I’VE BEEN WATCHING BATTLESTAR GALACTICA a lot lately. (BSG, the Re-imagining, not the original series.) I don’t have TV programming, so I’ve been getting them otherwise and I’m almost done with Season 2 now. Not having TV has made it clear to me how much of my Internet society (from blogging to Twittering) is actually tied to TV programming, but that makes sense, right? In the future, I would like to be current on the media I review and in general. My comments here stand regardless, though it is probable they could be augmented by what happens in Season 3. (On that note, if you have insight along the points I’m making from being current, I’ll ask that you handle the spoilers carefully, please!) I am watching this aspect intently. And when I say “this aspect” I mean the racial dynamics behind the Cylon in particular. (Note: Despite the fact that my post title might indicate as much, I’m not proposing that the Cylon is a metaphor for people of another race/ethnicity. Not at all. I’ll make myself clearer as we go on.)
RACIAL ANALYSIS AND SCIENCE FICTION
Looking at Science Fiction through a lens of racial analysis is a practice that has yielded more than one interesting text, and with good reason. Sci-Fi is an area begging for a truer discussion of race and at the same time, an area that has been used for racial commentary for as long as we’ve had film (and before we got to Sci-Fi, we had gems like this). The Star Trek series especially (from the Original, to The Next Generation (TNG), to the spinoffs like Deep Space Nine, etc) are ripe for mining. Not only for racial critique, but models of economy, politics, culture, and society, as well. Science Fiction is an area where the writer really projects their visions of politics and race and gender very clearly. They’ll either do it consciously or unconsciously (or a bit of both), but regardless, there’s a lot to talk about.
A popular (and quite valid) complaint of Science Fiction is that it historically has envisioned a world where people of color have either been eradicated (by story omission, not narrative elements within the story) or (in more recent decades) reduced in great number and when visible, occupying tired and typed roles. An easy example is Lando Calrissian of the Star Wars saga (and I speak of the major films, not any of the Star Wars or Lando Calrissian novel series). He may be handsome and have style, but he is a scoundrel and a backstabber who drools all over Leia and seems to undress her with his eyes, even while Han watches. (Hypersexualized black man, anyone? He plays cards, well, too!)
Spock from Star Trek has always interested me and before I knew exactly why. Okay, granted, Spock is loved by millions and simply because he’s a badass! But specifically what I speak of is Spock’s role as the half-breed, the hybrid. The multi-racial member of a culture. (By the way, I understand some of those terms may be seen as offensive to some. I say them for context-specific reasons as well as in solidarity and with a smile.) This Otherness was a regular feature of the show. Spock was used to a life where in many places, he had to hide his (alien) physical characteristics so as not to be hunted; so he could blend in with the dominant culture. In fact, “Spock” was just a name he used so you weren’t too baffled by the pronunciation of his given name. (This is a story that I know well, as well as multiple Asian American friends I have had over time, whose practice of using a second name for English speakers or in the US was so common as to be unremarkable among themselves.) At the same time, his alien aspect was usually posed as superior to his human (“white” in this analogy) side. In intellect, in temperament, in strength, and immunological (and related) instances. That tension interests me. And for once, the “alien” or person of color is not posed as the more emotional type. I think it was that tension that helped make Spock feel like such an admirable rogue, or “badass,” as I prefer to call him. You very clearly knew he was being Othered, that he represented the outsider.†» And at the same time, he was no stooping, shamed or subservient character. Quite the opposite. (Of course at the same time, we see much less nuance or rethought typing with actual non-whites such as Sulu, Uhura, etc.)
Worf, in Star Trek (TNG), is used in similar ways as Mr. Spock.1»
Worf functions as a site where racial/species, national and cultural tensions collide and are always resolved in favour of cultural assimilation by Starfleet values.
