May 3, 2008
I found “can democratic society survive” more interesting than “can special people fulfill their destiny.” Just saying.
Europe Endless
Modes of Life and Other Places
May 3, 2008
I found “can democratic society survive” more interesting than “can special people fulfill their destiny.” Just saying.
May 3, 2008 at 9:20 pm
I don’t know why SF writers are so damned enamored of prophecies that come true, a completely unscientific mechanism. “Destiny” and “fate” and “prophecy” are the kind of words that turn me off very quickly. Even in stuff that I really like, like Babylon 5, it drags, as far as I’m concerned (though having some of the prophecies a result of time travel was at least an honest way to explain what’s normally left “a mystery”).
May 4, 2008 at 1:02 pm
Ah, my memory of B5 has faded a bit. The concepts you mention play centrally in a lot of sci-fi, perhaps because of the sources from which writers take inspiration. They may struggle with the place of spirit in a mechanized world: the metaphysical is represented as what is planned and rational, but not yet decoded by the human mind. But to give B5, as well as BSG and DS9, a break, many narratives in other genres have characters eschew fulfilling paths in favor of “destiny”, especially when it comes to personal relationships.
Of course, they could just be lazy writers: it’s easier to have character follow hidden voices than make them behave rationally.
May 8, 2008 at 7:39 am
I just rewatched this season last night with your critique in mind and I think there is still definitely a strong current of the “can democracy survive” storyline (Lee, Baltar’s religion), but it’s not the storyline they are focusing on.
May 10, 2008 at 12:30 pm
Your right, certainly, about Lee Adama. He’s been more in the background, and I forgot that he tends to hold up civil virtue.
Baltar’s bastardization of Cylon religion, though, seems out of place. Indeed, religion and politics has been a recurring theme on the show. However, there’s been a lack on continuity on this front. Originally, it was Rosland who appeared as a combined spiritual-political leader and Baltar who accused her of replacing democracy with theocracy. The two have been enemies since Baltar ran for the presidency. However, they are not on opposite sides of the religion/politics debate. Rather, they represent different religious approaches to politics, one that is organic with the cultural and political practices of the colonies (Rosland’s), the other a bastardization of reason (Baltar’s). At least, it would be this way if we consider the religious beliefs Rosland displayed in the past.