Social Science Fiction

A big thanks to Stephen Kent for joining me this week. We talk about growing up with Star Wars and growing into Star Wars fans. Stephen shares some ideas from his upcoming book. We close with a discussion of the Jedi and what Star Wars has to say about democracy and authoritarianism.

Check out:

Beltway Banthas (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/beltway-banthas-star-wars-politics-more/id1110510480)
Right Now with Stephen Kent (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCll6bwOabDOqN0_alxCr9Sg)
And keep an eye out for How the Force Can Fix the World. Coming out this December, available for preorder this summer. 

Intro and outro music: "Swim below as Leviathans" by Fireproof_Babies (featuring Ben Shewmaker) is licensed under CC BY.

Welcome to 2021! We start off the new year with Star Wars. Discussing authoritarianism, totalitarianism, and the politics and government of the Empire. 

Notes:

3:01 - Hence the term "totalitarianism." An attempt at total control of all aspects of state and society. 

3:12 - This is not to say that authoritarian governments don't have secret police or spy on their people. There is, of course, lots of overlap                   between these regimes. The point is that totalitarian regimes use these tools to control society and mobilize the people in a way that                 authoritarian regimes don't. 

6:50 - Admiral Motti would be the unlucky individual who mocks the force and gets choked for it in Episode IV. 

8:45 - You could justify this by pointing out that Luke lives on the fringes of the Empire on a backwater planet. The thing is, we are never                      shown anything else. If the Empire actually does have extensive propaganda glorifying Palpatine, we really should see it somewhere in              the trilogy. 

10:45 - Discussing the "Tarkin Doctrine." 

13:06 - Discussing Syria and "Hama Rules." 

15:38 - Ba'athism is an interesting political ideology that developed in the Arab world in the mid-20th Century. It never really found any success as a movement but it was co-opted by both the Assads and Saddam Hussein as a means to legitimize their rule. 

17:31 - Along with thugs outside the government like the SA (Brownshirts) who did the dirty work. 

20:09 - Looked him up. His name is Mas Amedda. He's got a backstory but it doesn't seem to answer the question I have about Palpatine's                 base of support. 

Intro and outro music: "Swim below as Leviathans" by Fireproof_Babies (featuring Ben Shewmaker) is licensed under CC BY.

I've still barely scratched the surface of the game but I have a few more thoughts. I've also read up on the criticism of CDPR by fans and observers and I have more to say about the mess that is the game's release. The short version: a lot of the criticism is fair, some isn't, most probably could have been avoided if CDPR had handled its messaging better. Happy Holidays! 

Intro and outro music: "Swim below as Leviathans" by Fireproof_Babies (featuring Ben Shewmaker) is licensed under CC BY.

Are we heading towards a Cyberpunk future? A discussion of how Cyberpunk (the game and the genre) depict the state and other political entities. Other topics include balancing against threats in international relations and the concept of extended deterrence. I close with my thoughts on the game so far. 

Notes: 

0:42 - Like many gamers, I was a big fan the Witcher 3. I was lukewarm on the preceding titles. 

0:59 - Reviews seem very mixed at the moment and vary dramatically across platforms due, in large part, to the bugs and graphics issues                   that are more common on consoles. 

2:51 - I use the term "heroes" loosely here. I think the anti-hero or non-hero are more common in the genre. 

6:41 - Balancing is a big topic in International Relations with the political scientist Stephen M. Walt being one of the bigger names in the field. 

9:19 - We call troops like these a "tripwire force." They are not present to repel an attack but to act as a tripwire that will trigger a larger                       response. 

16:07 - Writer, journalist, and political commentator Thomas Friedman has written extensively about globalization and its effects on the world. 

21:40 - Side Rant. 

24:11 - The Delemain car that takes you to the fancy hotel where you're supposed to steal the chip. 

25:54 - That would be the club "Afterlife." Not the actual afterlife that he unfortunately shuffles off to. 

Intro and outro music: "Swim below as Leviathans" by Fireproof_Babies (featuring Ben Shewmaker) is licensed under CC BY.

So much fiction of the 2000s seemed eager to comment on the politics of the time. From the War on Terror, to the Patriot Act, we discuss how the politics of the Bush-era were examined through sci-fi and fantasy. 

Notes: 

13:12 - Moore apparently disliked this adaptation, being annoyed that his anarchist messages were dropped and the villain took on a more                    neoconservative flavor. 

13:28 - Margaret Thatcher was the British Prime Minister whose leadership seemed to influence Moore's writing of V for Vendetta. Tony Blair                was the Prime Minister for much of the Bush years and supported the U.S. invasion of Iraq. 

21:40 - Terrorism is generally defined as politically motivated violence which specifically targets non-combatants. Under this definition, the                   Joker would not qualify as he does not seem to be motivated by a political agenda. 

24:04 - "Enhanced interrogation" was a popular euphemism for torture. 

29:40 - There is ongoing debate among historians about slavery in Ancient Greece. It is possible other Greek city-states enslaved Greeks but                there is at least some evidence that it was frowned upon and that the Spartans were more comfortable with the idea. 

31:31 - Side Rant 

Intro and outro music: "Swim below as Leviathans" by Fireproof_Babies (featuring Ben Shewmaker) is licensed under CC BY. 

A discussion of political legitimacy in A Song of Ice and Fire and the Game of Thrones tv series.  How do different regimes legitimize their rule? Why is it dangerous to share power with a religious establishment? The theories of Max Weber and Mancur Olson are featured.

