The climactic episode of Star Wars' Andor is essentially footage of a community-led direct action and its impacts. Our movement’s rarely get the opportunity to break down and freeze frame our actions, let alone examine them from a genuinely impartial position. Though it is set in a galaxy far far away, the oppressive systems that the characters in Andor rebel against are the same systems we struggle against here on Earth: capitalism, colonialism and the prison industrial complex. This session will use the lens of pop culture to analyse and discuss how we can build mass movements capable of taking on these systems and building a better world.
I’ll only run this workshop if there’s enough interest, so please fill out this form honestly and we’ll see if we can make it happen.
If it goes ahead, the workshop will draw on teachings from ‘This is An Uprising’ (Mark & Paul Engler) and contemporary social movement examples to examine the core principles organisers can use to trigger moments of uprising and transformation. We’ll look at how concepts like disruption, escalation and the role of sacrifice work in action and how they are reflected in the story of Andor. We’ll breakdown and analyse the final episode and dig into what makes for a strategic and effective non-violent direct action.
There’s no spoilers in this EOI but there will be at the training, so please watch the show first! You can find it on Disney Plus, but if you can’t afford a subscription please get in touch.
About the trainer: Hi I’m Cat (she/they). I’m a social movement organiser and scifi nerd and I’m looking for other people who exist at this intersection to discuss Andor with me! I have been organising in the climate and economic justice movements for the last ten years. I’m an experienced facilitator and trainer and have worked with Environment Victoria, the Community Organisng Fellowship and was part of the founding and leadership team at Tomorrow Movement. I’m based on Wurundjeri Country in Naarm/ Melbourne.
This training is connected to a three part series on Revolutionary Organising Lessons from Andor. Read the first article, focusing on Leadership Development, on The Commons.
