alienEthOS Show #003 - Honorable Crime
Kevin and Kade and special guest host Kari from The Signal present show three of alienEthOS: The Ethics of Sci-fi.
They talk about their impressions after seeing Serenity and interview Kari to learn about her inner geek. Then, using the the movie along with the TV show Firefly they explore the thorny world of honorable crime. They compare to Robin Hood and historic examples.
Come discuss the show in the forums!
Introduction
Kari from The Signal joins Kade and Kevin to discuss Honorable Crime in Firefly and Serenity.
Serenity is released!
Your hosts give their impressions of Serenity after having seen it recently.
Thanks
Kade thanks other podcasters for their mentions and websites for linking us; Planet Fandom, Adventures of a Gay Geek, SFF Audio and asserts his Trekkie dominance.
Kevin thanks The Dragon Page for playing him on Winging It.
Call for guests
Kevin thanks Kari for being there Kade calls for more guests on future shows.
The Interview
Kevin and Kade interview Kari. We find out that she’s a chemist and warn against the dangers of Wikipedia:dihydrogen monoxide. Kari tells about her role as co-host of The Signal and gives props to her team.
Kari’s inner geek
Kari talks about her sordid geek past and how watching Charmed, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Farscape led to Firefly.
Origin stories
Everyone talks about their podcast origin stories Kari’s having started in the Dark Age of Camelot game. Kari explains the role of family as a theme in science fiction.
Firefly as a western
Kade compares Firefly to Wikipedia:John Wayne style westerns.
Discussion
Kevin and Kade make the distinction between honorable crime and honor among thieves.
Robin Hood and executive overhead
Firefly is debated as an example of honorable crime and the story of Robin Hood is use to compare. Kade mentions the idea of executive overhead in the merry band.
Firefly’s moral compass
The Train Job is framed as an introduction of the show’s moral compass.
Ariel is shown as a more Robin Hood like example. The Alliance’s actions towards the characters and the outer planets are shown as justification for the heist.
Freedom in Serenity
Kade says that Serenity allows for a clearer picture of honorable crime. The story transforms the story from Robin Hood to that of freedom fighters.
Mr. Universe as free media
Kevin compares Mr. Universe to podcasters and bloggers. And everyone has a moment that makes you go hmmmm.
Freedom of choice
Kade mentions Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau and responds to comments made in the forums about political avenues for redress.
Kari reads a comment by Mad Poet regarding government and the need to take the consequences and refutes the notion with the idea of freedom to choose.
Kari and Kevin talk about abortion and Kade talks about the dangers of submission to government.
Conclusion
Moral compass and societal tags
Kari concludes with examples of crime in Firefly/Sernity and the crew’s moral compass. She also discusses the idea of crime as a societal tag.
Systems of justice and Star Wars
Kade explores whether some governments have workable systems of justice. He uses the example of The Empire from Star Wars.
Honorable crime and human rights
Kevin attempts to define what exactly is an honorable crime. He pulls from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to also explore the rights due to all people.
Next show topic
Kade announces the next show entitled 62,400 Repetitions: Ethics in the police state. The sources being A Brave New World, 1948 and Fahrenheit 451.
Charity of the month
Kevin introduces PodcastingWiki.org as a new collaborative resource for podcasting.