Independence Day. Patriotic genre? Done.

Okay, that’s a given when you talk about science fiction and the 4th of July. I mean, it’s a holiday AND movie title! Perfect fit… aliens invading, humans rallying together to defeat them, great big patriotic speech given by the President, and lots of fireworks… all be it in the form of historic landmarks and spaceships blowing up.

But what about other offerings in genre? I could make a top ten list, but that would just lead to someone being offended that I left what they consider far superior off the list. (But to quote one of my favorite non-SFF patriotic movies, “It’s a revolution, damn it! We’re going to have to offend SOMEBODY!”) So I say let’s open the floor for a democratic discussion the way the founding fathers intended (though they had just as many issues with congress as we do*). I’ll get the ball rolling with a few of my picks as well as a few from some of my fellow SciFi4Me Crew…

MOVIES

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vP_1T4ilm8M

STAR WARS
The WHOLE thing is about rebellions! In the new trilogy (which soon won’t be the “new” trilogy anymore… what will we call it?), there’s the “quiet” rebellion of the Sith while the current government rotted from within. Not very patriotic I know, but every good rebellion needs something evil to fight against, and that was what the Sith-led Empire was. (Maybe if there could have been more than two…?) The classic trilogy gives us the good guys/bad guys we want. A small band of rebels fighting for freedom and justice. Yeah, that’s the ticket. And I should know… I paid for enough movie tickets to see it over the years!

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 2
This works for the books, too, but it’s so enjoyable to see the witches and wizards rise up to defeat Voldemort and the Death Eaters!  Come on, we all loved reading Molly Weasley stand up to protect Ginny from Bellatrix, but to actually SEE it was so worth the price of admission, as was seeing all the students and teachers rise up. If you really look at the series, Harry hadn’t done much but be a figurehead for the coming rebellion since destroying the diary in the second movie/book, so to finally see him take his place in the battle was exhilarating! But even more, and what makes me put this in the movie category over the book one below, is seeing the others rise up. They don’t need Harry to take point anymore… they realize they are the front line!

V FOR VENDETTA
The movie, not the graphic novel. Not that I have anything against the graphic novel, but there are enough differences to have it be the movie that fits our theme. I love this lone vigilante fighting for freedom, even if it becomes more of a thumbing-his-nose-at-the-establishment thing. And while I think the actual destruction of the beautiful Parliament building is terrible to imagine, watching it explode in concert with Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture was disquietingly patriotic… for the moment.

PACIFIC RIM
Giant monsters invade from under the sea. They could quite literally squash us like a bug. So what do we do? Build a bigger fighting machine! I saw this in IMAX 3D, and I am so glad I did! It was stunning and roused the audience into a frenzy of cheering for… us! Yes, watching the scrappy humans fight to defend our planet… that’s what I call a rebellion!

CAPTAIN AMERICA
Well, let’s be honest… you can pick almost any of the recent Marvel films and it would fit. But having the whole WW2 angle, the scrawny guy wanting to fight for his country, selling war bonds, and eventually going in to rescue his buddies is the epitome of American bravado and what we think the 4th is about. Plus, Chris Evans looks great in that suit! (or out of it!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MX39sKoyFCU

MARS ATTACKS
Full disclosure… I wasn’t originally going to include this one because I am biased towards it. I worked on it! (really! right there in the credits and all!) But then one of my fellow Chicks brought it up, so in it goes! The Martians invade to colonize our world. They do terrible things, like destroy and deface cultural landmarks… Eiffel Tower, Big Ben, Taj Mahal, and Mount Rushmore… and some things we can understand a bit more… yea, I’m talking about you, Congress. In the end, it’s a small-town Kansas boy who discovers that playing Slim Whitman’s “Indian Love Call” kills the Martians. Talk about a musical rebellion!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9T9f3UbGuo

WAR OF THE WORLDS
And speaking of Martians… I’m going for the original one here, not the Tom Cruise remake. That one is fine I guess, but the classic 1953 version really is a gem! We’re curious but are more of a shoot first culture. Doesn’t matter. The Martians don’t care to negotiate. They want to invade and destroy. We do what we can, but it’s not much good. On the brink of our destruction, though, comes a savior… in the form of all those germs our 1950’s-selves were used to. The look on Gene Barry’s face seeing the Martians die says it all. The smallest creatures that “God in His wisdom had put upon this Earth” have saved mankind from extinction. Just remember that the next time you sanitize the heck out of everything.

Crew Additions: The Hunger Games – The Matrix Trilogy –  Starship Troopers – Battlefield: Los Angeles

TELEVISION

WONDER WOMAN
So many times it’s the guys that get the lead. Just count how many female superhero movies and shows there are compared to male… go ahead… I can wait. Maybe that’s partly because we women have Wonder Woman, and how can you top her?! To paraphrase the classic Rogers/Astaire quote, Wonder Woman does everything the male superheroes do only in a bustier and high heels. I dare Batman or Superman to try that! And please, it’s right there in her theme song: “All the world’s waiting for you, and the power you possess, in your satin tights, fighting for your rights and the old Red, White and Blue… stop a bullet cold, make the Axis fold, change their minds, and change the world… You’re a wonder, Wonder Woman.” (BTW, did you know that it was Lynda Carter who came up with the transformation spin? Nice!)

