I like what I’ve seen from Andor so far. It’s a very good take on parts of the Rebellion we’ve never seen on screen before, though has been in books or comics. With that being said, the fandom is easily the worst Star Wars one I’ve ever seen.
If you’ve seen the first arc of season 2, you know a low level imperial officer tries to rape one of the female characters. I don’t think that belongs in a property like Star Wars. At most, there are ways to imply an attempt without needing to show it onscreen. This is not a “the empire wouldn’t allow it” problem because let’s be honest, stuff like this does happen with armies far from their homes. Always has, and sadly always will. My issue is purely that it does not tonally fit with Star Wars, or specifically most Science Fantasy/Soft Sci-Fi. Hard or Military Sci-Fi can get away with it, usually due to their more realistic or gritty tones. When I consume harder Sci-Fi, I am almost expecting more mature themes due to the genre it is apart of.
This take, that rape does not belong in a Sci-Fantasy setting with the tone of the original 3 or 6 movies, is considered blasphemy to a large portion of Andor fans, who will viciously attack you for having it. To them, even if you like the rest of the series but disagree on the inclusion of this scene, you are nothing more than a manchild who wants to see two people duel with lightsabers and nothing more. It’s a level of snobbery and elitism that you only ever see from the “media literacy” crowd that tried and failed to make people hate Starship Troopers, Helldivers 2 and Patrick Bateman. It’s one thing to enjoy a show without the Force or Jedi/Sith, I think it is a great change of pace compared to Ahsoka, which while I did enjoy it, did suffer from making too many characters have force powers. It’s another to lecture Star Wars fans on why attempted rape is good in a relatively light-hearted Science Fantasy property.
The other big aspect that makes the online Andor community the worst is how they spend more time talking about Trump than the actual show. The first arc of season 2 has a group of characters, on the run after the riot on Ferrix, hiding on an agri-world as illegal workers. A small imperial inspection team drops by to check work visas, and they capture many people who are there illegally. As you may guess, this has meant all conversation that’s not about why rape in Star Wars is a good thing and we should see more of it, is about Trump, evil right wingers and the poor undocumented laborers. The Empire is well within their right to want to know who’s there legally and who’s not, they make the laws and to our knowledge they are not shown arresting random people for no reason, only those who are breaking the law. This is a terrible way to show the empire itself being evil, and there are so many other ways to do it when you have a government that’s only a front for a cult of evil space wizards who want to control every person down to their individual thoughts (sounds familiar). The community at large has decided that this is an excellent way to attack Trump and those who want mass deportations, and thus won’t shut up about what is ultimately a shallow comparison that rips out all the nuance of the argument for a cheap dig.
How would I fix these issues?
- Take out the rape scene, this isn’t Law and Order SVU this is Star Wars.
- The plot needs a reason for our Ferrix characters to stop hiding and join the rebellion, while showing the Empire are evil. Instead of having the Empire arrest those who are there illegally, why not have them take everybody they can, after all the Empire needs the labor for the Death Star constructions as well as continuing to increase military production while decreasing costs. Easy, no political controversy.
TLDR: The Andor community is the most elitist Star Wars fandom I’ve ever seen, who like to watch rape scenes and complain about Trump.
Star Wars used the language of Mythology. Millennial and gen z writers are turning it into cheap episodic melodrama and unveiled on-the-nose political allegory.
The problem with the sexual assault as a reason for someone no longer tolerating the empire is that its cliched as heck and if your writing is on par with sword art online and other trash tier anime which repeatedly used sexual assault to push the plot along your story is awfully written.
Add in glacial pacing and I'm wondering exactly what the point of that scene was because it didn't really advance the plot and it certainly didn't distinguish itself from the many many other sexual assault scenes in other media.
They see the empire as an expy for "fascism" or of Trump's America, that's why they want the rape scene shown because in their mind they think that its making Trump's America look as bad as possible. They don't care about Star wars as a piece of fiction they see it as some project to insert their own political ideology in to . When you argue with them on this in their mind its because you want to hide the autrocities of "fascism" or Trump's America.
Without looking, I can guarantee that there is more than one post on any given hobby sub bitching that said hobby is going to be ruined by tariffs. How that isn't a wake up call that we are far to reliant on a foreign country we can't control or predict the response of is beyond me, but it's all tRUMP's fault.
Disney is literally one of the inventors and most common users of one of those methods.
The "and now you must marry me!" plotline. Something that is both childfriendly, because they understand marriage exists between boy and girl, and also gives all the necessary implications for an adult to recognize its rape with a veneer of sophistication.
Star Wars, a kid's series about space wizards and starfighters, is now about rape, illegals, and lesbian sex. 🤮
And of course the soy class is jerking themselves over this like it's the second coming of The Godfather.
I only deal with pre Disney Star Wars now and I got out of fan groups with hardcore Disney Star Wars fans. I hear Andor is good and your ideas sound logical. I heard about the illegal alien thing and rolled my eyes. How long can they keep pushing that
I had the same feeling. This is star wars, it doesn't belong. I get this is a darker version of star wars but even so some things don't belong in star wars.
It just feels so tonally out of place.
There's a reason why ANH only showed the interrogation droid and we never saw it in action. Torture doesn't belong on screen in Star Wars. Same as rape and sex.
It's an easy way out. "How do we show our audience, they're a mature audience and not watching a kid's show? Deep plot & captivating characters? Nah, that is effort. We just shove in rape, sex, gore and similar things."
Regarding the "fan community": Where are you interacting with it? Reddit? Remember that everyone worth their salt has left reddit and all discussions are compromised by leftists and trannys in mod position.
At this point I assume anything Disney has their claws in will be tainted with woke messaging and leftist political soapboxing. Even good ideas will need to run through the Karen approval/editing workflows before we're allowed to view it.
Sometimes they'll push a show out for a season or two relatively sane (eg Mandalorian), but if it is successful they jump in to attach their leftist religion onto it. Not enough grrlbosses, not enough minorities, all men are rapists, need more messaging on the plight of illegals, Orange Man bad, Whitey bad (if they can sneak that in), etc
I have no frame of reference, but I'll have to press (X) to doubt.
To use a Star Wars meme...there's always a bigger fish.
Especially as Star Wars contains the "Jedi religion" group, as in a real life bunch of people changing laws in our country.
And I don't know about where you guys live, but the one that used to be near me was always filled with the same people ironically attending who went to Church of Satan and other Pagan activism shit too, all trying to abuse the laws to get out of taxes (based but another matter) and shit all over the place.
Compared to that, few of the online groups can even come close.
No way the Andor Fan Community is in anyway worse then a regular modern day SW Fan Community.
That is nearly 100% of Star Wars’ appeal.
You know my grandparents used to say all the sex in movies and TV was totally unnecessary for the story and they would be fine without them. I didn’t always get it but I certainly have come around to share the opinion.
I agree, there's plenty of film strategies to get around showing it.
How are you able to sit and watch this Disney produced slop?