The show &#34;Smallville&#34;

I don't watch TV. However, my fiancée has told me about the show "Smallville". It is about about teenage Superman and his daily life.

According to her, it is very interesting because Lex Luthor seemingly is extremely egoist in the Objectivist sense. In fact, she is wondering if there are any Objectivists script-writing for the show. The show seems to be radically Objectivist in its ethical themes.

I just thought some of you guys may be interested in the show because of this.

Post 1

Wednesday, November 6, 2002 - 9:32pm

I don't know the answer to your question, but I like Smallville because it is one of the few shows that unabashedly presents heroic characters.

Other shows that do this are Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Star Trek, the Next Generation.

Didn't Ayn Rand say that Romanticism today is most alive in popular fiction?

Post 2

Wednesday, November 6, 2002 - 9:57pm

Sure, but Star Trek TNG was horribly altruistic and collectivist in outlook. Voyager was more of the same pap, except diluted.

In fact I almost wrote an article called "Why I Hate Star Trek", but I figure no one cares about Star Trek anymore anyway.

Post 3

Thursday, November 7, 2002 - 5:52pm

Out of curiosity, what was so collectivist about The Next Generation?

After all, the biggest bad guys were the Borg, the most collective alien race in the universe.

And when one of the Borg discovered individuality, Picard refused to sacrifice him by forcing him to return to the Borg.

Post 4

Thursday, November 7, 2002 - 6:28pm

Well, for one, the Federation is basically a communist and militarist society, and the only vaguely capitalist society (the Ferengi) are portrayed as war-hungry fools (this got much worse in the DS9 series, of course).

Post 5

Tuesday, November 12, 2002 - 3:48pm

In the case of Voyager, don't forget "Tuvix". In this episode, two of the regular characters (Tuvok and Neelix) are combined by a transporter accident into a new individual (Tuvix). The plot turns on the question of whether to reverse the accident and restore the original crewmembers in the face of opposition by Tuvix himself, who explicitly claims a right to his own independent existence.

The overall moral view of Voyager is captured in the scene where Tuvix is hauled protesting from the bridge by force, to be effectively murdered in the name of the "greater good", while the other regular members of the cast refuse to look him in the eye. Collectivism overriding individual rights, and the perpetrators don't even have the moral courage to face up to the meaning of their own actions.

Post 6

Tuesday, November 12, 2002 - 9:09pm

That is so very true, Kyle. I sure am glad I didn't get to see that one. The reviews were enough to make me cringe.

I basically gave up and didn't listen to the last season because it was starting to make me sick. From what I heard, the last season was as bad, with more hologram-rights-bashing, and so on. Star Trek is majorly offensive on so many levels.

Post 7

Wednesday, November 13, 2002 - 8:12am

That's horrible! But I think it might have been even worse if the crew did look Tuvix in the eye: the fact that they couldn't face him indicates that they knew they were doing wrong. On the other hand, if the crew did face Tuvix as they killed him, would it have meant that they cared not at all for the morality of their actions?

Hearing about episodes like this makes me glad I don't watch TV.

Post 8

Thursday, November 14, 2002 - 2:22am

Collectivism shall prevail - stand by for Objectivus interruptus.

Post 9

Thursday, November 14, 2002 - 9:29am

Collectivism will go the way of the flat earth and the geocentric universe. The God of Judaism, Christianity and Islam will join (along with his angels and devils) the ranks of Odin and Ishtar.

Stand by for the well-deserved damnation of Jesus of Nazareth, Mohammed, Immanuel Kant, John Maynard Keynes, Karl Marx, and the scum responsible for Progressive education. Not to mention Abraham Lincoln, Alexander Hamilton, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Post 10

Thursday, November 14, 2002 - 7:35pm

Sorry for my stupid intrusion. I apologize and withdraw all my stupid comments,please delete them. I won't be back.

Post 11

Monday, October 31, 2005 - 5:33pm