Reading: Ämin Baumeler, Fabio Costa, Timothy C. Ralph, Stefan Wolf and Magdalena Zych. "Reversible time travel with freedom of choice". Classical and Quantum Gravity Vol. 36 (2019): 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6382/ab4973

Al-Khalili, Jim. "Time travel: separating science fact from science fiction." Physics Education Vol. 38, No. 1 (December 2002): 14-19. 10.1088/0031-9120/38/1/302

 

 

In the sixth meeting, we discussed the above readings. The discussion progressed towards a deeper discussion regarding media products, their stories and their messages, within the context of alternative history and utopian and dystopian scenarios.

One of the examples put forth was the television show "Game of Thrones"; we asked if Science-Fiction is political, or mere fantasy? In the show, there are political themes, such as what constitutes as "power" – military strength or finance ("Gold wins Wars"). The three dragons can be seen as nuclear weapons, which dramatically shift the scales in favour of the one controlling them, and puts the other at acute disadvantage. Alternative history was brought to discuss how humans use history to explore the ideal (utopian) scenarios, along with the worst (dystopian) scenarios. The group pondered as to why it appears that there are plenty of dystopian movies as of late, based on dystopian young-adult book series; it was suggested this might reflect on society and where it sees itself today.

The discussion then turned, once more, to the television show "Dr. Who". The participants considered it and its message – is it supposed to be educational, and if so, to whom? Is a certain message universal, or is it relative to our current times? The reality of what is "here and now" changes from person to person – where are they, and what is their current reality; judgement is relative to you. The issue of "First World Problems" was brought up. It was also said that social commentary within a media product dates this particular product, and might prevent it from surpassing time and becoming dated through the decades.

In regards to Dr. Who, and later other media products, it was said that if there is social commentary in the show, it should be subtle, and not overt and spoon-fed to the audience. Media should not try to tell the viewer what they "need to think", also considering that people are especially receptive to ideas when they consume entertainment. One advantage of Dr. Who that was brought up was that it is not always human-centric, and brings different and alien perspective; like Star Trek using Klingons as the villains, rather than other humans.   

Regarding "dated" media products, it was said that there is charm in films that are of "their time periods", "products of their times". Nostalgia is a strong emotion, that can endear such products. We discussed the current practice of "Rebooting" shows (such as "Power Rangers"), and how trying to modify them makes them, sometimes, to lose something along the way. The lack of creativity in the current entertainment industry, which keeps trying to reboot old stories that were fine the way they were, was also bemoaned.

The importance of Freedom of Speech was brought-up. Some believed that there is a certain narrative that is being promoted through the current media to reflect certain ideologies, such as identity politics. Others disagreed. But all agreed that it is important to maintain open and free discussions, even when there is a different of opinion, and that everyone is free to disagree.