The Mandalorian
The somewhat recent announcement of the new Star Wars movie "The Mandalorian and Grogu" reminded me two fold of my Star Wars fatigue and how The Mandalorian started a show with an intriguing premise building up to a story about found family, faith, and sacrifice. In this post I want to talk about how the show tackled the topics of refugees, immigration, and zealotry. Spoilers for all seasons of the show past this point.
For a quick reminder, or perhaps primer if you don't care about spoiling the show, The Mandalorian follows the exploits of Din Djarin, the titular Mandalorian of the show. The Mandalorians have become a fractured society after their planet was razed and looted by The Empire, and most now live in covens hidden away on various planets. They're a warrior culture and fervently follow a strict religion called "The Way of the Mandalore." Among the doctrines of their religion is the highest stipulation that no living thing can see the face of a Mandalorian, therefore they're always seen wearing their helmets.
Din is a bounty hunter, and the show kicks off after one of his targets is revealed to be a Jedi child. Despite the Jedi and Mandalorians being sworn enemies, Din decides to rescue this child and is directed by the leader of the coven to bring the child back to his people. Along their adventures, Din and the child, named Grogu, develop a bond, and Din becomes an adoptive father for Grogu.
On one of their exploits, Din attempts to seek out more Mandalorians only to find himself and Grogu at the mercy of thieves and a monster. The Mandalorians he's seeking arrive to rescue him and Grogu, but after the battle, he's shocked to find that they remove their helmets. He decries them as being Mandalorian impostors, but through the conversation that follows, it is revealed that Din's coven is composed of zealots who've been radicalized once they broke off from the larger population of Mandalorians. In their separation, they have become extremely hard lined when it comes to the values of their religion.
The moment I want to focus on occurs towards the end of season 2 when Grogu is kidnapped by an Imperial faction. To rescue him, Din teams up with allies he's made through his adventures. The team sets off to infiltrate a refueling station so they can learn where Grogu is being kept. They manage to get their way into the station, and access a terminal that holds the information they need. However, the one hitch in the plan rears its head. Din has to scan his face in order to access the information.
For a few tense moments, Din is torn about what to do. He has lived his entire life adhering to The Way of the Mandalore that he was raised with. The show makes it clear that he takes the principles of his religion very seriously, and that he has allowed it to dictate every action in his life. In this case however, it is directly interfering with his ability to keep his child safe.
On the cusp of being locked out of the terminal, Din rips off his helmet and allows his face to be scanned, breaking the most important commandment of his creed. But affirming to both himself and the audience how much he loves and cares for Grogu. Din recognizes that clinging to dogma is not worth risking Grogu's safety over, and that moment stuck with me for a long time.
The Mandalorians of the show probably weren't meant as an analogue for refugees and immigrant communities, but there are still many similarities that can be drawn. Like many refugees, the Mandalorians were forced out of their homes by conflict. Now they're scattered across the world, or in this case, the galaxy. They're, for the most part, unwanted and looked down upon in the places they've settled. And since they feel unwelcome in the places they've settled, the Mandalorians have formed tight knit communities in an attempt to preserve what little they have left of their identity and culture.
I come from an immigrant background. More than that, I come from a Muslim immigrant background. I think that in the process of clinging to our roots, we've become even more zealous in our application and understanding of faith. Especially compared to the countries we've immigrated from. Where, while there is still a strictness, it doesn't seem to be anywhere near the same level that you'll find in immigrant communities.
In trying to protect some idealized version of Islam, we refuse to re-examine how its tenets fit into the modern world we find ourselves in. We don't want change because change is scary. Change is risky. Change might mean that we forget where we come from, so we go all in on the extremes. There are strict rules that must be followed. A rigid adherence to the most spartan understanding of faith. People and families becoming ultra conservative in the hopes of conserving what little they remember or have left of where they come from, which I think is poignantly reflected in the way the coven Din was raised in and treats The Way of the Mandalore. It stops being faith, which can be analyzed and discussed critically, and it turns into dogma that needs to be followed without question.
I see that rigidity especially when it comes to queer people. As a queer person myself, I share that same distress of being mostly in the closet and seeing how other queer people are talked about, especially when it comes from family. Unknowingly targeted by their misgivings and attitudes. Acceptance by my friends and family feels like a pipe dream.
That's why Din's choice to take off his helmet is such an important moment for me. There, you have a man that comes from a minority group with a deeply religious background. He finds himself at a crossroads where its either dogmatic adherence to his faith, or the well being of his child. In the end, he chooses his child. Love wins.
I don't think it's a stretch to connect Din's mission to save his child from danger with the acceptance of queer family members. There's real harm and danger for many queer children out there who find themselves in environments that are hostile to their identities. If a fictional character is able to find the strength within himself to choose his child's well being and safety over dogma, then what's stopping families from doing the same for their children? If you really love someone, doesn't that mean that you want to see them happy and safe? If there's something you believe in that's keeping you from accepting people for what they are, isn't it time to reassess those beliefs?