We must include, here, a note about the Replicants from Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner, as well as the entire story. And I mean just a note! Because this movie definitely deserves an entire analysis all by itself (and there are a fair number of them out there, on this score I hardly feel I have anything new to offer). It’s an amazing story with a well-sketched narrative about race, social hierarchy, liminary states as embodied by the replicants (in-between zones such as human:cyborg and embodying the rift/joining of two eras), narratives on multicultural societies, and so on. Dreams, identity, Self.)
Speaking of liminary states, I can’t help but think of this quote from Gaston Bachelard2» though it is in reference to (the beautiful and haunting) Ghost in the Shell.
A creature that comes out of its shell suggests day dreams of a mixed creature that is not only “half fish, half flesh,” but also half dead, half alive, and in extreme cases, half stone, half man.
I can understand why some friends (POC friends) avoid Sci-Fi like the plague. I also think it is an area we can use to our own advantage, too, in battling some of those ideas it has too often promulgated or unwittingly reinforced.
ENTERTAINMENT AND WAR, PART IV
Dating back to the years I tore through Asimov, Le Guin, Heinlen, Clarke, and Bradbury, Science Fiction has been a much-loved genre. But before those teen (and older) years, I loved Star Trek. I used to sneak peeks at it all the time when I was a child of five or so, and wasn’t allowed to watch it by my grandmother. (It was pretty risque in 1976 television parlance.) I wouldn’t say that Sci-Fi is the genre I love the most, necessarily, but it holds the most potential for story possibility and can encompass any other genre, as well as explore any topic at all and not strain the confines of its logic, simply due to the inherently flexible nature of them.
At the same time, Sci-Fi is a tricky place even to visit. Especially stories like Starship Troopers, or BSG, or Star Trek; stories about military protagonists. Fact is, I doubt I’d ever watch so many stories set in the military if it weren’t for Science Fiction! (You can see my political leanings if you don’t know them already. It’s not that I can’t enjoy a good war movie. The Deerhunter is amazing, as was Full Metal Jacket, I very much enjoyed Platoon, and think Apocalypse Now is brilliant, for a few.)
But that’s another reason I think it will be increasingly more important to deconstruct (and “demystify,” as the term is used) the messaging and the values that are reified by such shows. I have friends who hate them, and I understand. Aside from the obvious imperialist, racist, and sexist messaging concretized in Star Trek, there are countless other philosophies being preferenced, like Expansionism, Colonialism, Conservatism, Classism, anti-worker motifs, etc. And not only in old shows, but today. Which is why I like to think the discussion area of this blog can serve some value. It’s important to know why a show is disagreeable sometimes. It empowers one. It empowers us to see through and be less affected, it empowers us to make our own pieces with more clarity, it helps teach children to see through.
Particular to the case of BSG and other related shows, I keep in mind that historically when a culture spreads itself too thin (as Empire always will by extending wars too far and in too great a number) militarization of the culture ensues. To a lesser degree, it will happen during times of war in any case. As far back as Ancient Egypt we see tensions between schools and military forces, as they suffered these same symptoms of declining empire. In these times especially, military forces ever hungry for fresh recruits, tend to see schools as threats. Today, we can look at the tensions between military recruiters and colleges. We can look into our clothing catalogs and find children’s clothes styled after military dress or camouflage to a disproportionate degree. Backpacks, TV shows, video games…. And you better believe that every single series that centers on a battleship is going to be spewing messages about war, about protesters, about martial law, about executive privilege, about war crimes and so on. I think it’s a safe bet that as the Petroleum Wars grow in number or intensity, we will see our media infected even deeper with such messages. They will be ubiquitous because our government and military forces understand full well the power of the media, and utilize this forcefully in a few different ways. So I think it’s good to begin reading these messages and reacting in whatever way we feel necessary, but in any case knowing full well we are being sent many notes from possibly different agents/entities.
THE CYLON
In light of all I’ve referenced so far, I’m finding it interesting to watch the narrative unfold around the Cylon, in BSG. Now, mind you, the Cylon is not an analogy for people of color (POC), or of a multi-racial person. Yet they do (obviously) represent liminary characters, like Spock, Worf, Data, and the Replicants (who share much with the Cylons in terms of envying humanity, competing with humans, made by humans, in that they can be unaware of their identity, and so on.)
