Battlestar Galactica and the Subversiveness of SciFi
I am a nerd. My favorite night of TV as a child in Canada was the Lost in Space and Star Trek double feature. I have been a critical fan of the SciFi channel for years. While I love being able to watch the Twilight Zone nightly, I was not thrilled with the section of the Battlestar Galactica pilot I saw four years ago. Science fiction writers Orson Scott Card and fantasist Neil Gaiman have both turned down Hollywood film contracts because the studio demanded changes in racial identity of their main characters. Although the reach of American television is global, the faces that we see do not reflect audience. SciFi has always been an exception to this rule. Even the Twilight Zone featured stories with black characters when it was unheard of in any other genre unless the character was a maid. I was excited to see the new Battlestar Galactica because I respect Edward James Olmos work on and off the screen. Olmos and his son Bodie are very active in the Latino/Hispanic community and I admire those who give back to their communities.
I watched an half an our of the pilot and it seemed that Col Adama was the only person of color. I thought of the SciFi Channel’s horrific version of The Tales of Earthsea. In addition to completely ruining the narrative, SciFi whitewashed the cast. Ursula K. LeGuin described the people of this fictional world as brown. The only character of color was a 10 minute cameo with Danny Glover. It was absolutely awful. I was especially put off since SciFi produced a spot on version of The Lathe of Heaven with Lucas Hass and Lisa Bonet two years before.
I was flipping through the television three weeks ago and chanced on S. Epathia Merchenson and Jessie Green from Law and Order raving about Battlestar Galactica. I love Law and Order because it is filmed in my beloved New York City unlike CSI:New York. On their recomendation I started watching the show from the beginning. In my media scholar opinion the show is a masterpiece that puts many of the issues that we are facing today right in the viewer’s face. Although I wish there was a stronger back character, this is a television program that challenges the way America has handled our post-9/11 country and since science fiction is in the lower cultural form of Scifi, there are no politicians trying to Murphy Brown the the show for it’s ‘Anti American ‘ bias. I am so glad I found this treasure in the television wasetland.
I too have been crtical of BSG’s missteps in handling race issues — both in their casting and their episode plot themes. But just like you, I’m really taken by this show, particularly in terms of the way they tackle contemporary cultural and political issues. I guess I’m willing to let them slide on the small missteps since I have such high respect for the show. I’m amazed that the show hasn’t been branded as “anti-American”. I’m guessing that this is because they do such a good job of telling both sides of the story so while there is quite a bit that can be interpreted as anti-American, there’s just as much that can be seen as pro-American.
Somehow i missed the point. Probably lost in translation
Anyway … nice blog to visit.
cheers, Cotonou.