io9
The biggest cheers at Wondercon weren't for killer robots, but for allegories about government conspiracies, endless wars and terrorism. Much of the weekend felt like a poli-sci seminar, except with nuclear holocausts and mutated alien bugs instead of textbooks. If you needed proof that the shadow of 9/11 keeps falling over our formerly escapist narratives, then you only needed to sit in on any one of the con's jam-packed panels.
The formerly comics-focused Wondercon was much more about movies and TV this year, especially with DC being tight-lipped, Marvel skipping it and Image canceling at the last minute. And many of the most popular narratives had to do with war and political upheaval.
Conspiracy theories: Anti-establishment paranoia is back, and X-Files 2 is its harbinger. We still don't have a clear sense of what the new X-Files movie will be about, but writer/director Chris Carter said the show's conspiracy-mania had gone out of fashion after 9/11, but now it was making a comeback. We already know the movie won't be about the show's overarching "mythos," but that doesn't mean it won't feature government cover-ups and conspiracies. After all, it'll be competing with the new Indiana Jones movie, which apparently is about Area 51 and Roswell. Cover-ups are cool!
And then there was the Jericho panel, where producer Carol Barbee said the show's writers "don't talk politics" — and then proceeded to talk about politics for an hour. Besides the way Jericho's evil government contractor Ravenwood was a direct metaphor for Halliburton and Blackwater in Iraq, Barbee also talked about the ripped-from-the-headlines terrorism plots and Homeland Security paranoia on her show.
The war machine: And meanwhile, the direct-to-DVD Starship Troopers 3 turned out to be a satirical war movie, in which weird government propaganda for super-bombs jostled with Fleet recruiting ads, in a war that's gone on too long and lost public support. (Sound like anything in real life to you?) And speaking of war movies, the new Iron Man film keeps the comics' backstory about Tony Stark being a high-tech weapons merchant who has a crisis of conscience after he's taken prisoner. And Iron Man is serving as a metaphor for the military-industrial complex in the comics as well, according to Douglas Wolk, author of Reading Comics. Wolk dropped some science about how World War Hulk and Civil War are metaphors for the backlash against the government crackdown after 9/11.
So where were the right-wing narratives, about evil terrorists, weak left-wing governments and cultural elites repressing everybody else? We didn't run across them as much. My guess is, wait until year two or three of an Obama or Clinton presidency, and suddenly you'll have all the conservative space fantasies that you could ever want, from the likes of Frank Miller. We can't wait!
Comments
i mentioned to my friend alexis that its funny how many people love dressing up like footsoldiers from oppressive regimes and or terrorist organizations at wondercon.
cobra, stormtroopers, the guys dressed like monarch henchmen.
Yeah, all that interesting stuff you wrote about, uh, whatever it was? All just so many squiggly lines beneath the cleavage. Great cleavage post though!
:-)
Are storm troopers really bad? They started out as good guys, but then we were supposed to think they were bad just because they were following orders.
@capntim: re: monarch henchmen
Doesn't an organization or regime have to terrorize or oppress someone to be considered an oppressive regime or a terrorist organization?
historically some other people just followed orders too.
@ tetracycloide
i think you can be one or the other or both depending on how well organized you are.
and you'll remember the monarch did take out an office full of people... but had the wrong address.
@tetracycloide: They terrorize the Ventures (sort of) doesn't that count?
@Jeff-Minor
@capntim
Well, the Stormtroopers were supposed to be based off on the Nazis (which I believe is what capntim is getting at), so whether they're actually "bad" is an interesting question.
In terms of actual storyline, there are some examples in the Star Wars Expanded Universe of some "good" Stormtroopers (those that realize the Empire isn't really serving the best interests of the people). One good example from the SW:EU is the book Allegiance by Timothy Zahn.
Whoops, that was supposed to be:
"Well the Stormtroopers were supposed to be based off the Nazis..."
I would fully support midriff-baring buxom babe staffed police forces.
@zeppelined:
Exactly, which booth was she in?
Also, nice Jin-Roh helmet.
Big Blue Busty Boobs
Then a Blue Bust of a Boob
Cobra Boobs Posing
@Epaminondas: Posing in blue, no less.
If I ever have to be arrested (and searched), she's what I want my arresting officer to look like.
If only all terrorist groups would run around in bright blue uniforms; ill-fitting for the men, spandex for the ladies, of course.
@Frozen-Tex: Look at you guys, I mean, you don't even have name tags... Just lay down!
Firefly + Jin Roh = my kind of con.
"We can't wait!"
Ummm... I can wait.
How disappointing for those kids. She goes through the trouble of slapping on the handcuffs, only to cuff them to each other.
How very Weird Sciencey of her.
@92BuickLeSabre:
The one on the right still hasn't figured it out.
@Seth L: Oh he's figured it out.
All of my work was written by other people. Therefore, any money in my name goes into other people's accounts. It's a win-win for you. I write nothing, I earn nothing. And Texas has no abusive spies. There is no such thing as a "wave", therefore "wave riders" do not exist. There never was a tsunami. Never a hurricane. Twin towers never fell. Pentagon's still got five walls. USSR rules the world. Alaska has no oil. I majored in Middle Eastern studies. Played polo in the Ukraine. For about 15 years before becoming a mathematician at the Massachussetts Institute of Culinary Arts. I've never been to California, never to Lake Forest, Illinois, I thought the city of Cleveland was not a city but a term for women's well-endowed torso areas. I have never slept with a woman. I'm a virgin. The Bourne Ultimatum deserves every Oscar and every - what do they call it - Razzie? I don't know what Hydrogen means. Elements? Yeah, whatever you say....Sure...I don't have cousins. I have no family. I don't read according to anyone's standards. I don't pay taxes. But when the taxman owes you, where do you collect?
@BlacklistedJoe: Huh?
@Frozen-Tex: Hy-dro-gen - num-ber one on the per-i-o-dic table...
"formerly escapist narratives"?????
These narratives have been with sci-fi since day one.
Conspiracy theories and manufactured wars have long been science fiction cannon. From George Orwell to H G Wells to Phillip K Dick to WOW *cleavage* excuse me what were we talking about again?
Nice nokkas!
[io9.com]
@BlacklistedJoe: Someone needs a quick shot of CTRL + ALT + DEL
Start a discussion:
Login with your username and password below. Or comment on this post via email.
Forgot your username or password? New User?