George Gonzalez Star Trek and Star Wars (Hardback)

Star Trek and Star WarsGeorge GonzalezLabel: Peter Lang Publishing IncDescription: In 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.