However I do see in one case in particular some parallels that make me a bit uncomfortable because I’m not sure how conscious they are. And I’m talking about Boomer. I’m talking about the handling of different types of Cylons specifically, played by different ethnicities of actor.
Okay, firstly, I do feel that the thread about Boomer’s pregnancy is a conscious exploration and comment on miscegenation. Not because she is Asian American, of course. But because she is a Cylon pregnant with a human child. And this could be interesting, if so. If that element is explored. Because of course the crew and humans are virulently opposed to the birth, and both past lovers of Boomer are afforded regular jibes and statements of hostility for having loved her or been sexual with her. The writers may not choose to explore that element, but it feels to me as if the potential is there.
(I’ll also make a note here on the metaphor for Al Qaeda terrorists, as we’ve come to know them to be suicide bombers. The Cylons can blend in with “us” and have even used explosives and explosive belts (as well as a near suicide mission by Boomer herself in Water, Season 2) and are referred to regularly as being “sleeper agents” in some cases, so I think the metaphor is obvious. This seems to me one of the more obvious and intended analogies.)
However, putting an Asian American woman into the role of a spy and a sleeper agent and a deadly force who uses sex, love (Helo and Chief) and direct violence (shooting Adama) is far too convenient and resonates deeply due to the racism in the US against Asians; the memes that pose them as sly, shifty, sneaky and dangerous.
Colonel Tigh gets to talk to this Asian American woman as an "it" and the Enemy, finally striking her in (her already wounded) face and knocking her to the ground.
Now, it’s at this point when a few readers who don’t normally have interest in sussing out racial dynamics, or who aren’t really versed or experienced in reading racial messaging or who are simply unconvinced may speak up and say “But she’s a Cylon. It’s not because she is an Asian that Tigh is hitting her or sneering at her, or people are spitting at her. It’s because she shot Adama. And Adama is a Latino anyway!”
Well, let me hit the important part right away. You are right. She is a Cylon. And we know all Cylons are treated this way.
But what do we see? Nevermind what we may think we know. What plays out in front of our eyes? If we want to judge whether or not there is anything to what I’m proposing, we need reference. So we look at the story. What is contained there and what we see in the context of the Boomer character.
Firstly, who are the most valued characters in the crew? This may be arguable, but I doubt when you break down facetime and general portrayal it would remain unclear. Starbuck and Apollo are the hotshots, the stars, the best pilots, the ones Adama stalls the entire fleet to find or save, each and every time they run into trouble. Two white people (one blonde). What is the racial breakdown of the rest of the regularly featured cast? The President is white, her aide Billy is white, the chief is white, Helo is white, VP Baltar is white, and so is “Number Six,” the blonde cylon who haunts Gaius Baltar (we’ll compare her to Boomer in a moment). So is specialist Cally, and the charismatic rebel down on Caprica, Anders. Non-whites? Lt. Felix Gaeta (who is beginning to get questions about when he is going to come out!) and Dee and the black minister who died—and who was given the “honored” Magical Negro role, of course, radiating mysticism and lore and serving as a liaison to the gods by occupation. [Cast]
They'd be Prom King and Queen if BSG were a high school. (The black woman on camera left is an extra.)
Let me also leap in here preemptively and wave off anyone who would say “Aw, come on! I love BSG! They aren’t trying to say anything about her being Asian!” Firstly, if you’ve not read the “Backstory” page here, read the paragraphs at the end about intent, if nothing else. Then, know that I also enjoy this show. (If you are going to read your Cinema honestly, you will either watch very little for pleasure anymore, or learn to deal with split consciousness.) And believe me when I say that this doesn’t have to steal any joy from your viewing, and the bottom line is that really our “liking” it or not is not relevant to deconstructing the messaging.
