ever inclined to be disagreeable, it occurs to me that many people in
this world might find it hard to distinguish star trek from real life
in this i'm reminded of the dreaded baudrillards comments on the gulf
war to the efffect that it wasn't happening.
Mr Clinton's injunction to americans to find kossovo on the map
suggests that to many people former Yugoslavia is closer to outer
space than to idaho. Indeed I have heard (:-)) that america has has a
tradition of trying to avoid noticing what went on in the outside
world (but they aren't the only ones).
Soap Opera (if ST is such) may seem trivial Chris, but to many people
the do have a serious impact (even if some people find this fact
sad). Certainly Gene Rodenbery (sp!) thought so and I seem to
remember that Martin Luther King actually suggested that Lt Uhuru was
a role model for balck women when he met the actress who played her
(whose name I have guiltily forgetten.)
I might add that a friend of mine who is a secondary school teach
told me not long ago that in the absence of ethical and moral
guidance from either their parents or teachers, many teenager got
their values from watching Eastenders or Neighbours.
I won't go into arguments around the lawsuit against Oliver Stone for
Natural Born Killers as I am about to be beamed up....
paul
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