american messianic colonialism in stanley weinbaum’s planetary stories

although america claims to be the savior of the world and itsinvasions of other nations have been justified as attempts to maintain peaceand security, america’s international interventions have not always beenwithout expansionist aims. america considers itself a messianic force on theearth. this moral aloofness has served as a justification for imperialistprojects. in the light of post-colonial studies, this article tries to discussthe manifestation of america's messianic discourse in the works of a leadingscience fiction writer of the 1930s, stanley g. weinbaum. in his planetary stories,weinbaum portrays americans as the harbingers of peace, security andenlightenment to the lands they invade. moreover, weinbaum pictures americansas those who bring about reconciliation and, having eliminated hostilecriminals and vicious natives, save all the planets and its tame, pliableinhabitants. the results of the analysis show that the messianic discourse ofthe us has been so pervasive that it has deeply affected its literature andculture.