| By Tom & Scifi.com / Scifi Weekly,
on 12-10-2006
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Favoured : 110 |
 Since Battlestar Galactica's season 3 premiere on October 6th, there has been a political controversy brewing between fans of the show. This has sparked some debate in various BSG fansite message boards as well as on the official site located at Scifi.com. A couple of days ago we posted two politicaly motivated letters published on Scifi Weekly, today we see the same related issues in a six more letters to Scifi Weekly, here is what they had to say:
Letter 1, 'Politics Spoils Galactica's Scripts' by Peter P. Please contact the Battlestar Galactica creators and tell them to stop ruining my favorite show by injecting politics into their scripts.
The first episode of the new season had a political message attached to the suicide bombers, justifying their cause. Can you say "Iraq"? Come on, don't tell me you didn't notice it!
It's sci-fi, not politics. Tell them to stop treating us like idiots! Letter 2, 'BSG's Complexity Is Brilliant' by Sarah Ferraro .....
Battlestar Galactica's season premiere made my week. No other show on television has the complexity and depth that this show does. What I like best about it is the way it takes current events, such as the U.S. political situation, and twists and bends and fractures them. The plot thread that most brings this home to me is the situation with Laura Roslin. Here is a president with strong ties, too strong, people argue, to the dominant religion. When her campaign is in jeopardy, she tries to rig the vote to go in her favor. On the surface, this looks similar to George Bush's presidency. And yet, because the particulars are so very different, I found myself hoping that she would succeed in stealing the election. Astonishing!
That brings us back to the premiere of season three. The humans, who we naturally wish to sympathize with, are committing horrific acts of terrorism. And the Cylons, the supposed enemy, are not (despite appearances) a hive-mind of evil. Both sides are fraught with little evils and great evils. Both sides have compassion and heroism and admirable traits. Granted, we've not seen much of that on the Cylon side, but the indications are there.
This is the greatest feature of science fiction: the ability to take real-world events, toss them in a blender, shake out the mess and allow the reader or viewer to see these issues in a different context. Hopefully, the reader/viewer will learn something new about themselves.
So thank you, SCI FI, for keeping this brilliant show on the air. Letter 3, 'Battlestar Is Only Getting Better', by Keith Kitchen This past Friday's season premiere of Battlestar Galactica was proof positive that it is only getting better and better. There is no doubt in my mind that this is the best show on television right now, surpassing all others in quality and relevance.
I have read complaints that the show is being spoiled by politics ("Politics Spoils Galactica's Scripts"), but I can't help but wonder where these viewers were the past two seasons. This show has dripped in politics from the very first episode. Are they politics that I always agree with? Absolutely not! Do they make me think? Absolutely!
Battlestar Galactica, like many shows before it, is taking what is going on in the world around us and presenting it to us in a way that attempts to make us think, "What if?"
One has to wonder if we, as Americans, would ever use suicide bombers if necessary. Many readers just recoiled, thinking, "No way!" I would like to think we never would, but ... if our country was overrun and our military was decapitated and we had no way to fight back, what would we do? I would like to think that we would form a resistance to fight back and try to reclaim our freedom, but I'll be honest ... I don't know, because I've never had to live it and I hope I never have to.
Whether it is pleasant thinking these thoughts or not, Battlestar Galactica is forcing its viewers to think about what we would do. War is ugly. There are things that good people do in war that would make serial killers wince, not because they want to do it or like to do it, but because it's what has to be done.
Whether or not we like it, and God knows that any picture that BSG paints, it still pales to what true war is, Battlestar Galactica is following in the tracks of previous quality science-fiction series in trying to make us think.
That's the most dangerous task of all. Letter 4, 'Battlestar Offers Balance' by Glenn Smith Although I've occasionally had strong opinions about the letters I've read here, I've never taken the time to respond to them. But I simply must respond to those recent letters in which people have been griping about the political overtones in Battlestar Galactica's season-three premiere.
One person wrote something to the effect of, "This is science fiction, not politics." ("Politics Spoils Galactica's Scripts") Have you been watching the same show I have? Haven't we watched a convicted terrorist be released from prison and enter politics? Haven't we watched that terrorist almost become the vice president of the colonies? Haven't we watched a scientist become the vice president? Haven't we watched a presidential campaign, debates and election? Hasn't virtually everyone connected to the show said that it's drama first, science fiction second?
Another letter writer wrote something to effect of, "Are we supposed to relate or agree with the insurgents in Iraq? Are we supposed to think the 9/11 terrorists had no choice?" ("Battlestar's Morals Are Misleading") Of course not! Where in that episode did you see anything that was designed to make us sympathize with suicide bombers? And by the way, there was more than one point of view presented in that episode. Remember Chief Tyrol telling Col. Tigh, "There are some things you just don't do, Colonel. Not even in war." I doubt very much that Ron Moore and David Eick were trying to make us feel sorry for the insurgents in Iraq. In fact, I suspect their very conscious intent was to present a point of view or two or three that most people in this country have never considered, and to leave it up to the viewers to make up their own minds. I should probably let it be known at this point that I am in the service. I have been deployed to the Persian Gulf region since 9/11. I am on the side of my country, on the side of my fellow soldiers, 100 percent. I couldn't detest the insurgency in Iraq more if I tried. That being said, I enjoyed Galactica's season-three premiere immensely. I grew up on Star Trek, enjoyed Babylon 5 a lot, and I think the current Battlestar Galactica is the best drama, science fiction or otherwise, to ever appear on my TV screen. Television producers and writers so rarely have the guts to do it right. That season-three premiere took a lot of guts, and I, for one, welcome the opportunity to look at some of today's very relevent issues from a different point of view. I can't applaud Ron Moore and David Eick enough for what they've done with this show, and I look forward to watching many, many more hours of the best drama on television over the next several seasons. Letter 5, 'Galactica's Slant Isn't Unexpected' by Michael Lustig It's rare that a Letter to the Editor is thoroughly pitch-perfect, yet that's what William Farrand delivered ("Battlestar's Morals Are Misleading," Oct. 10, 2006). His analysis of the "message" overtly delivered during the much-anticipated season-three premiere [of Battlestar Galactica] is dead-on, with enough references to the situation in the Mideast that even the least-informed viewer would make the connection. Mr. Farrand's critique of the implied "moral equivalence" is warranted, but the position of the creators of the show isn't entirely unexpected: Hollywood is rife with reflexive anti-war sentiment, and a lack of understanding about the realities and complexities of the situation is de rigueur. Letter 6, 'Politics Has Always Been Part of BSG' by Kim C. This goes for anyone else who is trashing the new season of Battlestar Galactica. If you think this is the first time they have put politics in this show ("Politics Spoils Galactica's Scripts"), you didn't watch the first two seasons. Heck, even the original show had politics in it. Stop your knee-jerk reactions and enjoy it for what it is—fiction. They were not treating us like idiots; in fact, the very opposite: They were treating us as intelligent folks who might like to see what it might look like from the "other side of the fence."
To William Farrand, ("Battlestar's Morals Are Misleading") stop assuming that you know what the writers meant to portray in this episode. The following statement of yours, "Our society, which celebrates life, is superior to that interpretation of Islam, which celebrates death" is almost laughable in its absurdity. Our society—I assume you mean the USA—has the highest prison population per capita and [is] the only "modern" country that still uses the death penalty—that sure is celebrating life ... I am not going to name the many, many more reasons why that statement of yours is oh, so wrong. As you urge viewers to be more informed, I say you need to follow your own advice.
Looks like most of your source material is from the Republican library. Need to reach out to more sources there, Mr. Farrand. Intro Written by Tom
Last update : 13-10-2006
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