Now certainly everyone on board the Galactica is under suspicion of being a Cylon. But before and after it was a full-blown realization, who was it who had (and has) to be proving herself constantly. Defending herself. “I’d never do something like that! [sabotage the ship with explosives...which she did.] It’s very important to me that you believe this!” to Chief, in Water, Season 2. Proving herself again to Adama when (next iteration of) Boomer twirls her gun at him and then hands it to him, explaining why he can trust her. (Early season 2, don’t recall episode). Then, hooking herself into computer cables (bloodily) to help destroy a major ship in the Cylon fleet, even as a captive on Galactica. It greatly pains her to do it, but you can see how important it is to her to prove she is one of them at heart, even if forever an Other. Is this simply a natural part of the storyline? Even if so, what dynamic does this mirror?
Picard employs “inferential racism” (Hall, 1990) in his dealings with Worf, inviting the latter to constantly prove his loyalty to Starfleet. This stereotyping always functions to buttress hierarchy in Star Trek. In fact, this ritualistic avowal of loyalty is expected and enacted in most American narratives as the high percentage of ‘immigrants’ in U.S. society demands a stricter coherence to the concept of an imagined community than is required in more secure forms of nationalism. Thus ‘minorities’ are routinely urged to prove their allegiance to their adopted U.S.A. (e.g. the sacrifices made in The Deer Hunter). 3»
What comparisons can we draw in cast? Colonel Tigh’s (white, blonde) wife, who is found amidst questionable circumstances in Season 1. Questionable enough that President Laura Roslin makes it a priority to have her blood tested as a Cylon. Yet Tigh’s wife feels no compulsion to prove herself. In fact, social decorum is maintained (as is so important to the upper classes) while her test is run, and she is never confronted with the suspicion.
Resonances, as I said. Which gradually accumulate and make me begin asking questions. I first thought of Grace Park, the actress who plays Model 8/Boomer. I said to myself I wonder how she feels about the role. I wonder if any parts of it are uncomfortable. I can’t know that, and it’s not really salient here. But those were my first thoughts.
Now I’ll discuss another regular Cylon portrayal and that is Number Six/Blonde Cylon.
Clearly, Number Six is the sexpot of Cylons. I don’t personally find her more attractive than either Boomer, Dee, or even the mousy Specialist Cally. But of course that matters not a bit to the writers and director of BSG! The typed Blonde Bombshell (wearing red, to boot) is a well known part of our US/Western image pool collectively referenced and understood without any thought. (A note: I found her almost twice as attractive if not more playing the role of the underground resistance dissident in glasses. Almost an Annie Hall feel…on steroids.)
She is always draped over Gaius, controlling the silly vain, guilty man with a mix of come-ons, put-downs, and vulpine smiles. Sometimes they disappear to a lakeside retreat (in his mind). And her model shows up in other ways. First, she was on Caprica and Gaius (unwittingly, though not blamelessly) helped her to launch the first attack on humanity—the one that drove them off Caprica for the most part. She also lives in his head. She showed up in Season 1 to accuse him of treason, complete with doctored photograph. And she shows up in Season 2 as a Cylon captive of Admiral Cain’s ship in Resurrection Ship.
I’m going to have to swing over for a second and say something about what is termed “Rape Culture” in Feminist circles. Doesn’t our culture—and I’d say most male makers/writers, though we are all here soaking up the same messaging overall and a woman can certainly participate in propagating what she’s learned—love to showcase the bound, bruised, battered woman? Well, BSG is no exception. We witness Boomer (Sharon, or her replacement-whom-is-called-Sharon-too) as well as the Blonde Cylon Captive bound, caged, beat, bloodied, and even almost raped before our eyes.
They are just Cylons, right? It’s not about misogyny, right?
So, again, let’s check our contextual references. How are the male cylons dealt with? Let’s see. Just off the top of my head, one is left behind and locked out of the ship, though with full awareness of why it is being done. Even Tigh says “we just can’t take that chance [that you're not a Cylon].” The blonde male Cylon? He is considered dangerous. Because he is so smart and confusing with his seemingly reasonable arguments. He plays the type of role that Kevin Spacey played in 7even, a fork-tongued devil you are better off not even listening to. He is beat to death by Cmdr. Adama in one episode, but never bound by the wrists, never humiliated, never left on the floor wearing a skimply paper gown that barely covers his ass, never raped.
