Description
Book SynopsisIn 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.
Table of ContentsIntroduction – 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.
