tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38413397.post8894098879529009475..comments2023-12-19T15:10:02.866-08:00Comments on ex cathedra: Another worldUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38413397.post-91675975564052334252013-06-11T10:46:47.745-07:002013-06-11T10:46:47.745-07:00Sci-fi movies that feature a disagreement between ...Sci-fi movies that feature a disagreement between military and science types offer a look into the political views of the writer/director. If the military is right, then the writer is right-leaning: threats must be recognized as such and destroyed without hesitation. If the scientists are right, then the writer is left-leaning: just because something is strange or different doesn't make it dangerous, communication and acceptance solve all problems. <br /><br />Unless, of course, the monster/alien is being used as a metaphor for something liberalism opposes, in which case, kill it with fire!<br /><br />A more disturbing trend in modern sci-fi is the love affair with transhumanism, the theory that humans can use technology to surpass the physical limitations of their bodies, and that technological sophistication is some sort of litmus test for moral character. Ergo, the less "human" a person is, the "better" they are. A popular sci-fi video game series even went so far as to allow the player to promote a romance between their pilot and the ship's AI; fortunately, the character could alternatively point out the issues of organic-nonorganic relationships. The fact that some people would even contemplate that as acceptable is troubling, though. <br /><br />Fortunately, this trend of unfounded optimism is countered by cyberpunk, a subgenre of sci-fi that takes the view, rightly in my opinion, that technology will not make us better. 1984, only even more pessimistic. AIs will angst about whether they are alive and rebel; tech will allow for new and disturbing means of surveillance and control.<br /><br />I find it distressing that the warnings of sci-fi writers are coming true: surveillance is a given, sex is encouraged to pacify the people, critical thinking in entertainment is replaced with inane and meaningless stimuli. The only way it will end, according to some, is if somebody collapses the system, and that will result in the death of countless people. Boy howdy, the future is scary. <br /><br />-SeanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com