Letters to the Editor
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but it's still about a bunch of white men...
Love the show, liked the article, but, ultimately, the bulk of the heroes are white men. Love to get some more women, and some color in there. The balance of power is way off.
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Heroes...what could have been. West Wing of Sci Fi.
To say that “Heroes” should be apolitical is pure idiocy. One can sure read “1984” as a science fiction novel for pure enjoyment, but to do so would be missing the point. And to approach this as purely a Democrat vs. Republican critique is also missing the point. This article pins Bush’s cowboy worldview against what could have been. Imagine if we’d embraced the world. Imagine if we’d have rejected a ridiculous war in Iraq and put more of our recourses into diplomacy. All indications are that things are much worse now and the chance of an attack in the US also worse. We are giving the next generation of al-Qaida its training ground, just like the Russians did in Afghanistan.
In “Heroes”, Nathan Petrelli rejects the power that he could have had as president, embracing a better world. One can’t ignore how polar opposite this is to the Bush response. Imagine a world where US policy was at least more balanced. We’d be a lot better off. This is the main point of “Heroes,” and to miss this is to live with your head in the sand. Luckily, Cole points out that most younger viewers favor “Heroes” to “24” and are hopefully looking beyond their TV screen.
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Hey Joe
If you have an opportunity to review the finale, Joe, you will see that at the climax, Peter says that he cannot control his powers and is about to explode. Therefore, he could not fly away.
While i am clearly left of center, I think this article overstates the political implications of Heroes. I enjoyed reading it, however.
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Well...
The X-men and Watchmen covered this territory long before Heros came along.
Why anyone would want to ruin this excellent show with politics is beyond me.
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Ouch
This article made my Bullshit Sensors ring off the hook.
The sort of strange formula is basically, "I bet (politician I don't like) would not like (TV show I like)"
Let's play:
George Bush's foreign policy positions are at odds with House, MD's commitment to scientific truth.
The predictability of Hilary Clinton's politicking stands in stark contrast to the unpredictable drama of the NBA Playoffs on TNT.
"Veronica Mars" will be taken off the air due to poor ratings, whereas George Bush is still there.
Likewise: "Gilmore Girls" cancelled despite loyal following; "Alberto Gonzales" renewed even though he has only one fan.
"Scrubs" is funny; Dick Cheney is not.
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Warn us of spoilers!
I was planning on watching the show on DVD once it came out, but now I know how it ends. You should lead an article like this with a "spoiler alert" so people can be advised that there is plot info revealed.
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What about College Hill? What about The L Word?
I'm thinking the BET spin on Real World for young black men and women is in actuality Dick Cheney's least favorite show. Or possibly The L Word. Heroes, isn't a show in the classic sense. It's more like "Lost" where the 'writers' get really wasted and then scribble disjoint bullshit down and call it a plot. But mostly it's word salad. Every week a new plot a new series of characters. Hell let's just go back in time and rewrite our own 'plot' while we're at it. Yeah the joke's on you, Juan.
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actually
Heroes does subvert the American cultural norm, and this subversion has nothing to do with superpowers.
The show takes place in a present day context and there are several relationships on the show that are unlike anything on American TV: (as mentioned before) the married interracial couple with a mixed child; the interracial relationships of Simone and Isaac then Peter; and the interracial relationship of Hiro and Charlie. Additionally, we see diversity in class, nationality, and gender, including the ambigously gay Zach (Retract the gay angle all you want, agents, I saw those rainbow suspenders). Yes, the cast still tends to be heavily male and heavily white, but it is more effortlessly diverse than any other network TV show I can think of.
These things are noticeably, beautifully different from what we're used to seeing on TV. They are subversive because they are accepted. They require no explanation; they are a reflection of a world I would like to see.
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One Little Problem
""Heroes" may also be a better guide to where the thinking of the young, post-Bush generation [than 24]."
Only problem is, younger people are notably more likely to support the Iraq war than older people (48/45% support/oppose for 18-29 year olds, 28/67% support/oppose for 65+).
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/17/us/politics/18web-elder.html?ex=1180670400&en=f66faa9d7240c0a9&ei=5070
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Snowcrash
I'm amazed that no one has pointed out that the characters and social environment are drawn from parts of Neal Stephenson's "Snowcrash", as was "Waterworld". The ambiguous morality is more a nod to that world than a reaction to "24" or the news. Hiro Nakamura is Hiro Protagonist, not Barack Obama.
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Hiro
Nakamura is nothing like Hiro Protagonist (nor is he like Barack Obama). The only things they have in common are creators who liked the name play of Hiro-Hero.
Nor is the contemporary time presented in "Heroes" anything like the near-future consumo-techno world of "Snowcrash".
"Snowcrash" is an incredible novel, but not an apt comparison.
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Sorry about the spoilers...but we just can't help it
It's interesting that I would never divulge the key plot twist of a feature motion picture, but I don't hesitate to dish on a TV episode the day after it airs. My attitude is probably a holdover from the days when everyone watched TV at the same time, so if you missed it you just had to hear about it at the water cooler. Obviously we consume TV in a much different manner now, with Tivo and DVD's. Still, I don't think I can give up engaging in extensive discussions of TV episodes (especially online) immediately after they air. Those discussions are part of what separates TV from other media. TV is still, as much as anything these days, a shared cultural experience. So let's share. Sorry to those who didn't catch the show when it aired, but I think I'd just have to recommend that they not read these articles until they've seen the show.