgio Machado May 14

@tinker it’s all in the books , in history, in series, in movies … but we are able always to recicle the worst of us …
In the end resistance will always win.

#Andor is nice :) all star wars

crypticcelery May 14

@tinker hmmm, it does sound interesting, but I think I would kind of want to watch it first. would join the discussion watch party though...

Tinker ☀️May 14

@crypticcelery - here for it

Elric Wolfsbruder ✡️♿🇺🇦May 14

@tinker if I still had access to Disney I would do this in a heartbeat

Tinker ☀️May 14

@wolfsbruder - Raise the Jolly Roger!!! (Or screenshare with someone who has it!)

Passenger May 14

I'm still working my way through S1 but I'd be fascinated to hear people's opinions.

@tinker https://youtu.be/y7zj0QqVruc?feature=shared

What are you rebelling against, Andor?

YouTube

@tinker
I have 4 episodes left and wow, I just hope the messaging hit many who have their head in the ground yp side their head with a bug wake-up call.

I even got a little teary eyed during episode 8 at the monument when an event happened (trying not to spoil for others) it made me think and feel for all those who have been in similar real life situations like that in recent times.

Thomas Beagle May 14

@tinker "Please, for the love of god, I'll betray my country, I'll turn over my child, I'll tell you anything you want if you'll just stop talking at me!" 😁

JamesWNeal May 15

@tinker I would be in, but I didn't see anything about hairstyles that don't move on the heads of people wearing clothing that must be a fashion designer's wet dream.

enoch_exe_inc May 15

@tinker Yeah, I’ve been meaning to watch Andor. And no, I haven’t seen it yet. And, being sick right now, I’d love to watch it while someone explains everything about it on a deep, philosophical level. That actually sounds way better than just sleeping and hoping the flu goes away.

Clockwork ☃️✒️May 15

I'm only halfway through but I'm so glad they didn't botch the second season so far. It's really one of the best piece of media of the decade, with insane research, depth and purpose like few do nowadays.

Tinker ☀️May 15

@clockwooork - Season two took everything you love about season one and dove into it.

Clockwork ☃️✒️May 15

Just watched Ep8. Dedra's actor is so perfect. The way she showed the hesitation, the regret, the fear despite being in control of everything. Not like a cartoon villain laughing from a high tower, but an actual person fully aware she's committing mass murder.

Just crazy good.