tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29676463.post8512911933677749772..comments2024-03-16T16:28:06.374+13:00Comments on The Imaginary Museum: Children Of EarthDr Jack Rosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01805945600952222957noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29676463.post-51795434650384904372010-04-25T18:22:46.843+12:002010-04-25T18:22:46.843+12:00Re Star Trek while I can definitely see problemati...Re Star Trek while I can definitely see problematic aspects from a political angle (as is also the case with Battlestar Galactica) this doesn't seem to prevent me personally from enjoying it as an aesthetic spectacle. I think this is because Star Trek does at least attempt to explore philosophical issues in an intelligent manner, unlike (for example) the Star Wars franchise, which is really just George Lucas' warmed over rehash of Joseph Campbell (Ronald Reagan's favourite pop-psychology/mythology guru). Also it needs to be remembered that each Star Trek incarnation differs quite substantially in its 'weltanschauung' from its companion series - just look at the contrast between the Cold War jingoism of the original series and the liberal utopianism of TNG and Voyager...Fatal Paradoxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01850488456819108024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29676463.post-71465164117101851112010-04-25T08:32:52.996+12:002010-04-25T08:32:52.996+12:00I don't know the Roberts book, Dougal, but I c...I don't know the Roberts book, Dougal, but I certainly accept that the <i>Star Trek</i> situation is far more complex than I give it credit for here - Uhura, Chekov and the others (even Spock!) were important role models for tolerance in their time. I guess what I always objected to in the original show (plus its various offshoots) was the cult of personality surrounding the Star Ship Captain / Admiral / Commander or whatever and the remorseless focus on trivial aspects of their individual characters and tastes - something slightly Roman in that: an aspect of the automatic deification of warlords and emperors. In short, it seemed more to enshrine the problem than to be part of the solution, but of course there are a great many further distinctions to be made if one were to analyse them seriously, rather than caricature them for polemic purposes (as I admittedly do here) ...Dr Jack Rosshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01805945600952222957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29676463.post-65021727781526032222010-04-24T15:27:10.767+12:002010-04-24T15:27:10.767+12:00The non plot-spoiler bits of this post are interes...The non plot-spoiler bits of this post are interesting stuff, and caught my attention enough to make me skip the rest until I've seen the shows being discussed. <br /><br />On Star Trek and "self-serving imperialist hogwash": Jack do you know Adam Roberts' discussion of ST in his wee Routledge book on Sci Fi? It's not exactly a reading which redeems (and doesn't try to), but it usefully complicates, particularly on race and race anxiety.Dougalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16935605945901196637noreply@blogger.com