Star Trek and Star Wars

Gonzalez shows that this reflects the pessimism and demoralization underlying the Trump phenomenon, and the rise of anti-democratic, virulent nationalism.

In Star Trek and Star Wars: The Enlightenment versus the Anti-Enlightenment, George A. Gonzalez shows that these two behemoths of popular culture put the Enlightenment and anti-Enlightenment before the viewing public. Star Trek is arguably the popular culture vehicle most reflective of the Enlightenment: a belief in political and social progress, leading to a society that is modern, classless, and totally free of gender and ethnic biases. The Star Wars franchise, meanwhile, is seemingly the artistic embodiment of the anti-Enlightenment: societal progress (to the extent that it occurs) is solely a function of technology and not a perfecting of justice and fairness. Gonzalez shows that this reflects the pessimism and demoralization underlying the Trump phenomenon and the rise of anti-democratic, virulent nationalism.

Autorentext

George A. Gonzalez (Ph.D., University of Southern California, 1997) is Professor of Political Science at the University of Miami. He is the author of Star Trek and Popular Culture: Television at the Frontier of Social and Political Change in the 1960s (also published by Peter Lang).

Inhalt

Introduction - The Hegel/ Marx Political Philosophy Paradigm - Praxis: Enlightenment versus the Anti- Enlightenment - Star Trek (Original Series) Against Patriarchy and Jim Crow - The Early Cold War and Star Trek (Original Series) - Star Trek and the Clash of Civilizations : Anti-Enlightenment versus Modernism (Universal Justice) - Nazi Takeover of America: The Man in the High Castle and Star Trek - Conclusion: The Trump Phenomenon and the Anti- Enlightenment - Bibliography - Index.