The attempted rape of Sharon/Boomer was a great opportunity for commentary on war crimes. I'm not sure the writers used it to full advantage. It led simply to male rage/rescue and Adama softening his feelings on the Cylon.
Back to Number Six. I was comparing one prominent female Cylon role with another and figuring in racial resonances in how our nation sees these ethnicities historically and currently, and how they’ve been used primarily in this culture.
Let’s make it simple like this:
BOOMER (Asian):
Role
Betrayer
Spy
Sleeper Agent
Assassin
Tool (used by others to host a fetus as well as attack fellow crew members once trusted)
Pawn (not even made aware of how she is to be used)
Girlfriend (of crew members)Qualities
“Weak model” of Cylon (resonates with US racism against Asians)
Confused
Unaware of who she is/her place
Well Intentioned but Easily Manipulated
And let’s compare that to Number Six:
CYLON: MODEL #6 (Blonde/White):
Role
Planner
Vanguard of original attack
Seducer
Guide
Embodiment of Feminine Beauty
Lover (of Vice President)Qualities
Strong model (of Cylon)
Ruthless
Caring
Smart
Unpredictable
Powerful
Dominant
Part of why this type of thing annoys me is that it’s simply boring. It leaves me cold like a cliche dropped down in the middle of smart, fresh, thoughtful writing. It means someone didn’t think, they just went by rote. And what is in the mind of most US writers, if they don’t reach beyond the detritus that the mind kicks up by habit or regurgitative reaction? Types. Stereotypes. Racist and sexist ones. I’m not attracted to Number Six one bit. It’s not because she is white and blonde. It’s because she’s a damn type. And a boring one. Make Boomer smart, powerful, dominant, caring and a mastermind! (At something besides math or engineering, please.) On one hand, Number Six is written against type. She is not a dumb blonde in a red dress at least. The writers need to go further, though.
When you put these two regularly featured Cylons together, and in the context of the cast they work with, and in the US of A, a lot of disturbing angles begin to poke out. I’ll be watching further to see how this all plays out.
Other Notes:
ONE THING about BSG that I do appreciate about the dynamics of woman/man and their respective roles is Commander Adama. More than once when he has what seems to be an intractable difference in plan or philosophy than a woman on the ship, he will go away (respectfully), think things over, and take the woman’s wisdom to heart. He does this with President Roslin, and he does this with Dee, as well. There may be more examples, but those three times (twice with the President at least) come to my mind and came to my attention when I first saw them. It’s one thing that he does it for a woman who clearly is supposed to be his equal. But that he does it across the board says something about his character, and promotes a healthy interaction between male and female in general.
To show your great adoration and appreciation for those who clean up your candy wrappers, tip the usher at will.There is really no fitting place for this Rydenesque (and NSFW) illustration of one artist’s conception of Spock (love the tattoo) but I just have to link it!
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January 22nd, 2009 at 5:06 pm
No arguments here.
I think there is an interview with Grace Park somewhere on the scifi site in the BSG section of clips and weblogs and interviews where she states that she is very much uncomfortable with the role of Boomer and is confused when people tell her how much they like Boomer (the character). Not her exact words, but I remembered seeing that when I saw your comment about wondering how she felt about playing the role and her feelings were very similar to what you brought up.
I’m sorry I can’t provide a link. I’m very tired.
Anyway, thank you. I am having some severe problems watching Doctor Who for the same reasons. I love the show, but the (un)hidden messages are just so disturbing, it can sometimes really ruin what is otherwise something really beautiful.
Anyway, thanks.
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nezua replied
January 22nd, 2009 on 5:20 pm
You know, I’m really glad you told me about that.
Hmm. I haven’t seen Dr. Who in ages. I’ll have to put that on my list.
Thanks for reading and commenting! Good to see you, by the way.
