LSP Speaker Series: Bernadette Calafell Virtual Talk (Register Here)

This virtual presentation examines the character of Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) from the Star Wars universe, specifically Rogue One (2016) and Andor (2022) to explore the possibility of critical hope within what José Esteban Muñoz terms the “brown commons.” Both Rogue One and Andor present a possibility for Latina/o/x people to imagine themselves in the future and envision their role in changing that future through the affective nature of “the brown commons” and its politics of critical and revolutionary hope. Diego Luna’s Cassian Andor offers us as viewers a rehearsal for the revolution. He is a complex character who further offers an Other narrative in the genre of sci-fi which often centers narratives of colonial violence. Furthermore, it is a narrative that resonates in the Trump era.