ABC aired the pilot for their new series V this week. Yes, there were Obama references aplenty (though not by name). It wasn't your imagination.

Consider the backstory: Things have been going south for a few years, but here comes a charismatic savior, bringing hope and change. Change is hard for some, even good change like... universal health care! Still, the youth are all for it, and even most journalists seem to put aside any doubts, either because they hope and believe like the rest of us, or purely out of personal ambition.

Spelled out like that, it might seem silly or outrageous, but the references were often only implicit, and spread over the one-hour episode, so they never seemed overwhelming. The New Republic noticed them, and was upset at the comparison. The Chicago Tribune covered it more dispassionately. Watching the show as it aired, the parallels seemed clear and present to me.

While The New Republic compared the Obama / Visitor similarities to some of the worst political extremists active today, others seem delighted to think of a priest helping lead a resistance to take down the evil Obama administration, even if only allegorically. After all, in that scenario, Obama is an alien lizard! I don't think either view is an accurate picture of V's cultural references.

The best fiction tends to be about things that are familiar, only different. The 1980s incarnation of V drew from Nazi imagery with things like the "Hitler youth," because viewers would recognize it as creepy and evil, even if most of us are only familiar with the broad strokes. The 2009 incarnation is drawing from life since 9/11 for the same reasons.

The FBI is chasing terrorists. There are armed soldiers in city centers. People are frantic, even desperate, for change, and a charismatic leader who says the right words can quickly capture the attention of the world. Religion seems to be playing a bigger role in public discussions than a decade ago. These things are all part of our shared experience in the last eight years. The writers of V are using these shared experiences to help us accept the idea that the world would welcome friendly alien visitors. No more, and no less. Using Nazi imagery now would seem out of step, while most of us feel a bit of familiarity with what we see in V. Even those who miss the more subtle references should find nothing here that doesn't feel "right," even when it's wrong. Everybody should appreciate the reference to "universal health care." While National Guard troops directing pedestrians in U.S. cities would have seemed odd 25 years ago, it should surprise none of us today.

Article Author: Phillip Winn

Phillip Winn is the Chief Geek for Blogcritics, and a blogger since 1995. He may currently be found and followed as @pwinn on Twitter.

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