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January 23rd, 2009 at 9:30 am
I’ve never seen this show.
Going back to the original “Star Trek”, everyone knows there are no Chicanos in space!
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nezua replied
January 23rd, 2009 on 11:29 am
so true….! it’s the low quality of salsa once you get beyond the stratosphere, no doubt.
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January 23rd, 2009 at 12:03 pm
Please remember, BLADE RUNNER is actually Philip K. Dick’s story, not Ridley Scott’s… (original title: DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP?) in fact, a very good analysis needs to be written (yes, by a confirmed Dickhead like me, I guess, but I have been putting it off as too arcane and weird for most people to find it interesting!) about how the novel was changed for the movie. The ‘character’ of the Replicants was considerably altered, although the concept of the fake memories remained throughout… I think the concept of fake/implanted memories (PKD took that concept from A.E. Van Vogt, originally, but expanded on it as a cultural given, also in TOTAL RECALL/WE CAN REMEMBER IT FOR YOU WHOLESEALE ) is also a good way to describe brainwashing by the dominant culture, how media-instilled versions of (for instance) parental relationships, holidays, neighborhoods can become more “real” to us than our own, or rendering our own memories as somehow counterfeit or lesser-than.
Excellent comments on BSG… can not say any more unless I talk about the last episode I saw (Friday)…and my deep identification with the religious fanatic President Roslin.
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nezua replied
January 23rd, 2009 on 12:21 pm
Daisy, I think that’s an interesting angle, and agree you ought to write that post. To hell with if its too “arcane,” we write the best pieces for ourselves, I happen to think.
And thanks for dropping the backstory/info on the novel, yes I knew and I also knew I’d be in danger even skimming over the mention, as you can probably tell! Because again, it’s a story that needs to be given its own attention. From a few different angles, I think.
I love your thoughts on implanted memories/brainwashing by dominant culture. Great thread.
I’ve got to catch up on BSG! And soon!
Good to see you here.
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nezua replied
January 24th, 2009 on 6:40 am
a point sort of contained within your own comment, actually: the original story must and should be credited to Dick, but in your mentioning “how [much] the novel was changed for the movie” i have to add that this is the milieu of the director specifically. that’s what she or he will do, and when talented, understand immediately how to do. translate what works on a page to what works on screen. (these are defintely not the same thing. unless you are David Mamet and you force it, and somehow it still works. but that’s Mamet.
before i made film or learned about visual storytelling, this sort of thing made me mad. i wanted bands to stay sounding as i first heard them, and i wanted movies to exactly reflect the book. for different reasons, both these reactions and thought structures/expectations changed once i became a maker of both. with music, i realized that if you are the artist, you want to grow. for you that is the joy. finding the next voice or way of speaking your heart. you want your art to be as much a surprise to you as it is to people finding it. but as a listener, you dont want creeping death to slow down, or get a bagpipe in it, or lose its high notes, etc.
with film i learned the obvious to me now, that a book is a different medium than film and because of that, simply has different powers. different weak spots. different handles. you simply cannot use it the same. and if you ever get a director/writer with enough fame and money to insist upon their own direction when they have no idea of what it really means to create visual narrative art, you get terrible cinema. there are myriad reasons why.
books allow you, for one thing, to occupy the characters’ minds in a way that movies cannot provide. unless you get a hammy director who needs to stick a voiceover on everything (or a marketer/distributor/producer who re-releases a new version with one dubbed over because they decided the Dumb US Masses need it to get what the hell is going on in the film), you must infer the characters’ emotional states by other means. books don’t have music. or sound. they don’t have light that springs out of the screen and hits the humans in front of it. they can’t get your heart pounding with masses of shadow that move certain ways. yes, they can describe it all. but its not to be used the same. a description of a shadow is not a shadow.
books have different pacing. in a book you can take a sidetrip out of the main story for much longer and it will be acceptable. a person can put down a book and pick it up a hundred times. in a theater, a person sits for 1.5 or 2 or 3 or more hours and that is all. you cannot pace a movie the same, and sometimes you have to yank a scene just because it slows everything down and ruins the momentum that th editor is tasked with creating/finding/fleshing out.
