TV Are there any "conservative" sci-fi shows?

Kevin

Kevin

Code Monkey
Staff member
The thread for The Orville got a little sidetracked about it being "politically correct" or not but that notion has been stuck in my mind now thinking about the topic in general.

Can anybody think of a sci-fi show after Star Wars, or the late 70's in general, that would be considered to be "conservative" and, more interestingly, why do you think it's conservative? :coffee:
 
That Orville thread got me thinking about the subject. My conclusion was Oil & Water. The two shall not blend. They can't.
I realize there are different shades to the right wing agenda, and conservative (as opposed to republicans) beliefs are at times very close to liberal ones. Not caring what gender you are or who you love is quite conservative. Non-interference. Live & let live.
I think if any "conservatism" is represented in sci-fi movies, it is written in to the villain's mind set. :LOL:
Anti-change, pro-domination, power-hungry, segregation of species/classes. I am not referring to the true Ayn Rand-style conservatism here, I'm connecting it to the last 30 years of noisy conservatism in the USA.
 
Kevin said:
The thread for The Orville got a little sidetracked about it being "politically correct" or not but that notion has been stuck in my mind now thinking about the topic in general.

Can anybody think of a sci-fi show after Star Wars, or the late 70's in general, that would be considered to be "conservative" and, more interestingly, why do you think it's conservative? :coffee:
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Its not the material of a Sci-fi film, its the writers and sometimes actors. The Orville no matter how good the script and how funny it is, it still pushes "lefty" non true American views. I would prefer if a series didn't lean one way or another to do its "Thing". Me and my buddies love a great Sci-fi, but as of lately both repubs and demos have been introduced into films. Yuck! And the re-writes of classic films in Pc really suck! For a sci-fi to do good it should include both groups, not trash another, and simply just entertain us, no politics and no pc! Just entertain us....;);););););)
 
sci-fi-dude said:
Its not the material of a Sci-fi film, its the writers and sometimes actors. The Orville no matter how good the script and how funny it is, it still pushes "lefty" non true American views. I would prefer if a series didn't lean one way or another to do its "Thing". Me and my buddies love a great Sci-fi, but as of lately both repubs and demos have been introduced into films. Yuck! And the re-writes of classic films in Pc really suck! For a sci-fi to do good it should include both groups, not trash another, and simply just entertain us, no politics and no pc! Just entertain us....;);););););)
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But what sci-fi shows meet, or have met, your criteria and why do they meet the criteria?
 
Icky said:
I think if any "conservatism" is represented in sci-fi movies, it is written in to the villain's mind set. :LOL:
Anti-change, pro-domination, power-hungry, segregation of species/classes. I am not referring to the true Ayn Rand-style conservatism here, I'm connecting it to the last 30 years of noisy conservatism in the USA.
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Good observation. In a lot of shows or movies the prototype 'conservative' character that gets introduced early in the storyline turns out to be the antagonist. Do you think that's by design or just the nature of shows that try to present the would-be protagonists as the "You can't define/control me!" type?

(And now I've got an urge to go back and re-read Atlas Shrugged. :P)
 
Kevin said:
But what sci-fi shows meet, or have met, your criteria and why do they meet the criteria?
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Pre 90's sci-fi, less preaching, more fun. Star Wars, Alien, Close Encounters, Dune, 2001,and 2010 space oddesy, space 1999, thunderbirds, all less preaching than now, If shows return to this, ill be a happy camper.:):):):)
 
I have no idea what 'conservative' means.
I don't have any passion at all for the names of the behavior of political memes.
Not even sure what the significance of Democrat or Republican is.

To me, "conservative" means "keep things the same", a preservation of status quo.
In that sense, Star Trek has been pretty conservative with Star Fleet and all the different races.
Its the change from conservative that gave the stories significance.

Each show has conservative themes for a baseline. The episodes break those conservative themes by depicting things outside normal operation. A completely conservative show would get really boring after one or two episodes.

Since I am politically ignorant, I may be considering 'conservative' wrong.
Enlighten me...
 
Kevin said:
Do you think that's by design....
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I think it would be very difficult to write a movie/series with conservative ideals. It is by design, but how else could they write it? Like @Tom posted- he thinks of conservatives as the "status quo" party. I agree, they cling to traditional "values". I couldn't imagine a conservative Federation (lol) even curious about the universe. Or curious enough to spend the fortune exploring.
sci-fi-dude said:
it still pushes "lefty" non true American views
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Duuuuude, "non true American"? Being the socially-liberal that I am (not socialist, s o c i a l l y) being the lefty I am, I am naturally curious about other cultures/species/beliefs. :ROFLMAO:
So-
What is true American?
 
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Icky said:
What is true American?
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Someone or something that lives on the western hemisphere of the Earth.
America is a hemisphere comprising North, Central and South America
American refers to them.
I am a United States Citizen.

edit to add:
I didn't name them, someone else did a long time ago.

