From: v115maec@ubvmsb.cc.buffalo.edu (Michael L. Kohan)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.starwars,rec.arts.sf.tv
Subject: Re: STAR WARS vs, vs the evilness in nazism
Date: 8 Nov 92 14:47:00 GMT
Organization: University at Buffalo
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41

In article <1992Nov7.121607.1@uwovax.uwo.ca>, 4224_5201@uwovax.uwo.ca (Dark Lord of the Sith) writes...
>In article <BxC93n.J47@acsu.buffalo.edu>, v115maec@ubvmsd.cc.buffalo.edu (Michael L. Kohan) writes:
>> In article <1920@lysator.liu.se>, redin@lysator.liu.se (Magnus Redin) writes
> 
>> Star Wars, my father the MEGA sf fan pointed out to me as a kid, was
>> inherently a story about WWII. Witness: The rebel alliance (Resistance could
>> be used just as well) the space dogfights, which were versions of dogfights
>> over the Pacific or Europe, an evil empire (Third Reich, Japan, cynics:
>> Russia), throw in a "Force", some funky swords and you've got the outline for
>> Star Wars. There were other things he told me, such as the good kids in grade
>> school being like Luke Skywalkers, and warning me not to fall in with the
>> Darth Vaders. He was one of the guys who wrote to the studios when Star Trek
>> went off the air. Yep, this guy knew his stuff. There were SF books that were
>> lying around the house (gone now, of course) that I now kick myself for
>> never picking up. He also was the dude who explained to me how almost every
>> Star Trek episode was actually a metaphor for a social issue in the sixties.
>> Well, this is leaving Star Wars, so I'll end the post. But just a little
>> nugget for the guy who said Star Trek wasn't thinking man's SF.
>> -Mike
> 
>     Thanks Mike for pointing these things out to me. Star Trek has had many
>metaphors for issues that raised themselves up in the 60's, but there was also
>that element of "federation" racism, where their values were superior to
>those of their enemies. Klingons and Romulans, once you take off the make up,
>are very crude stereotypes of America's animosity to the Russian and Chinese
>blocs. The Vietnam episode, by the way, was excellent. As for the new show,
>a few of them have been enlightening. For instance, Who Watches the Watchers,
>where Picard beams himself down to the proto-Vulcan planet to tell them he
>is not God, is the best argument in favour of atheism I have ever seen on the
>boob tube. Darmok was pretty good (directed by Baltar's Escape's Richard 
>Kolbe.)

The original series had an episode where this primitive group on this paradise
type planet had their god-machine Vaal destroyed by the Enterprise crew, 
leaving the inhabitants of the planet to fend for themselves, godless.

>     Much of Star Trek has been enlightening, thinking man's SF, but a good
>many of the episodes are just well written soap opera with cool FX. The old
>show is saved by the personality of its crew members (love that Spock/McCoy
>rivalry). Too bad the new show's characters aren't as endearing. I am a fan
>who likes Star Trek but despises the religion Trekkies have made out of it.
>Especially fans of Star Trek the Next Generation. 

I didn't like Star Trek TNG until the plotline with Worf's heritage came up.
That little mini-series in itself was what got me back into TNG. The first
series sucked big-time. But as for the original series, yeah, the ones that 
weren't social commentary were just character development. Fun to watch. And
you're right about it being human centered. Never have I seen such blatant
tokenism. 99% humans, throw in a dude with pointy ears, a blue-skinned guy,
and various other beings on the screnn for about 10 frames (esp. in the movies.
) At least the bridge crew had a diverse showing of Earth's ethnic backgrounds
even if the commander of the Enterprise and every other ship in Starfleet was
white.

>     While on the same subject of metaphors, isn't Galactica just a big 
>metaphor for the Red Menace/Nazis. I find it amusing that 30's hunk Lew
>Ayres, who was admired by women everywhere but had his career destroyed
>when he opposed World War II, played the dupe president Adar who negotiated
>peace with the treacherous Cylons. Throw in all that biblical stuff (the
>40 year voyage of the 13th tribe to earth, origins of man on Egytian style
>Kobol, 12 original tribes et al.) and you have a show with lots of neat 
>ideas that went unexplored as space battles and soap opera became the
>main element of the series. 

I agree with the poster who said that BG had a really good plotline that 
fizzled out after a season or two. The original movie of BG i have archived
away because I enjoyed it so much. The Cylons have to be the coolest villains
in SF next to possibly the Daleks when it comes to psychotic robotic killers.

-Mike
(BuffaloChip)