May the Fourth & Nemik’s Manifesto

I know there's plenty of commercial and make money push behind the #MayTheFourth movement, but I still love seeing all the Star Wars nerds showing their love for the galaxy every year.

Andor—the 2 season series on Disney+ created and produced by Tony Gilroy that bridges the story between Rogue One and the original Star Wars film—is a show that gets a lot of love within the Star Wars fandom, but I think a lot of folks outside of Star Wars haven't watched it because it seems like it's not Star Wars enough (no lightsabers!?) or too confusing (how does this connect to Luke?).

But in these uncertain times—particularly with our neighbours to the south—it feels like a series that gives a lot of hope.

Tony Gilroy seemed to go out of his way in the initial press tour for Andor to not draw the obvious parallels to present day events, which now was apparently because Disney asked him not to talk about fascism. Which now that he's able to talk more freely, he's spelled it out:

"You get out your Fascism for Dummies book for the 15 things you do, and we tried to include as many of them as we could in the most artful way possible,” Gilroy tells The Hollywood Reporter. “How were we supposed to know that this clown car in Washington was going to basically use the same book that we used? So I don’t think it’s prescience so much as the sad familiarity of fascism."

Mild Andor Spoilers Ahead

In season 1, Cassian Andor influences the creation of what became known as Nemik's Manifesto, and is then influenced by the completed version of the manifesto after Nemik is killed, and Cassian has opportunity to hear it before his mother's funeral.

In the Star Wars story, the manifesto spread widely throughout the galaxy in the years leading up to the events of A New Hope (aka episode 4) when Luke and crew destroy the Death Star, all thanks to the work of Cassian Andor and others to secure the plans for the Death Star as seen in Rogue One.

The manifesto, and Andor as a series, is such a beautifully written prequel to the Star Wars story that deepens the impact of all the people involved in the future, while also being absolutely perfect for the struggles of today when men feel a desperate need for control, authority, and use the tool of oppression in an attempt to quiet any attempt at rebellion.

Nemik's Manifesto

There will be times when the struggle seems impossible. I know this already. Alone, unsure, dwarfed by the scale of the enemy.

Remember this, Freedom is a pure idea. It occurs spontaneously and without instruction. Random acts of insurrection are occurring constantly throughout the galaxy. There are whole armies, battalions that have no idea that they’ve already enlisted in the cause.

Remember that the frontier of the Rebellion is everywhere. And even the smallest act of insurrection pushes our lines forward.

And remember this: the Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear.

Remember that. And know this, the day will come when all these skirmishes and battles, these moments of defiance will have flooded the banks of the Empires’s authority and then there will be one too many. One single thing will break the siege.

Remember this: Try.

If you want to watch it below or on YouTube:

Watching Andor

My only frustration with Andor is that it's over 15hrs of TV to watch and can't be easily shared like a movie. But it really is worth watching, even if you're not any sort of Star Wars fan. The series stands alone very well.

And after watching Andor, if you're feeling like you want just a little more from these characters, Rogue One is even more accessible as a movie to watch.

Link to the trailer for Rogue One

And from there... well, you might as well just keep going into A New Hope and the whole original trilogy. 😉