The Mandalorian Is Star Wars’ Parable About Modern Fatherhood
By: Brian Deines
Tags: Philosophy, Star Wars, Fatherhood, Parenting, Mandalorian

We’re All Bounty Hunters, IRL

“When one chooses to walk the Way of the Mandalore, you are both hunter and prey. How can one be a coward if one chooses this way of life?”― The Armorer

Mando earns an honest living. Essentially, he also lives paycheck to paycheck and is a contract employee. In our gig-economy and side-hustle Era, many people can relate to (and know things about) Mando’s modern lifestyle as a bounty hunter.

Meanwhile, one of the biggest mysteries to me about Star Wars has always been who bankrolled everything? How exactly did the Galactic economy work long, long ago?

I ask because here on Earth, one principle we can use to help understand almost anything is, “follow the money.” Yet in the Star Wars galaxy, there’s little money to follow.

Sure, there are hints that bounty hunters, cantina owners, moisture farmers, junk traders, and smugglers can manage. There’s even that moment in The Last Jedi when we learn that the military industrial complex is getting rich off building ships for both sides.

But on the other hand, we have no idea how the Empire and Rebel Alliance pay for gas money!

Therefore, it refreshing and real to see a Mando earn an honest living every episode. That’s the way it works in the real world. Money in, money out. You’re a hunter, you’re also the prey. Cowards need not apply.

Thus in short, we’re all bounty hunters. I suddenly like Mando even more.

Having a Way, is The Way

“This is the way.” — The Armorer

First of all, we’ve learned that the Mandalorians are a cultural group composed of members from multiple species.

In other words, the Mandalorians are not bound by race, but by a common culture, creed, and of course, the Mandalorian code.

The Mandalorians are not racist, yet they do believe in hierarchies. Mandalorians care so little about skin color, some don’t even show their faces. But it’s important to note, they do judge every individual by the merit of their actions.

Further, while he’s no Jedi, the Mandalorian code appears to require equally strict moral discipline. It starts with never showing his face. But we’ve also seen ‘The Way’ guide Mando’s actions numerous times. For example, he dove into an enormous and deadly Krayt Dragon for Boba Fett’s dented old helmet.

So far, we’ve only been able to gather tidbits about the underlying principles of the way of the Mandalorian code. But as a parable about modern manhood, I believe ‘The Way’ showcases the value of consistency in men, and the value of believing in something bigger than yourself.

David Foster Wallace said it best in his excellent passage about ‘choosing what you worship’ from “This Is Water.” Here it is:

“In the day-to day trenches of adult life, there is actually no such thing as atheism. There is no such thing as not worshipping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship. And the compelling reason for maybe choosing some sort of god or spiritual-type thing to worship — be it JC or Allah, be it YHWH or the Wiccan Mother Goddess, or the Four Noble Truths, or some inviolable set of ethical principles — is that pretty much anything else you worship will eat you alive. If you worship money and things, if they are where you tap real meaning in life, then you will never have enough, never feel you have enough. It’s the truth. Worship your body and beauty and sexual allure, and you will always feel ugly. And when time and age start showing, you will die a million deaths before they finally grieve you. On one level, we all know this stuff already. It’s been codified as myths, proverbs, clichés, epigrams, parables; the skeleton of every great story. The whole trick is keeping the truth up front in daily consciousness.”

Now we know. The Mandalorian is one of those parables. ‘The Way’ is the spiritual-type thing Mando follows. And, thanks to David Foster Wallace, we also know the real reason why Mando didn’t get eaten alive by the Krayt Dragon. This is the way.

image courtesy of Disney

How Manhood Merges With Fatherhood

“You are a clan of two.” — The Mandalorian Armorer

By far, one of the most intriguing parts of The Mandalorian to me is the father-son relationship developing between Mando and baby Yoda, Grogu.

Like many men, I sense Mando wasn’t prepared for first-time fatherhood. That’s because, in reality, right up until the day we have a child, men remain the child.

(And yes, we often struggle to grown up in certain ways regardless).

But children provide men an opportunity. The entire experience of fatherhood is a role-reversal. Raising a child presents an opportunity to heal damage and patch baggage you carry from your own childhood.

On the other hand, children like baby Yoda are utterly helpless. They’re also totally vulnerable, completely reliant — and sorta well, stupid. For all their inherent and unintended sage-like wisdom, you have to teach children everything.

Kids also do terrible things sometime, like eat the Frog Lady’s eggs. And the lesson is simply this — That’s your child to parent, Mando.

Mom ain’t around. The Child is yours. And the wild thing is that children don’t need a buddy, they need something akin to a dynamic paradox.

In other words — within any given 15 minute stretch —the children need you to be stern but just, disciplined yet goofy, firm here but loose there, hero and villain, stoic philosopher — and emotionally intelligent polymath.

It’s as if that whining sound emanating from your child’s mouth can be translated into English as, “Try harder Father.”

Unsurprisingly, the weight of the job is why fathers live with a crushing sense of duty, love, responsibility — and guilt. You see it happening to Mando. You feel his anxiety when he must leave the child to go complete a mission.

But ultimately, children have the power to save us. Just like Grogu saves Mando from the charging Rhino. Children give us all the meaning and love that our empty lives lacked.

That’s what makes the father-son relationship between Mando and Grogu enjoyable to watch for men — it echoes our lives. Thus the Mandalorian is a parable about modern manhood, and what happens as it merges into fatherhood.

What else can we learn from Mando?