By Andreas J. Pratama

In the practice of pop art (1970s) anything that goes back to the people or belonging to the people are regarded attention absorbing. This is due to the problem previously caused by Modernist art where the attempt to understand them are extremely difficult to the masses. The modernist art was previously consisting of abstractions and shapes made not to convey any messages with direct link to story or everyday objects. What they were fascinated with is intuition, senses, instincts of pure intellectual origins, through this they believed that humanity can be truly free from the confinement of worldly references.

The pop such as Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s soup cans have rested on the mind of the consumer for a long time. The consumer culture that pop art is trying to highlight provided even greater point that mere instinct and intuition, despite being banal and low-brow in nature. The art or design that people have known about will have greater impact and interaction with the audience rather than the ones that we see above the mass’ understanding.

The recent phenomenon of Star War’s the Mandalorian baby Yoda is yet another example of this pop phenomenon that Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons, and many other pop artists have previously mentioned. Reading this critically, is like seeing the brillo detergent box or the Campbell’s soup happening all over again. The cute appearance of a baby yoda the Star Wars fans have become so familiar with is irresistible. Though never appearing in this younger persona, Master Jedi Yoda has become a pop icon for a long time now ever since the 1980s. Just by being a pop icon alone Yoda has cemented itself in the minds of the audience and Star Wars fans.

Reappearing in its baby form, is similar to what Jeff Koons have done to his massive installations in the form of a gigantic puppy. The pop artist deserves applause for their critical spectacles in highlighting what the audience wants and presenting just the most attractive bits of the culture. The charms of baby animals are second to none and will be reacted to by majority of audience unable to still themselves of the stimuli.

The Mandalorian bounty hunter is a mysterious figure, highly concealed by his thick armor and helmets. He’s a manly / masculine figure put in direct contrast to the character of baby yoda: a cold calculating person vs an innocent little being. This direct comparison provides even greater emphasis on the character of the baby yoda inasmuch as its helplessness is now brought even greater by the accompanying character of the mercilessly ruthless bounty hunter.