Fantasy and reality will collide Tuesday night at the United Nations, as writers and actors from the Sci Fi Channel’s hit “Battlestar Galactica” meet UN representatives to discuss issues such as human rights, children and armed conflict, and terrorism. Also on the agenda: dialogue among different civilizations and faiths. The meeting happens just days before the two-hour final episode of the show airs Friday. - CNNThe missus and I were just discussing BSG last night, wondering if we should place it on our DVD wish-list. The few eps I've seen are well-done, if not a bit heavy-handed. One thing I will say about the show is that it very much ties into this trend of social militarization that we see on recent Star Trek spinoffs. One can't help but wonder- is this part of a process to condition us for a future in which universal conscription becomes a reality?
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11 comments:
I think nothing other than that...
I will second that.
Andre
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You should definitely check it out as it is not only very well done but it also has huge mythic overtones (more explicit than anything else I can think of on TV and film), a kind of Lost Tribes of Israel and Ancient Astronaut mash-up (in particular the unmade Battlestar Atlantis).
Much has been written on this but the most obvious is that it is a retelling of the Book of Mormon. See for example the article at Belief.net but a quick Google will turn up so much material you won't know where to start.
What interests me is that the Book of Mormon is a "received text" with an 'angel' directing Smith to its location, which makes it really an early example of things we see with various UFO religions (especially amongst the Contactees) as well as things like The Book of the Law and The Book of Babalon.
If you take into account how well organised the Mormons are (in particular their obsession with genealogy) and the explicit injection of Mormon teachings into the memesphere, then you start to wonder if someone is preparing for something.
Of course if you wanted to push this idea further than anyone interested in imposing a global UFO religion (Project Blue Beam, for example) then you couldn't do much better than something based on Battlestar Galactica. You'd not only be able to sweep up those who already believe aliens are here and preparing us for something BIG but you'd also have ready-made congregations in the Mormons and sci-fi fans (the latter being early adopters of Scientology).
And that is just the big overarching themes (with some conspiracism sprinkled on top for good measure) and I'm sure there is a lot more that could be found from a more fine-grained analysis of the series (Apollo? Adama?). So a boxset will not only provide plenty of good quality entertainment but should keep you busy for a long time.
Empie, I'm way into BSG in theory, it just seems like an awful lot to absorb at this point. I wish the show wasn't quite so serialized since it's hard to drop in and figure out what is going on, like I can on something like Fringe or Sarah Connor.
The Mormon connections are fascinating and I think readers know I'm not into Fundie misinfo like Blue Beam and all that. But like I said, I am little concerned about the militarism, which we're seeing so much of in scifi. It ties into my misgivings about Harry Potter- everyone I know loves it but I'm concerned about the institutionalizing of children it portrays. Some could argue you see the same thing in the X-Men, but I'm not sure about that.
Watch it! It's got mythology, entheogens, mk, and everything else.
I know what you mean - there are no easy jumping on points (I always tried to recommend Babylon 5 to a friend but he gave up for similar reasons and BSG is really something you need to watch from the beginning). Thanks to an argument between Richard Branson and Rupert Murdoch I lost easy access to BSG (and Lost and Stargate) and since they kissed and made up I have been waiting for the repeats to come around so I can climb back on board and get up to speed.
If I remember correctly the original was easier to get on board as the plot was more the spine they hung a story of the week from - with the modern version you have parallel stories which stretch a whole season. This does make it harder to absorb but I think it is well worth your time (and a boxset is the quickest way to get up to speed) - as the above poster says it has everything.
Well, the missus and I will take that under advisement. We just finished Strangers With Candy (godhead!) and have the remastered STTOS in our sights!
Chris Knowles quote:
"One can't help but wonder- is this part of a process to condition us for a future in which universal conscription becomes a reality?"
I say yes, but I think it's bot even a conscious process at times these days. The progandised mythos of a miltitarized unipolar world has become a self-perpetuating meme, and popular culture has gobbled it up greedily.
But then the warrior archetype has always been an attractive and potent selling point through the ages. It's the SpaceWarrior Myth Redux Beta in the memestream now. BSG is chock-a-block full of that. The female Starbuck is an androgynous warrior/ress of the highest order too.
I fully recommend it. I think it's the best thing on T.V. right now, along with Dexter. I'd love to see you wield your syncho-scalpel on those two shows.
But being a Brit, I think you would benefit from checking out the BBC series Life On Mars. Just being biased.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_on_mars_bbc
The show is good, the memes it is expressing not so much. I had to give it up after the second season, just too dark. Caprica (home planet) reminds me of Capricorn One, the moon hoax movie. I wonder what form a "Credible Cylon Threat" might take. Curious how they end each religious service with a resounding "So say we all!" - the consensus reality trance.
Michael
Coincidentally there is an article in today's Guardian about why everyone should watch the show. Digging that out, I stumbled across a comparison with Virgil's Aeneid.
The BSG finale represents the major theme of our times Chris, and of your blog.
I'm slightly taken aback that they went in that direction (probably always were), and the religious/spiritual overtones, nay even gnosticism with a possible androgynous demiurgos, completed the cycle.
I'm guess I'm not so much into synch memes as big themes. And BSG was a big theme show for the masses.
The question you asked of does it play into the conditioning process that we see playing out everywhere right now? A big, resounding yes.
As Battlestar Ends, God Is In the Details
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