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
Ah, that rag-tag fugitive fleet. The colonials in both versions started as majority but were quickly culled by the Cylons. Left with only a few thousand humans, they must decide to stay and fight to the death or flee to survive. In the new version, Adama gives a rousing speech, similar to the President’s in Independence Day, and that really solidifies the rebel spirit. And the second season mid-season finale ending shows that while they are down, they aren’t out… the Chief asks Starbuck what are they going to do as the Cylons march into New Caprica… “The same thing we always do. Fight ’em until we can’t.” Yeah, Starbuck! There are many plotlines about balancing the military and government and human rights… very  patriotic.

STARGATE SG-1
The whole series fits this category. SG-1 is an elite United States Air Force special operations team, one of a dozen teams from Earth who explore the galaxy and defend against alien threats. Along the way they aid so many different peoples to their own freedom. So it’s deserving of a place in the list… and if I don’t include it, Alex may hurt me!

V
Cheese factor abounds! And I do mean for both versions. What the Visitors fail to grasp is that we humans will fight for our home to the last! Along the way we even convince a few Visitors to join our side by being part of the Fifth Column (shown as the V Column… aren’t they cute!). I love that they can look like us wearing their human disguise… so menacing and delicious! I watched both series when they each aired, and while I never ignored the major flaws (and there were many), the ride was always so fun. And the casting was great, especially Morena Baccarin as Anna and Jane Badler as Diana! (Rick Carrot, that’s another story, but any show that can make Freddy Krueger cute and cuddly deserves note!)

STAR TREK – “The Omega Glory”
I’m picking this episode because it shows how our best morals, values, and intentions can be corrupted, to the point that they are almost unrecognizable. In the battle between the Kohms and the Yangs (Communists and Yankees for those not in the know), Kirk discovers some rather disquieting things about their struggle, including a battered copy of our Constitution that the Yangs and Kohms have misread and misused. Watch the scene above, and take a moment to reflect on them. He declares that the words were not just for the Yangs, but for Kohms as well, declaring that they “must apply to everyone or they mean nothing.” Exactly.

DOCTOR WHO – “The Sound of Drums” and “The Last of the Time Lords”
I know there are plenty of Martha-haters out there. I am not one of them. And I am sure many will pick different DW episodes to fit the theme. But I like that when our world is taken over, we still find ways to struggle and fight. Even when we seem to be totally subjugated, it’s Martha who travels the world, spreading the seed of our freedom. She saved us. And we don’t even remember. One word. Many people. And the children of Earth defeat the Master and, well, the children of Earth.

Crew Additions:
Falling Skies– We do recaps of this, ya’ know! Check out Jason’s posts from previous seasons and Craig’s from the current season!
Babylon 5– Again, the whole series fits!
Jericho– Even if just for Skeet Ullrich’s character saying, “Nuts!”
Revolution– It’s right there in the name.

BOOKS

Okay, upfront time again… I am not much of a genre reader. Just the curse of having a family full of fast readers while I’m not. Very intimidating to a young person. But I did work in kids books for quite awhile, so I have some young reader/ teen book series I love!

SECRETS OF THE IMMORTAL NICHOLAS FLAMEL series by Michael Scott
It’s a fight against good and evil, and the lines are very blurry.

PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS series by Rick Riordan
Take Olympians, Titans, mortals, and half-bloods, and just add water! Mythological freedom fighting!

KINGDOM KEEPERS series by Ridley Pearson
I do, and don’t, want to go to these Disney parks! These kids are trying to save our world from an evil we can’t see. You may never ride “It’s a Small World” again… and not for the reason you already don’t!

For the rest, I default to my big brother who is a classic sci-fi book lover. Thanks, Kirk!

THE MOON IS A HARSH MISTRESS by Robert A Heinlein
Generally considered one of Heinlein’s major novels as well as one of the most important science fiction novels ever written,it’s about a lunar colony’s revolt against rule from Earth.

FOOTFALL by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
The book depicts the arrival of members of an alien species called the Fithp that have traveled to our solar system from Alpha Centauri. The aliens are intent on taking over the Earth.

SIXTH COLUMN by Robert A Heinlein
The “sixth column” is a hidden resistance movement fighting an oppressive occupying force of Asians on American soil.

LOST REGIMENT Series by William R Forstchen
The plot revolves around a Union Army regiment from the American Civil War which gets transported to an alien world. There are nine books in the series.

TWO GEORGES by Harry Turtledove and Richard Dreyfuss
An award-winning alternate history tale of the North American Union and the terrorist organization that wants to see America free from Britain.

MARS TRILOGY by Kim Stanley Robinson
Chronicles the settlement and terraforming of the planet Mars through personal and detailed viewpoints of a variety of characters spanning almost two centuries.

Share your favorite patriotic genre with us! Use #PatrioticSciFi @SciFi4Me

HAPPY 4th of JULY!

* “I have come to the conclusion that one useless man is a disgrace, that two are called a law firm, and that three or more become a Congress!” Said by John Adams in Sherman Edwards production of 1776