the examples go on. but basically, as a writer you have a different toolbox than a screenwriter, and even the tools with the same names work differently and so must be used differently. i’ve written novels, i’ve written short stories, and i’ve written screenplays. they most definitely are different motions and while some skills required overlap (many), you definitely must adjust your use and angle. personally i found the art of screenwriting an amazing one. at first it was very weird. to leave out so much editorializing (which novels do and do and do) and simply show through the character’s deeds and placement and half-spoken words and clothes and such what they were feeling. i felt as if i were at a disadvantage. especially since i can come up with so many damn words and rather easily. but in time you learn the economy of cinematic writing, the beauty found in the spare format. you learned to compress massive amounts of intent/emotion/theme in slight motions, short moments, a style the character insists on using to hold their grocery bag over the arc of the film, how it changes as they change….
one of the reasons i hated Atlas Shrugged, even before i knew it was political or a canon, was because the author has no art. they just stuff huge chunks of their own beliefs into characters’ mouths, almost indiscriminately. i kept feeling like i was being lectured to. the characters weren’t really alive for me. it all felt like Rand with different heads, blasting me with propaganda from all sides of a dinner table. no art. just agenda. i point this out because it is an extreme example of what a screenplay is not. (or even a good book!)
Blade Runner works amazingly well. and without the voiceover it does this. so i’d say it is a success as a film. if you feel the book is “better” (i dont know that you do, you didnt seem to place a value judgment on the way the book was converted, just called yourself a “dickhead” for wanting to point out how it had been changed, so i’m assuming you don’t care for how it was changed) then i’d love to hear why. it may have to do with how film works vs how books work. doesnt mean it wouldnt disappoint people who love the book as-is. then again, the changes may have been the director’s personal choice, and not related to mechanism of medium. i, too, would be interested in figuring that out. so if you do post on it, please let me know.
…in one sense—in the sense i speak of here, where you reshape and remake a work to make it fit into the new format, or to use the new format to its best potential—the Blade Runner i speak of here (film) does belong to Scott. at least as much as a movie adapted from another’s work can ever belong to the appropriator.
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January 24th, 2009 at 11:46 pm
I wholeheartedly agree that Boomer’s cylon character plays on many stereotypes of Asian Americans, which is problematic esp since each model of the cylon supposedly represents an archetype of humans. The “roles” you listed as specific to boomer are totally then displayed as asian characteristics, even if bsg is supposedly a universe where race doesn’t exist as it does here. I also think it’s problematic that only the female cylons get all naked/almost raped/hit way more than the male ones, but you pretty much touched on how that is problematic.
I would definitely like to see you post your analysis again once you are caught up, esp surrounding the war themes (as, i believe, the message changes), and also if you think that the messages in bsg are as pro-imperialist and colonizing as star trek. plus, you’ll prolly be able to have a bit more racial analysis once you learn who all the cylons are.
thanks for this, though, bc i hadn’t necessarily caught on to what bothered me about boomer’s portrayal in the series.
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nezua replied
January 25th, 2009 on 8:58 am
I’m watching closely. Trying to catch up! Last night’s viewing of Season 2 episodes Scar and Sacrifice only showed me more of what I was seeing earlier, and this time we added another ethnicity to the mix, and with their typified behavior, too! So I’ll probably add to this post with an update for that one.
And I will definitely hit it as I move forward. Thanks, Pinky.
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March 4th, 2009 at 12:51 am
[...] watching the Boomer/Athena fight – I thought a lot about Unapologetic Mexican’s analysis of racial identities in BSG. Athena is an archetype of the good Asian woman – she chooses [...]
October 30th, 2009 at 9:12 am
[...] Last post I focused specifically on problematic uses of the Cylon character. » I also talked in general about the use of Sci-Fi and the practice of analyzing Sci-Fi through a socio-cultural/racial and “Feminist” lens. » [...]