Conservatism gets a bad wrap in science fiction (often deservedly so). However, science fiction television also tends to chicken out when dealing with conservative ideas. There seems to be a great willingness to critique social conservatism.
DS9 condemns creationism,
STNG anti-gay and anti-abortion activism, and
BSG examines anti-terrorist rhetoric. However, I would argue that social conservatism, by and large, is a distraction and a dangerous distraction at that. Within a generation or two, virtually all Americans, including evangelicals and conservative Catholics, will be in support of gay rights. The abortion controversy may linger on longer, but clearly the religious
right is ultimately going to lose that battle as well. By contrast, economic and governmental conservatism, particularly the former, are rarely critiqued in science fiction. We do have the
Ferengi in
TNG, the
proto-capitalists of the universe, but if anything, they seem like a Fascist caricature of Jews (which some fans have suggested was exactly the racist point), rather than a serious, thoughtful analysis of economic conservatives, libertarians, and
neo-cons. Babylon 5 probably did the best job of analyzing the dangers of conservative thought, with its depiction of President Clark's gradual decline from conservatism to fascism. Despite the prevalence of Tea Party thought in recent years, no series has really addressed the Tea Party issue either. Maybe it is just too new. I do think, however, that the critiques of science fiction television towards social conservatism are stupidly
reductionistic, rarely examining the complexity of religious and cultural taboos. Again, Babylon 5 did a much better job, particularly "Confessions and Lamentations", a cutting, deeply moving exploration of the self-harm caused by homophobia and anti-
AIDs rhetoric. Sci-
fi television also seems reluctant to engage conservatives in dialogue or permit conservatives to have any voice in sci-
fi television. Only two series,
bnth British, have really engaged political conservatism. The first, the Prisoner, was an exceptional piece of libertarian production, widely considered to be the best sci-
fi series (perhaps the best series) ever made. Patrick
Mcgoohan,
the
show's creator, explored themes of individualism and social conformity in a way that appealed to both the socially conservative right and the liberal left. The second series, 1990, I have never seen, but it sounds like an excellent examination of the over-bureaucratization of
Britain during the 1970's. Perhaps, if conservatives were given more respect by television producers, and listened to seriously, they would be more willing to listen to their opponents in return.
Economic conservatism is a sacred cow in the US and cannot be too heavily gored without offending execs, advertisers and serious portions of the viewers.
ReplyDeleteYou can barely find a real Keynesian in congress let alone a socialist [aside from Bernie Sanders].
You've got Krugman, Stiglitz and a few others in the major papers but they are out-shouted by huge numbers of free-marketeers.
I don't think serious TV anti-free market fiction will be broadcast in the near future. Perhaps if there were a major leftward political shift, which I cannot foresee.
Dear Nick,
ReplyDeleteYea, that's also my impression as well. Even the new BSG, which is probably the most economically liberal of series, ultimately sides with capitalists. I don't think you could get a true socialist series, though I have seen some socialist motion pictures, usually by esteemed directors. Even in mainstream literature, there tends to be a shying away from socialism.
John