Episode 92: How to imagine the next political uprising
Avon gets ready to fight in an episode of Blake’s 7, a 1980s UK show about future revolutionaries that is now out in the U.S. on BritBox.
Science fiction and fantasy are the perfect genres for exploring what political uprisings might look like in the future, or an alternate present. We discuss Blake’s 7, a subversive 1970s TV series from the UK, and how it offers us a realistic portrait of political revolutionaries — flawed, dangerous, and full of hope. Claire Light (AKA Jadie Jang) also joins us to talk about her new urban fantasy novel, Monkey Around, which is about shapeshifters in Oakland during the Occupy movement.
Notes, citations, & etc.
Claire Light/Jadie Jang on Twitter
Monkey Around by Jadie Jang is out now
Blake's 7 was a British space opera show that ran from 1978 to 1981, and now for the first time it's available to stream in the United States, on Britbox.
Here's Charlie Jane's handy guide to Blake's 7, including which episodes to watch first.
The show was created by Terry Nation, best known for creating the Daleks on Doctor Who. It takes place in a dark evil version of the Federation from Star Trek.
In the episode "Shadow," the revolutionary leader Blake is willing to work with evil drug lords. Later, he tries to destroy the Federation's central computer, even though this could cause widespread starvation and suffering.
In the episode "Horizon," Blake finally leaves the cynical hacker Avon alone on the starship Liberator, and he nearly leaves the rest of the crew to die. Later, in "Star One," Blake says he's always trusted Avon.
Tyr in the show Andromeda is kind of an Avon archetype.
Jadie Jang's Monkey Around is based heavily on Chinese tales of the Monkey King.
Urban fantasy is usually very white, and usually features a protagonist who is cop, detective or enforcer.
Urban fantasy is full of were-animals and shapeshifters, and this is a good metaphor for code-switching.
Occupy Wall Street helped to inspire other protest movements, including Black Lives Matter and the DAPL protests.