chicah

I am rewatching season four, possibly the best of the whole revived show. And it makes me think... Constantly I see people complaining about the show today being so politically correct, too much “liberal bias”, SJW, all that. But season four was heavily political. It took a clear stance against racism, sexism, totalitarianism. It warned of how a society can turn xenophobic and isolationist all too easy. The whole scene in “Turn left” with the Italian family being driven off to a concentration camp for being immigrant... it was so poignant. The show is anti-fascist to its core. It has always been. But now, people complain about it. It has always warned against egomaniacal leaders, of how paranoia, fear and hatred can be used by those wanting power. Yet now, people call it biased. Now people say it’s mocking Donald Trump or Boris Johnson or you name it, that it has an agenda. Well, YES. It always had an agenda, to be a progressive force in this world, to unite, to make us consider what is right and wrong. And that maybe the world and the choices we make is not always one or the other, but we still have to make them. (And that humans are flawed, but that doesn’t mean humanity can’t be beautiful.)

All of this makes me realise: it is not the show that changed. It is us. The audience, the viewers. It is WE who see offense and politics where we used to learn something, we see division where we used to be united in this fandom. Am I the only one who feel this way? Even if not all episodes are great, I feel the show is still “the same”, insofar as a show about a regenerating Time Lord can stay the same. I recognise it. But I am not sure I recognise the fandom anymore. What happened?

Hope this is not too “philosophical” a thread to start on a Tuesday, I just really needed to air my thoughts. And would love to hear yours.

The Shadow Strikes

It can be argued that the show, not just the modern show, has been pollitical for a long time. Helen A, in The Happiness Patrol, is a space version of Margaret Thatcher.

And while I do not remember the episodes that you mentioned, I think it comes down to subtlety. For a while, the writing has been going down hill, starting when Capaldi took over (though I am by no means blaming Peter), and has only continued. I watched the first couple of episodes of the last series, before decidign it wasn't me. The politics are now in your face obvious. Before we might have had an episode where some Silurians are segregated into a "holding pen", now we have a carbon copy of Trump.

As someone who is neither left nor right, when it comes to politics, bias swaying heavily to either side, is as bad as the other. Though I have seen people suggest that the show is now racist and problematic, due to how the Doctor treated the recent Master!

The Shadow Strikes

Numbers are still in decline. Is history about to repeat itself?