Remember back when I mentioned a Gay and Lesbian Studies professor (or whatever her title was) who tried to find a pro-LGBT message in a Disney/Pixar film that even other gay people thought was really reading things that weren’t there? Well, it looks like the sociopolitical minded out there are at it again. This time it involves the remake of the V series, which as I stated yesterday was pretty good. So what are they seeing? A rebuke of the Obama administration. Seriously.
Yes, somehow there is supposed to be a tie to returning lizard baddies and the current President. The main focus seems to be a scene where reporter Chad Decker is interviewing Anna (the stand-in for Diana in the original), leader of the Visitors. (At least in the pilot there is no sign that she has a “boss” like Diana did, here the #$#ch is in charge.) I’d fight Hulu and Vodpod to post it, but it’s interlinked with the resistance meeting that really just proves she’s lying, but doesn’t really add to the discussion in question. Anyway, after talking Chad into playing Larry King with softball questions, one of her statements is that she’s hoping to expand the medical centers where all their miraculous healings are taking place. (Because we’re tastier when we’re in perfect health, I guess.) When Chad says something to the tune of “are you talking about Universal Health Care”, Anna’s reply is “I believe that’s what you call it”.
As it is, just as in the original, the Visitors charm the majority of the planet, are rather good looking (no old guys in charge here; everyone is damn sexy, especially the leader), and have a number of people who question their motives even outside those who have come across the sleeper cells (new to this version, and makes more sense that they know us so well) that have already been on Earth for years. Apparently, they’re responsible for the wars, current economic situation, and everything else the Visitors are able to fix for us before having us for dinner leaving us “hopefully better than we left you”. All they want is a glass of water and some mineral. (Soylent Green, maybe?)
Of course, here come the Obama comparisons. (Maybe they’re right. I’ve seen him drink water before.) Funny thing is, both sides see it, conservative and liberal alike. Naturally the former loves it and the latter hates it.
Last night, ABC aired the pilot episode of a remake of “V.” I had to watch. The episode was so-so. The political drama of the original was replaced by a ham-handed metaphor for President Obama. The visitors are young, charismatic, futuristic, and have a one-worldish vision of peace. They target the young by enticing them to join an idealistic (but, in reality, sinister) youth group. A few perceptive humans warn of the dangers of hopping on the bandwagon before we know what the bandwagon is really about. The alien leader, Ana, promises to use futuristic technology to heal humans. “You mean universal health care!” gapes a reporter, who, naturally, has been co-opted by the aliens. Anna soothes skeptics by declaring that accepting change can be difficult. A small band of human resistors forms. The lead character is skeptical–what proof do you have she asks, besides some scary thing “you read on the internet.” But the seemingly hysterical message from the internet is true! The charismatic new leader is masking her true identity! The death panels are real! Etc., etc.
You can dive into the paranoid, things-are-not-at-all-what-they-seem world of “V,” ABC’s exciting new science-fiction drama, and then, after a quick potty break, hop over to “By the People,” HBO’s uplifting but stultifyingly naive, please-drink-a-little-more-Kool-Aid paean to the historical highlights of President Obama’s campaign and election.
The telltale alien behavior is everywhere. In “V” (a remake of the early-1980s series), the otherworldly “visitors” want to bring us universal health care. They possess a knack for speechwriting and managing the message. In “By the People,” well . . . same thing! It’s all about happy people flying in from strange places, smiling at complicitly available TV cameras.
Another comparison between “V” and Obama’s campaign that many people have focused on, is that young people flock to the visitors in “V” because they find something intriguing and possibly inspiring about them. Unlike many of the adults in the program, adolescents and young people are enticed by the visitors without understanding the consequences of aligning themselves with the alien race without questioning their motives or their intentions.
Today, I’m writing to comment on “V,” as I’m sure many viewers missed the parallels of the questions raised in the show regarding our own politics today.
Hollywood script-writing 101 classes tell writers, “If you want to write a good script, write what you know.” Kenneth Johnson, creator of the original “V” series and story writer of the resurrected version, apparently knows his history. For disclosure purposes, I have met him and visited his home many years ago, but don’t know really much about him other than he has a good grasp on good and evil and human, albeit lizard, nature. (Possible political jab that the Left is slimy … even though lizards are not?)
Still others saw it as a take on “Obamamania” rather than Obama himself. On the other hand, another Big Hollywood contributor, Jeffery Jena, actually talked to Scott Peters, who is responsible for bringing the saga back to our TV screens as well as USA Network’s critically acclaimed hit, The 4400.
The script was not written as a roman a clef or allegory for the Obama administration. The script was written by Mr. Peters during the Bush administration and started before Mr. Obama clinched the nomination. The author, Mr. Peters, is not some evil sleeper right-winger/Obama hater. Mr. Peters, besides being a talented writer and director is a gay man, legally married in California, very liberal politically and a dedicated supporter of the President’s campaign. If he’s a mole for some right-wing conspiracy he may be the most committed spy ever. Mr. Peters, who was born in Canada, recently became an American citizen; a process he tried to expedite so he could vote for Mr. Obama, a deadline he missed by two days.
Unfortunately for Mr. Peters, this isn’t the first time in his career that fans or critics saw things in his work he didn’t intend. Some fans of “The 4400” saw hidden meaning in those episodes too. At first, Mr. Peters would try to respond, but eventually he had to quit paying attention as the theories got more and more bizarre.
Mr. Jena goes on to say that he doesn’t believe Peters being replaced as showrunner by another Scott, Scott Rosenbaum (who’s also had hits like Chuck and The Shield, the latter fitting rather well into V‘s style, like The 4400), is result of politics, either. He thinks it’s because Warner Brothers, the creative force behind the series, and ABC, the network airing it, are having creative differences about the show, so this has been in the works long before then. It kind of makes sense, since you can switch out showrunners as quickly as you can weapons in a video game, or I wouldn’t think so. Then again, this is the network that still blocks The Path To 9-11, which conservatives believe is because the film is as hard on President Clinton as it is Bush 2: Electric Bugaloo. They also gave Obama an entire hour to promote his own Universal Health Care, which even MSNBC didn’t. And I call Chris Mathews “Obama Boy” for a reason. Sorry, Chris, you aren’t nearly as nice to look at as the Obama Girl. (I hope she’s not a lizard underneath.)
Can I finish with the “Universal Health Care” comment? No, I’m not going on a political rant, not that I support the details of the plan one bit. (This is the same government behind FEMA, Medicare, and the Postal Service. Think about it.) On the other hand, the plan conservatives take issue with involve details that aren’t in the Visitors plan. “We” aren’t paying for UniVisitor Health Care, at least not until dinnertime, and it doesn’t look like they’re going to turn anyone away or have a long waiting list. We’re all on the menu able to get in. Just show up. That’s it.
So while the parallels to the way the President and his administration are scary (then again, if they’ve been monitoring our broadcasts either from space or through their sleeper cell, it makes sense that they’d tap that issue–plus I fully believe certain Congresspersons are really evil aliens), I don’t think it was intentional. Really, pundits, stop reading things into stuff. Try to put politics aside long enough to relax and enjoy something, would you?
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