I’ve spent a great deal of time and energy these last few months talking about Doctor Who and Star Wars. Both are important, formative stories for me. I grew up with them, as well as Star Trek, The Transformers, He-Man, Tolkien, and a dozen or more other properties that still mean something to me. But why spend my time talking about fictitious worlds when ours is slowly going to Hell? The answer is actually very simple, and I’ve already answered it: these are stories that matter, “the stories that stick with you,” as a great Hobbit gardener once said.

They are stories of Hope.

The stories that mean the most to us, that matter to us as a culture, are the ones where the situation looks dark and grim, but someone brings hope, a light in the darkness. Jesus. Abraham. Muhammad. Buddha. Superman. Captain Picard. Luke Skywalker. The Doctor. All are characters who tell stories of hope in the midst of hopelessness. And frankly, these are the stories we need and need to discuss. I may not be an overtly religious individual, but I recognize the important role religion plays in bringing hope to many. Our fictional characters and stories do that, too. It is important we have open, honest conversations about these things, otherwise, we become those who represent the opposite of hope: despair and oppression.

Religion turns into Religious Nationalism, rejecting the pluralism and globalization we need to survive as a species. Fan boys feel entitled to certain characters and stories and want to exclude all others who are not white, male, cis, hetero, and fully abled. As we exclude Others from our tribes, we become the very thing these stories rail against. We become the ones who oppress the poor and the sick. We come to see people Other than ourselves as Less-Than. Symbols of Hope are important, then, to remind us that Others don’t have to be something to be feared and excluded. Celebrating differences can be enriching and liberating.

Superman tells the story of an immigrant, here as a refugee of a dying world, finding meaning in helping those around him. He has the greatest set of powers in the DC Universe. He could be a god among Men. He could dominate all life on Earth under the power of his will, especially if he turned the various members of the Justice League to that twisted will. But his will isn’t twisted. He does not wish to dominate. He wishes to serve, to inspire, to bring Hope where there is none.

Look up!

We face down the Darkness. Sometimes we blink, we lose faith, we collapse under the weight of it all. But these stories teach us that victory comes not from never being knocked down. It comes from never giving up on getting back up again. (There’s an idea for a catchy song in there somewhere.) They also teach us the value of working together toward the common good. Why are the Rebels able to defeat the overwhelming forces of the Empire? Because they unified under a common cause. The Empire’s leaders and bureaucrats lived in such fear of the Emperor’s wrath that they always worked to better their own position without thinking how it would strengthen or weaken the whole Empire.

There’s a reason that the 1977 Star Wars movie was subsequently titled A New Hope. Luke and Leia and Han are able to unite the Rebels against the Empire because the Empire believes in terror, in the power of weapons over the potential of people. Flash forward 39 years to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. It goes even deeper into how the Rebellion pulled itself together in the face of Evil. Cassian Andor and Jyn Erso and their motley company convinced the Rebels to steal the plans to the planet-killing Death Star. Jump forward another 6 years to 2022 and the premier of Andor. We see more threads of hope being laid.

The Doctor of Doctor Who inspires hope in those around them and bring people together to resist the Darkness. Wherever they go, the Doctor uses intellect and reason and love to save the day instead of weapons and might and power. Their “power” is being the Doctor, a healer, a philosopher, a scientist, an engineer, a leader. “Never cruel. Never cowardly. Never give up. Never give in.”

Sam and Frodo in The Lord of the Rings struggle for so long against increasingly horrific odds. They are attacked by Gollum on the road to Mordor, and choose mercy over death. Their mercy, the pity of Frodo toward Gollum (following in the footsteps of his cousin Bilbo) ended up saving Middle Earth from a new Darkness. Frodo tried so hard for so long, and in the end, he could not complete his quest because the burden was too great. But for his earlier mercy, his Hope that Gollum could be redeemed, all would have been lost. Gollum bit the One Ring from Frodo’s finger and fell into the Cracks of Doom, destroying himself and the Ring. The whole story of Frodo seems like one long slog of despair, yet Hope keeps him and Sam going, sees something redeemable in Gollum (even if the poor creature is ultimately not redeemed), and drives Frodo to spare even Saruman after the Souring of the Shire.

Frodo finds one last Hope in taking the ship from the Gray Havens to Valinor. Many believe that because it is known as the Undying Land, Frodo and Bilbo go to live on until the end of the world. But that was not their Hope. Their Hope was in rest and healing their spirits, their fea, before passing on to wherever Hobbits go when they pass on. Hope takes many forms, and not all of them are what we expect. But Hope is worth fighting for.

The list goes ever on and on. (Down from the keyboard where it began?) Star Trek captains rally against hate and bigotry. Autobots believe that freedom and autonomy are the right of all sentient beings. Babylon 5. The Expanse. To Kill a Mockingbird. They are all about finding that one little spark of Hope and setting whole towns, whole solar systems, entire galaxies and universes on fire with the power of Hope. I talk about stories of Hope because Hope matters to me, and I would hope it matters to you.

Darkness is closing in all around us. People are trying to strip our neighbors, our friends, and our families of their rights. They are trying to strip us of our rights. They want to dominate, rule, and wallow in the filth of their greed and gluttony. As Gandalf would say, we have to decide what to do with the time that is given to us. This is my little bit of a resistance in a world that is trying hard to erase the very existence of people whom I love.

Resist. And Hope