RE: Book banning
December 21, 2020 at 8:35 pm
(This post was last modified: December 21, 2020 at 8:35 pm by Belacqua.)
(December 21, 2020 at 10:19 am)Spongebob Wrote: Star Trek: TOS episodes, I'll point directly at "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" as an example of poor quality, but I will reference one of the far more nuanced episodes of Star Trek: TNG, "The Crucible" as a much better example. This story specifically asks us to closely examine what it is we call "intelligence" or "sentience" and to explain our definition of life and freedom and does so with exquisite skill. In this episode, you realize what is happening but you don't care because you are caught up in the question and can actually see value in both arguments.
I'm sure that some episodes are better than others. And as I said to Polymath, we can't predict what will spark insight in different people.
But as far as I can see all the Star Treks have worked hard to drive home the main American myth: that of the anti-authority maverick who saves the day through the use of violence. In one of the movies Capt. Picard leaves the Enterprise to disobey orders and save some planet, and when Mr. Data joins him he utters the American militia's favorite line: "Lock and load." I pretty much couldn't stand any more after that.
I did watch a few episodes of the most recent series, because I hoped that with a black female lead things might be better. But she actually disobeys orders to start a whole war, reinforcing the cliche for a new generation. As we see in all the corporate media, increased diversity means that now minorities and women can fill the role of the violent cliche. (Just as Kamala Harris shows that black women can rise in power if they hurt the poor, help the rich, and support the military-industrial complex.)
Nor could I stand the Mandalorian, which is just constant killing, with a cute puppy dog at the center.
Quote:The Bible is full of allegory. [...] That's why teaching itself is mostly art with a little science sprinkled in. And as such, teachers use a variety of methods to convey a message. In short, they use whatever works.
Yes, I think that imagery and allegory will be far more effective, in the long run. And may even get across a deeper, more influential message than the more obvious moral lesson of the book or episode. Like a movie may try to say "be yourself," while its methods and images are so cliched that they basically teach the opposite.
