Re: Wolf In The Fold - Plot, New Effect
- From: Jack Bohn <jackbohn@xxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 19 Aug 2007 20:59:01 -0400
Joseph Nebus wrote:
[For some reason I got this post with absurdly long lines, I'm
going to insert returns about every 70-80 characters.]
Wolf In The Fold
- And a moment about Argelius, which appears to be set in Sixties TV
Show Vaguely Ottoman/Arabian Land. Belly dancers, tables without chairs,
strange gypsy powers ... oh, and conveniently for the story's needs the natives are
just no good at administrating so there's a sound reason to have a foreigner governing
them under the passive Prefect's name. Kind of the way humans are no good at logic
which is why they have Vulcans to do their thinking for them.
All right, I'm pulling out the Nasty File guns on this point, but in my observations
I'll have a fair number of points with the joke based on the Federation treating Argelius
with the sort of patronizing smugness the western powers brought to the Sublime Porte.
I don't believe that it was even remotely intended by anyone making the show to give a
colonialist/imperialist taint to the proceedings -- all the Argelian shortcomings are driven by
what's needed lest the story be solved too quick -- but it's a sound basis for snark,
particularly given Trek's unfortunate fondness for reducing alien to solitary traits.
I'm not so sure the taint wasn't intended. Due to the
"continuing anthology" nature of TOS, the background society was
fluid, changing to what was needed to make the point of the story
if the point needed to be made with our characters rather than
just the inhabitants of the Planet of the Week. Think of Kirk's
outburst at the end of "Errand of Mercy" for an example.
Normally the changes are minor and the Federation is large enough
that the differences are just a matter of perspective giving us a
larger view: questioning the space program in "The Naked Time",
questioning the whole technological lifestyle in "Way to Eden".
(I think we all agree that it was a change too far to make
Starfleet sexist enough to cause Janice Lester to hate being a
girl for "Turnabout Intruder".)
I never really got an imperialist vibe, here. Maybe because I
always took Mr. Peterson to be hired by Argelius, not imposed by
the Federation. Perhaps it might seem patronizing that they
don't have *anyone* from the planet to do it. (When the US
brought over the Germans to run and staff our rocket program, we
made sure to get our own bright boys integrated into the
proceedings.) After all, most other alien societies learn to do
things the right way (ie, Kirk's way) for themselves.
--
-Jack
.
- References:
- Wolf In The Fold - Plot, New Effect
- From: Joseph Nebus
- Wolf In The Fold - Plot, New Effect
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