Warning: Spoilers for Andor Season 1
The Empire being a fascist authoritarian government in Star Wars has never been a subtle theme. An empire ruling with an iron fist, staffed by SS-inspired officers in slick grey uniforms and stormtroopers hunting rebels and partisans makes for a rather clear real world parallell. The central theme for the Original Trilogy’s Empire is fear. Darth Vader is a terrifying cyborg who can kill with his mind. The Death Star, the imminent threat of an entire world at a moments notice.
“Fear will keep them in line”
Grand Moff Tarkin
But to me, the absolute pinnacle of the Empires doctrine of fear is exemplified in the new show Andor by Tony Gilroy. Late into the show Cassian Andor, the protagonist of the show, finds himself in a slave labour prison. The guards rarely carry weapons, and are heavily outnumbered. The reason for this is quickly demonstrated on the new arrivals. The flooring of the prison can be electrified at a moments notice, with settings from visibly painful to almost instant death. When a work team fails to meet expectations, they are treated to a punishment through the electric floor. This floor is the perfect encapsulation of the horror of systemic fascism and authoritarianism.
Once you have experienced it, every floor will be that floor.
It reminded me of the Panopticon, a prison design concept from the 18th century. The premise is simple, a circular prison with the cells facing inwards. Some system, be it blinds or one way mirrors would allow the guards in the center to view any and all cells without the prisoners knowing about it.
.. hence the sentiment of a sort of invisible omnipresence
Jeremy bentham (1791)
The Andor prison is a rendition of this concept, the omnipresent watcher and the ensuing punishment. It is an attempt to weaponise the very basics of life.
Often, fascism and authoritarianism is presented as using purely the stick and never a carrot. This is a faulty view, as human beings respond poorly to simply being trodden on. However the Andor prison shows how fascism uses the carrot just as much as the stick to fake a humane system.
This is not just a prison, it is also a labour camp. The prisoners are divided floor by floor, shift by shift amongst several tables where the teams assigned cooperate to produce an unknown product. The team that’s the most efficient is rewarded with flavour in their tube supplied food. The team that does the worst is punished with the floor. Looking at it, and the way the prisoners who work best are rewarded is the Empire showing that the prisoners exist, even thrive at times, with their permission and at their mercy. But the key in the system is the imbalance og carrot and stick and the competition it breeds. The Empire is built on interpersonal competition. We see it from the very top, in the Rule Of Two for the Sith (the apprentice and the master, one must kill the other), to Dedra Meero (Denise Gough) in the Imperial Security Bureau and her constant competition with her peers down to the prison itself, where the prisoners compete against each other for the grand gift of salt in their food or the punishment of agonising shock.
This is drawn straight from the Nazi playbook, with the Hitlerian regime having overlapping jurisdictions and in fighting with Hitler himself always having the final say. Wherever you falter, someone more ambitious or capable will step in like a wolf drawn to a wounded animal. It moves the attention from the leadership and the system to the man next to you. It creates a society of distrust and competition, where any gains you make must be at the expense of another.
Narkina 5 therefore serves as the perfect summary of the Empire and its ideology. Divide and conquer a population systematically. Despite their ability to rally and fight back, they won’t, as they are focusing on not falling behind their peers and avoiding missteps that will cause them or their loved ones pain. Knowing you cannot confide in anyone, as they are likely to throw you to the wolves for some small token of gratitude from their higher ups.
Andor is adding much needed world building and context to the Star Wars universe. It is showing how the Empire is able to maintain control despite being outnumbered. How they are able to create efficient systems that require exponentially fewer people to control a much larger population and keep them docile. Andor is showing us why the Rebellion it is teasing is not just a natural counterbalance but a movement that has cost its founders and members everything to deliver others to a brighter future.
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