“The death of truth is the ultimate victory of evil” : En kvalitativ analys av propaganda i Star Wars: Andor

Sammanfattning

The aim of this study is to explore the portrayal of propaganda in popular culture. As a big part of the cultural lexicon the Star Wars franchise has previously been studied in its portrayals of a variety of political and social issues. This study focuses on the television series Star Wars: Andor and analyses its portrayals of propaganda use, as well as what message about propaganda these portrayals contribute to. Through a narrative theory and method, it breaks down the storytelling in a particular plot to determine what the narrative is saying about the subject of propaganda. The study shows that the series contains a wide range of both explicit and implicit portrayals. It depicts how propaganda is specifically used in a campaign against a group of people, how it spreads through media, how it affects the opinion of the general public, and the conditions and perception of the exposed group. The narrative communicates an alarming message about how effective propaganda can be in achieving the goals set by the users. However, as the story goes on it also shows the ways in which propaganda as a strategy is fallible, and thus it contains signs of both pessimism and optimism for a society threatened by these mechanisms.