Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's "Far Beyond the Stars" is an examination of racism in science fiction, then and now. When Captain Sisko experiences a vision of himself as Benny Russell, a Black science fiction writer in 1950s New York whose story about a Black space station captain gets rejected and pulped, the episode becomes a meta-commentary on the genre itself. Matthew and Riki unpack how this episode critiques not just 1950s racism, but the sci-fi publishing world of the 1960s and 1990s and even Star Trek's own blind spots, while exploring what it means when we fail to imagine beyond our own experiences.Questions We Discussed:
- How does "Far Beyond the Stars" critique both 1950s racism and the science fiction publishing world of the 1990s?
- Why did the episode focus exclusively on Benny Russell's pain rather than showing how his white colleagues reacted to being called out?
- Is Avery Brooks' emotional performance as Benny overacting, or does our inability to imagine his pain reveal our own failure of imagination?
- What does the episode reveal about the difference between "wishing" things were better and actually taking action against injustice?
- How has this episode aged since 1998, and why do many viewers find it hits harder on a rewatch as adults?
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