Bush King
kiwifarms.net
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2022
A good example is Star Trek, because older series did it the "good" way and the new series' do it the "bad" way.
Old Star Trek, such as TNG and TOS, had a plethora of episodes with issues, such as two different species being in a war, or the Enterprise encountering a new planet and discovering they have unsavory beliefs and culture. The response was always calm and collected, understanding that these groups had not had the exact cultural heritage of the Federation, and that therefore they had a right to their beliefs which should be respected. The famous Kirk v Gorn begins with a Gorn attack on a Federation colony, ending with Kirk declaring he will not kill the Gorn because they believed they were being invaded by the Federation. It's a display of intense mercy and a will to find peaceful solutions even to a fearsome and loathsome creature. Both sides are at fault, both are in the right, both move on with a new found trust.
New Trek, especially the Picard show, literally takes us back to 2024 to lambaste the audience and society for the wrong beliefs. Coincidentally, the origin of the Federation is in the riots that occured in 2024, alongside issues that are hot-button political topics today. Perfect for hack writers to insert their pet beliefs; ICE is portrayed like the Gestapo, climate change is poisoning Earth (to the point the sky is green), everywhere looks like Skid Row, LA (because that's where they filmed), evil bad corporations run everything, the Federation is instead the Confederacy (and also a Nazi state), etc. No nuance. The show takes great pains to blame the main character for almost everything, even when what is occuring is not in his control or the result of "alternate" universes. There are lots of monologues from characters that sound like Twitter threads on the state of Earth. There is no dialogue with anyone of the opposing team, to the point that characters who were once incredibly diplomatic can and will simply murder and execute others with impunity.
No one cares for this. Outside of being oppression porn for very specific, highly political audiences, it just comes across like an extended campaign ad for a hack politician. It doesn't even appeal to those who agree with the writers but happen to live outside of California because most of the issues being shown are hyper specific to Los Angeles only.
Old Star Trek, such as TNG and TOS, had a plethora of episodes with issues, such as two different species being in a war, or the Enterprise encountering a new planet and discovering they have unsavory beliefs and culture. The response was always calm and collected, understanding that these groups had not had the exact cultural heritage of the Federation, and that therefore they had a right to their beliefs which should be respected. The famous Kirk v Gorn begins with a Gorn attack on a Federation colony, ending with Kirk declaring he will not kill the Gorn because they believed they were being invaded by the Federation. It's a display of intense mercy and a will to find peaceful solutions even to a fearsome and loathsome creature. Both sides are at fault, both are in the right, both move on with a new found trust.
New Trek, especially the Picard show, literally takes us back to 2024 to lambaste the audience and society for the wrong beliefs. Coincidentally, the origin of the Federation is in the riots that occured in 2024, alongside issues that are hot-button political topics today. Perfect for hack writers to insert their pet beliefs; ICE is portrayed like the Gestapo, climate change is poisoning Earth (to the point the sky is green), everywhere looks like Skid Row, LA (because that's where they filmed), evil bad corporations run everything, the Federation is instead the Confederacy (and also a Nazi state), etc. No nuance. The show takes great pains to blame the main character for almost everything, even when what is occuring is not in his control or the result of "alternate" universes. There are lots of monologues from characters that sound like Twitter threads on the state of Earth. There is no dialogue with anyone of the opposing team, to the point that characters who were once incredibly diplomatic can and will simply murder and execute others with impunity.
No one cares for this. Outside of being oppression porn for very specific, highly political audiences, it just comes across like an extended campaign ad for a hack politician. It doesn't even appeal to those who agree with the writers but happen to live outside of California because most of the issues being shown are hyper specific to Los Angeles only.
I can't help but think that Jim would be better served by media that actually attempts to reasonably portray differing views. Jesus Strikes Back 2: The Resurrection is fun for five minutes. It's more fun watching journalists kvetch and give it more attention than it deserves than actually playing the game. Seeing "you are correct" on a screen for a few hours does not help anyone. My views and rational thinking is not improved by positive reinforcement, and worse, it can make the opposing side look better because of how ridiculous the premise is. You can be so on the nose that your message becomes the opposite; my chief complaint with Detroit: Become Human is that it's so on the nose and boring outside of playing as Connor that I ended up rooting for the android massacre, especially seeing as Markus is closer to a virus than someone with actual autonomy and sentience. It's also incredibly childish to reduce your views to "me good, them bad"- anyone with half a brain is going to find out that your enemy isn't stupid or evil, they are normal people with reasons for their views, and are going to find an explanation from an enemy more compelling than dogma from a friend.
