Not what the Doctor Ordered
As you know I’m a Star Trek fan, it may not surprise that I am also a Doctor Who fan and on Saturday I finally managed to watch the third episode before going onto the fourth one in the evening. The Ood, the starring monsters in this episodes, are among my favourites in the Dr. Who Universe. They are outwardly faithful slaves to the human race, polite, obedient and mindless. However, underneath this exterior lies a hidden power; they are tall and menacing in stature and have a telepathic ability that trancends human understanding. In their first appearance, their possession by the Devil, in a very clever religious themed episodes, there was a constant suspicion that there is more to them than that initial story, that they partly allowed this take-over.
However, in this episode (don’t worry I won’t spoil it for those who are waiting on iPlayer) a different side is presented that gives some extra context. They are sold and bred as slaves, but secretly, hidden within their genetics, they desire freedom. So often in Science Fiction, the world is reflective of our own. This is the case in most Star Trek episodes, and I could blog about until the cows come home, grab a cup of coffee and watch television into the night. Much to everyone’s relief I won’t. However, the Doctor makes this connection between the fictional world and our present day obvious as he likens the slave trade in the Ood to the ways in which we British exploit so many from other countries worldwide. The really scary aspect about the mood, taking a Marxist view of it, is that at any point these subservient beings could rebel, reflecting our own concerns about class issues.
It reminded me of another program I watched last week. It was on BBC Three 9pm on Tuesday, called Blood, Sweat and T-Shirts. Catch the second program today if you can. Six Brits go over to India to work in the clothes production industry and it is a living nightmare. The people get paid a pitiful 20 pence an item of clothing, whilst they are made to work many hours in boring repetitive jobs under strict surveillance. It makes my summer job at Legoland nirvana. All this just so that we at home can pick up a bargain at New Look. Even on the sale rails clothes companies still make profit because of the ludicrously small sum that “real” workers get.
I was foolish enough to believe once that slavery had been erradicated as our society has become more civilised. The reality is that it’s just become more covert, just as the Doctor points out. It’s a disgrace and it makes me feel funny about even entering a shop again. It surely wouldn’t take much to pay the really poor companies that provide the clothes a fair wage, but it’s all about profit and making money. The whole reason that foreign imports are even used is because we can sucker them into working for us on a low wage. All the while we sneer at people trying to redress the balance. While we are able to bask in our own sovereignty and intelligence, there are people slaving their guts out to avoid starvation. What can we expect as far as immigration goes when we claim for ourselves most of the world’s resources? We’re really bringing it on ourselves. It’s the nature of capitalism. In a world where every man is for himself, it’s usually at the expense of someone else.
When we run out of fossil fuels and we can’t rely on trade any longer, this country will surely collapse. There are so many people and we rely so heavily on exports at the expense of our own farmers and producers and men with skills that we’ll all starve. Frankly, our country will deserve it.
I apologise for the blog turning into not only a rant, but a damning appraisal of our own country. I’m not condemning the people who shop, as it’s not their fault that our minds are controlled by a culture of greed, or that faceless organisations are trying to exploit, not only us, but the people who make these clothes. Some law has got to be put in place about fair foreign dealings maybe. Until then, though it can be rank, Fair-Trade will have to do. It just leaves me with the hopeless and desperate feeling that I want to do something, but I don’t know what. Anyone with any ideas about how to change the current system be my guest and post suggestions.
