Spaceships and Politics ─ The Political Theory of Rod Serling

"The marriage of science fiction and political theory is a long and complex one, but it has seldom been laid out in such detail and with as much analytical smarts as in Professor Feldman's study of Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone. Fans of this popular series and students of political theory will all find much here about their main interest while learning new ways to think and talk about it. I was particularly struck by the great variety of examples of alienation in Serling's work cast in the light of Marx's theory of alienation.-Bertell Oilman, NYU, author of Alienation: Marx's Conception of Man in Capitalist Society

"More than a study of Rod Serling's Hobbesian political theory, Spaceships and Politics is an encounter with political theory's fundamental questions via the ultimate Cold War television series, The Twilight Zone. Clear writing and engaging episode summaries make this book invaluable for anyone interested in reflecting on inhumanity, fear, loneliness, and the persistence of hope. A great choice for classroom use."-Jodi Dean, Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Spaceships and Politics: The Political Theory of Rod Serling examines the political themes in The Twilight Zone. In this unique show, Rod Serling used fantasy and the supernatural to explore political ideas such as capital punishment, the individual and the state, war, conformity, the state of nature, prejudice, and alienation. He used aliens and machines to understand human nature. While the themes in The Twilight Zone often reflected political concerns of the time, such as the Cold War and post-industrial technology, the messages had broader political implications. This book looks at Serling's mechanistic view of the world and emphasis on fear through Hobbesian themes such as diffidence and automata.-Leslie Dale 1 (Adman is professor of political science at Hofstra University.

Leslie Dale Feldman is professor of political science at Hofstra University.