Philip K. Dicks Electric Dreams
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Where to even start with one of the most sneakily offensive episodes of television Ive ever seen?
Thats what the genre is supposed to do, right?
And thats exactly what this episode does.
Think about the logic of choosing a white protagonist to be the victim in the first place.
And then theres the matter of terrorism, but well get to that in a second.
Truthfully, the episode is a bit of a mess in general.
(There are even two great lines: You wanted me to help youjust because?
; and the totally disingenuous Its okay to have fun here!)
But thats all before Safe and Sound descends into the hysterics of a paranoia plot.
Its a young character thrown into violent, confusing, irrational situations.
flashbacks that we just dont need.
But again, thats the small stuff.
Because now we have to talk about terrorism, which means we have to talk about terrorists.
Specifically, what it takes for someone to commit a terrorist act.
And, yes, theyre preyed upon by larger forces bending them to their political design.
But the most essential tactic is about getting the terrorist to believe.
To see the way that the ideologues do.
This is the truth at the heart of any portrayal and understanding of terrorists.
Foster essentially gets tricked into staging a terrorist attack because shes, like, freaked out and stuff.
Hence, the need to add the backstories about Fosters father doubting his own sanity and committing suicide.
These are deadly serious things that real people have to deal with every day.
Here, they are perverted into a dramatic power fantasy for the disenfranchised white soul.
(Oh snap, I think I just described Infowars again.)
By not thinking about it.
Thats what happens when a story doesnt hold up the sanctity of its central metaphors.
Science fiction is supposed to bring us closer to truth, closer to life, and closer to ourselves.
