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A Comparison of Satire in Voltaire’s Candide and the Film Lexx

Voltaire’s Candide is a story about a young man learning about the realities of the world; realities he never could have believed to happen in life because his education heavily involves the idea that this is the “best of all worlds. ” Salter Street Films’ Lexx is a story about a group of misfit adventurers and the calamity that befalls them after they steal the Lexx, a Manhattan-sized insect with the ability to destroy planets.

Though the two stories have more in common than one might expect, given the difference of medium, much more is different between the two, even with satire present in both The first and most obvious difference between Candide and Lexx is the setting of the two. The Earth as visited by the Lexx is, in itself, unrealistic with its portrayal of everything we consider ‘normal’ being completely outlandish to the crew. It also follows that if the settings are drastically different, the characters must be as well. Kai is not only an assassin and last of the Brunnen-G, but he has been dead for six thousand years. Stanley Tweedle, captain of the Lexx, has seen enough while traveling on the giant insect to know that such is not the case.

The characters between the two stories even journey with different methods; while the cast of Lexx travels through the Light and Dark Universes on an insect spaceship, the cast of Candide travels around the Earth on foot or by transportation such as boats. Even the crew of the Lexx travels around Earth not by such methods, but by using the giant Moths grown on their ship. The second, and perhaps most important difference between Candide and Lexx is the methods by which the two stories satirize things. As typical of most modern day satire, Lexx is far more blatant in its approach.

For instance, Lexx wastes no time telling us that Earth is in the center of the Dark Universe. The sexual innuendo that both display can illustrate this comparison very clearly, as the more R-rated scenes of Lexx do not try to hide themselves at all. Certainly, with Xev of B3K being a Love Slave, these things are meant to be obvious. Even beyond that, she manages to escape the mental Love Slave programming and puts the robot head 790 in place of herself. 790 then becomes a naughty little pervert that will do anything to catch the love of his life, be it Xev or Kai.

As opposed to the setting of Lexx, the main characters in Candide start their exploits in the simple castle of Thunder-ten-thronckh and journey onward during Voltaire’s era, a far cry from modern times. Most of Candide realistically portrays the world while the characters act in completely ludicrous fashion. Candide is an innocent young man on a journey, and his companions create quite the human ensemble. Dr. Pangloss believes everything is part of a greater plan, the ‘best of all worlds.

It is ironic that the universe of Lexx treats time as a cycle with a beginning and an end, a cycle that will repeat in exactly the same fashion when it begins again, a fact Dr. Pangloss would certainly love to know. The characters journey with different methods with the cast of Candide traveling around the Earth on foot or by transportation such as boats. The vagueness of Candide’s satire is also a noticeable difference.

Voltaire demonstrates the philandering tendencies of men with a ludicrous narrative, such as Lady Cunegonde watching as Dr. Pangloss gives “a lesson in experimental physics to her mother’s chambermaid. “(18) Candide also lacks a certain faith in humans, as demonstrated by the narrative when somewhat nasty things happen and the characters react in ways akin to “oh, I’ve done something wrong. Now I’ll do this. ” Candide also displays some authority figures in a more noble light, sometimes with the flaw belonging to those around them. Candide, for instance, runs the Inquisitor through with absolutely no rational thought on the matter.

Although Candide and Lexx have their fare share of difference, they share some similarity, such as the way they depict military forces. Candide shows disdain for the way soldiers behave in the actions of the Bulgars. The recruiters trick a nave Candide into signing on with no guilt in the matter whatsoever, while the Bulgar that rapes and stabs Cunegonde is certainly behaving improperly. It is, however, interesting to note that his Captain kills him for being ignored rather then treating a lady in such a fashion.

The ATF of Lexx are certainly a military force, with Prince using the Bureau to get control of the Lexx at any cost, often endangering the lives of Stanley and Xev to do it. Stanley, as captain of the Lexx, is often on the receiving end of Prince’s schemes and tricks just when Kai is not around to help. Lexx treats mass death in a similar fashion. Only in the show’s third season has the act of destroying planets ever meant more then a large ‘boom. ‘ Season four returns to the series’ earlier comedic depictions of destroying worlds, including the instance in the episode “Dutch Treat” when the Lexx fires on Earth.

The planet’s destruction is only averted through the fact that Lexx is hungry and can not produce enough of a blast to destroy a planet. As a consequence, the current captain orders the Lexx to descend from lunar orbit and consume Holland to regain its strength. This action is displayed from the view of a Dutch landscape painter sitting on a field as the Lexx swoops over and sucks up the organic material from the land like a vacuum cleaner. The highlight of the sarcasm comes when the Lexx has finished its meal and, on its way back to orbiting the moon, lets out a burp and licks its chops.

The one exception to season four’s satire is the series finale during which, among other things, 790 fools the now-senile Lexx into destroying the Earth. This is the ship’s final shot before it passes on of old age. Satire is nothing new. Things have been wrong in the world since recorded history and there have always, and will always be people to criticize the flaws in the way things work. While satire today is often told differently then that of Voltaire’s time, the principle is certainly the same.

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