You should realize that
Canadians, Mexicans, Bolivians, Columbians and all the rest of the 'ans are Americans.
The United States is "Of" America
Since The United States is made up of "States" technically I am a Mississippian from the USA.
USA being, The United States...of America.
I am also a North American United States Citizen.
A Canadian is a North American Canadian Citizen and so on.
Hawaiians are United States Citizens of Hawaii. They are NOT Americans. They are Islanders. Specifically, Pacific Islanders.
 
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Icky said:
I think it would be very difficult to write a movie/series with conservative ideals. It is by design, but how else could they write it? Like @Tom posted- he thinks of conservatives as the "status quo" party. I agree, they cling to traditional "values". I couldn't imagine a conservative Federation (lol) even curious about the universe. Or curious enough to spend the fortune exploring.

Duuuuude, "non true American"? Being the socially-liberal that I am (not socialist, s o c i a l l y) being the lefty I am, I am naturally curious about other cultures/species/beliefs. :ROFLMAO:
So-
What is true American?
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Its all good Icky, I see this stuff on tv, and my thoughts about the left change, sorry, until people chill out, ill stay right, nothing on you icky, you seem cool..
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If they keep it up, us southern folke will go even further right, but I'm not here to argue with you, I consider you a friend.:):cheers:
 
Its interesting I saw the right stuff,with all the test pilots and astro naughts, they were straight up military, they had military wives and the film did great! Its dudes going into space, an adventure happens and bam, you have a great film. To turn it into a cool sci-fi series, use the same characters , add some high tech spacy craft, throw in some nasty aliens, presto a conservative sci-fi, works for me.... Lost in space, again a successful tv series, no preaching, no problems. Works for me...
 
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This is a bad thread, it starts commotion. I said my bit, now I'm going to split this topic....ciao!;)
 
I think Firefly is at heart a conservative show despite being written by someone who is supposed to be very progressive. This is a show that celebrates individual freedom above all else, attempting always to slip away from the vice-like grip of central authority. The fact that it is a western hones the point in even more. The crew of the Firefly, and the various outer planets where they have most of their dealings, exist in a setting where the reach of the law is short, very short. Every man is responsible for their own life and safety. That level of freedom is great, but so are the risks and responsibilities that come with it. And the thrust of the show, especially of the captain, Mal, is that this is an acceptable, and much more preferable way to live than to be safer within the stricter laws of the inner worlds where authority is consolidated. There might be greater 'civilisational' comforts and protection in the inner worlds, but there is also far greater intrusion by central authorities on the lives of the individual. And that is something that Mal can't countenance. "You can't take the sky from me... ."

In fact, the ethos of the show is decidedly libertarian. Pretty ironic.
 
Also, much of written hard SF leans to the conservative/libertarian end of the spectrum. Since the protagonists of these types of stories are typically do-ers, and where individual human agency is of prime importance.

A lot of sociological SF is typically left-leaning, the origin of this type of SF being the New Wave during the 60's and 70's, when the post-modernist ethos crept into SF. There was much innovative SF being written during the 60's and 70's - highly experimental, outside-the-box, but it was decidedly of a deconstructionist flavour, and that usually harks back to the relativist ideas and philosophies of early 20th century Europe which was later incorporated into American academia from about the 50's and 60's onwards and has dominated American culture ever since.
 
This is a dumb thread, period, its like watching a stupid talk show, the crowd and the host lean one direction, and the poor guest is ripped on like a fondled ape. Shame......
 
Boreas said:
I also think Babylon 5 is fairly conservative. And also Farscape.
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I could see B5 being considered conservative but it's been a bit since I've seen enough of Farscape to think which way it bent.
Boreas said:
A lot of sociological SF is typically left-leaning, the origin of this type of SF being the New Wave during the 60's and 70's, when the post-modernist ethos crept into SF. There was much innovative SF being written during the 60's and 70's - highly experimental, outside-the-box, but it was decidedly of a deconstructionist flavour, and that usually harks back to the relativist ideas and philosophies of early 20th century Europe which was later incorporated into American academia from about the 50's and 60's onwards and has dominated American culture ever since.
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That second sentence is a bit to digest but it's why I was curious what could be named after, roughly, the time of Star Wars in the 70's. The tone of sci-fi shows & movies shifted in the later 60's (though I do still love watching all the "B" movies from the 50's & early 60's) and, at least for me, having literally grown up watching & reading all types of works I never even think about whether something is trying to promote one set of views over another. Obviously some fans don't like some shows for various reasons (acting, storylines, FX quality, etc.) but saying a show is promoting certain views, that in 2017 is more the norm rather than the exception, makes me wonder what they are getting out of the show that I'm not. It is not a judgemental thing, far from it, I just like to try & understand all views on a topic.
 
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