Notes:

2:45 - Max Weber is a big name in political science. His Essay, Politics as a Vocation, discusses political legitimacy among other topics.

5:04 - I suppose the Arryns are in the mix there too. They always seem to be overlooked.

6:13 - Varys, Jaime Lannister, and Barristan Selmy all continue in their positions under the new regime.

8:12 - Mancur Olson was also an accomplished economist (that's what his degrees were in). For his views on the origins of government,                      see Dictatorship, Democracy, and Development.

21:57 - Wakanda forever! 

24:54 - No pun intended ("stark difference). 

26:16 Side Rant. 

Intro and outro music: "Swim below as Leviathans" by Fireproof_Babies (featuring Ben Shewmaker) is licensed under CC BY. 

Happy Thanksgiving! A big thanks to all my listeners. This week I share my thoughts on the muddled political message of Buffy's Thanksgiving episode. Also, my brother and I talk X-Files, Mass Effect, and other videogames.

Notes:

2:46 - After recording, it occurred to me that King of the Hill also did a Thanksgiving episode that raised these issues and also seems to                     conclude with an ambiguous message.

11:38 - Do check out the Dork Web (https://thedorkweb.net/).

25:33 - The Simpsons episode referenced here is Bart the Mother. 

31:23 - Tower of Hanoi is the name of the puzzle. 

32:16 - I highly recommend Ted-Ed and their riddle videos (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsooa4yRKGN_zEE8iknghZA).

35:16 - For the record, I was nothing but kind and supportive towards my brother when we were kids. 

47:40 - Alpha Protocol remains my favorite game of all time and I don't care how ridiculous that sounds. I remain immensely frustrated that its               poor production values and bugs cause it to be overlooked. It is a flawed gem that is well worth checking out. 

I'm joined by my brother Adam and we revive a childhood discussion. If the War of the Ring was World War II, who would everyone be? Sidetracks include a discussion of Tolkien's theology and the overlooked virtues of Boromir.

Notes:

1:28 - Mage Knights (the miniatures game, not the board game) was an interesting game that began the brief "Clix System" craze. I                               remember it being a lot of fun. A nice combination of the collectible and random element from collectible card games like Magic: The                 Gathering and the miniature wargame element from stuff like Warhammer.

2:45 - A brief discussion of the classic LoTR cartoons.

3:46 - A great reference from Adam. Timothy Leary was a psychologist and psychedelics advocate. 

4:28 - S's and G's was not a term I was familiar with until now.

5:29 - Apologies to Fatty Bolger.

12:59 - I'm likely mispronouncing Eru Ilúvatar. I do think I have the basics of the cosmology down though.

14:23 - C.S. Lewis' The Problem with Pain captures Lewis' and, I suspect Tolkien's, views on this subject. 

28:30 - Looked it up. It was Aulë. 

Intro and outro music: "Swim below as Leviathans" by Fireproof_Babies (featuring Ben Shewmaker) is licensed under CC BY. 

I spend a whole lot of time griping about Black Mirror but I do really like the show. I close with some of my favorite episodes.

Notes:

1:53 - Everybody's who's seen this episode immediately knew what I was talking about and their mind just went to a dark place.

2:59 - Spoiler Warning: I will discuss the plots and twists of all the episodes I cover.

3:52 - Fridge logic is one of my favorite terms from TV Tropes (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FridgeLogic)

4:33 - Fifteen Million Merits

7:00 - The Entire History of You

8:27 - Shut Up and Dance

11:38 - Nosedive

14:36 - Men Against Fire

16:50 - The movie Arrival has this same problem for me.

17:19 - San Junipero

24: 23 - My favorite episodes, starting with White Bear

28:22 - National Anthem

30:41 - Black Museum

32:03 - Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too (Oxford comma is omitted because that's how the title is officially written and yes, it killed me to leave                  it out).

33:09 - The Waldo Moment.

34: 38 - It was 2013.

36:15 - Side Rant (spoiler for Ender's Game).

40:32 - The oppression of the Uyghurs in China is a horrifying tragedy and should be receiving more media attention.

41:09 - I highly recommend Ordinary Men by Christopher Browning 

Intro and outro music: "Swim below as Leviathans" by Fireproof_Babies (featuring Ben Shewmaker) is licensed under CC BY. 

I heap praise on one of my favorite video games of all time and discuss the politics of the setting. Topics include theories of international relations and the structure of the United Nations and the UN Security Council. Mild spoilers for the Mass Effect setting but no major plot elements or twists are discussed. 

Notes:

3:18 - Isometric refers to a video game art style that involves creating a 2D map that appears to be 3D. Baldur's Gate, the original Fallout, and            Diablo are all examples of the style. 

3:45 - Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is another game on my list of all-time favorites. I'll likely discuss it at some point if I can find a                 good political angle to cover. 

5:54 - The final battle on the planet Therum and several side-quests involving lots of husks (an enemy type) are examples of no-win                             situations for snipers. 

8:56 - Discussing the setting of Mass Effect. 

18:26 - The politics of the Mass Effect universe. 

29:23 - Not to mention the Spectres. A secretive, intelligence organization that answers directly to the council. 

32:27 - In international relations terminology, humanity would be considered a revisionist state, seeking to upset the status-quo. 

34:02 - Realists call this state of affairs a "security dilemma." 

38:13 - The Rachni  

39:36 - Side Rant 

Intro and outro music: "Swim below as Leviathans" by Fireproof_Babies (featuring Ben Shewmaker) is licensed under CC BY.