I'm providing a link here to a ministry that psychologically tortured me about ten years ago. I am diagnosed with OCD (and now also with bipolar). The ministry locked me in a room for five hours and the staff screamed at me to repent of my OCD or be cursed by God forever. Finally, when they saw I would not relent, they let me go.
Science fiction, to me, has always done a rather bad job at depicting torture. That may be, in part, because some sci-fi people are sadomasochistic at their heart (perhaps myself included). They like to see their heroes battling people dressed up as Nazis, people wearing uniforms, people saluting Nazis, or not saluting Nazis and getting shot. Doctor Who and Babylon 5 have both tried to depict torture but only somewhat successfully. BSG does a better job at it, but I also think there is a definite anti-Islamic strain of sadomasochism running through that series as well, one that I am very uncomfortable with. I think, as sci-fi or near sci-fi treatments go, Clockwork Orange and V for Vendetta are two of the better treatments, particularly the book version of V, which fully teases out the moral implications of V's torturous actions, even if it does somewhat excuse them (for somewhat understandable reasons however). I think, though, the definitive treatment of torture in a near sci-fi setting is Closetland, with Alan Rickman. Check it out. You just may have trouble sleeping after.
In B5 I am assuming you are talking about the episode were Sheridan and Delenn are being tested by the Vorlons. or are you talking about the Bester Stuff.
ReplyDeleteDear Budd,
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking primarily of Sheridian's torture at the hands of the Clark administration. Your examples are excellent as well, however, though I don't think the Inquisitor episode does too bad a job with the torture stuff. It certainly does not glorify torture.