Editing Babylon 5 (section)

=== Order vs. chaos; authoritarianism vs. free will ===
{{Quote box |quote=Neither the Vorlons nor the Shadows saw themselves as conquerors or adversaries. Both believed they were doing what was right for us. And like any possessive parent, they'll keep on believing that until the kid is strong enough to stand up and say, 'No, this is what '''''I''''' want.' |source=—[[J. Michael Straczynski]], 1997<ref name="js"/> |align=right |width=40% |salign=right}}

The clash between order and chaos, and the people caught in between, plays an important role in ''Babylon 5''. The conflict between two unimaginably powerful older races, the [[Vorlon]]s and the [[Shadow (Babylon 5)|Shadows]], is represented as a battle between competing ideologies, each seeking to turn the humans and the other younger races to their beliefs. The Vorlons represent an [[authoritarian]] philosophy of unquestioning obedience. Vorlon characters frequently ask, "who are you?" focusing on identity as a catalyst for shaping personal goals;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://jmsnews.com/Messages/Thread?threadid=_%3E%3EZHD%20-%20Thoughts%3C%3C&messageid=10775 |title=ZHD – Thoughts |last=Straczynski |first=J. Michael |date=May 11, 1996 |website=JMSNews |access-date=February 24, 2019 |archive-date=October 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028162744/http://jmsnews.com/Messages/Thread?threadid=_%3E%3EZHD%20-%20Thoughts%3C%3C&messageid=10775 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="signs"/> the intention is not to solicit a correct answer, but to "tear down the artifices we construct around ourselves until we're left facing ourselves, not our roles."<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.fsl.cs.sunysb.edu/pipermail/b5jms/1995-October/000003.html |title=JMS on Compuserve: October 1, 1995 |author=((B5JMS Poster))|date=October 9, 1995 |access-date=February 24, 2019 |archive-date=June 20, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150620052209/http://www.fsl.cs.sunysb.edu/pipermail/b5jms/1995-October/000003.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The Shadows represent another [[authoritarian]] philosophy cloaked in a disguise of evolution through fire, of fomenting conflict in order to promote evolutionary progress.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://jmsnews.com/messages/message?id=7430 |title=Re: Attn JMS: Shadows and Hegel? |last=Straczynski |first=J. Michael |date=April 28, 1998 |website=JMSNews |access-date=February 24, 2019 |archive-date=October 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028173441/http://jmsnews.com/messages/message?id=7430 |url-status=live }}</ref> Characters affiliated with the Shadows repeatedly ask, "what do you want?" emphasising personal desire and ambition, using it to shape identity,<ref name="signs"/> encouraging conflict between groups who choose to serve their own glory or profit.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jmsnews.com/messages/message?id=10546 |title=Questioning... |last=Straczynski |first=J. Michael |date=November 23, 1996 |website=JMSNews |access-date=September 2, 2006 |archive-date=October 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026125135/http://www.jmsnews.com/messages/message?id=10546 |url-status=live }}</ref> The representation of order and chaos was informed by the [[Babylonian mythology|Babylonian myth]] that the universe was born in the conflict between both. The climax of this conflict comes with the younger races' exposing of the Vorlons' and the Shadows' "true faces"<ref name="js">{{cite web |title=JMS Speaks |last=Straczynski |first=J. Michael |author-link=J. Michael Straczynski |url=http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/guide/072.html#JS |publisher=Lurker's Guide to Babylon 5 |access-date=November 7, 2007 |quote=The notion of the Vorlons and Shadows representing Order and Chaos goes back to the Babylonian creation myths, that the universe was born in the conflict between order and chaos, hence part of the reason I decided to name this show after Babylon. That's called *research*. It informs the show, but it is not the show. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013085744/http://midwinter.com/lurk/guide/072.html |archive-date=October 13, 2007 | url-status= live}}</ref> and the rejection of both philosophies,<ref name="signs">{{cite news |url=http://www.space.com/sciencefiction/tv/babylon_5_signs_portents_001013.html |title=A B5 Milestone Remembered |last=O'Callaghan |first=Scott |date=October 13, 2000 |work=Space.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001027204131/http://www.space.com/sciencefiction/tv/babylon_5_signs_portents_001013.html|archive-date=October 27, 2000|url-status=dead |access-date=February 24, 2019}}</ref> heralding the dawn of a new age without their interference.

The notion that the war was about "killing your parents"<ref name="js"/> is echoed in the portrayal of the civil war between the human colonies and Earth. Deliberately dealing in historical and political metaphor, with particular emphasis upon [[McCarthyism]] and the [[House Un-American Activities Committee|HUAC]],<ref name="commie">{{cite web |url=http://www.jmsnews.com/messages/message?id=14128 |title=Re:nightwatch |last=Straczynski |first=J. Michael |date=February 28, 1996 |publisher=Midnight Design Productions, LLC |access-date=February 24, 2019 |archive-date=October 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026125718/http://www.jmsnews.com/messages/message?id=14128 |url-status=live }}</ref> the [[Earth Alliance (Babylon 5)|Earth Alliance]] becomes increasingly authoritarian, eventually sliding into a dictatorship. The show examines the impositions on [[civil liberties]] under the pretext of greater defense against outside threats which aid its rise, and the self-delusion of a populace which believes its moral superiority will never allow a dictatorship to come to power, until it is too late.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jmsnews.com/Messages/Message?id=13917 |title=Point of No Return |last=Straczynski |first=J. Michael |date=March 7, 1996 |publisher=Midnight Design Productions, LLC |access-date=February 24, 2019 |archive-date=October 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026132937/http://www.jmsnews.com/Messages/Message?id=13917 |url-status=live }}</ref> The successful rebellion led by the Babylon 5 station results in the restoration of a democratic government and true autonomy for Mars and the colonies.<ref>Episode 4x21, "[[Rising Star (Babylon 5)|Rising Star]]"</ref>