I wonder if Americans will notice the similarities...

[GONNAFISTYA]

...that what is happening in the new Battlestar Galactica series is parallel to what's happening in Iraq?

I noticed nobody in the BSG thread mentioned it...so I'll mention it here.

In the BSG series (specifically season 3) it depicts the cylons occupying the settlement that the humans have made. It indicates that more than four months have passed with the cylons in complete control of the populance and the human hatred of the cylons.

The old President writes a letter to whomever. In the letter (reinforced by voice over) she mentions that there is a growing resistance (puny as it may be) to the occupation and that - while accomplishing little - the resistance has given people "hope". The resistance is shown blowing up cylons with small IEDs and - in later episodes - using suicide bombers. There are also poignant moments where the characters are rationalizing the resistance and their brutal methods. I'm sure to each character what they are doing is romantic in some way. In another episode the old President is scolding the new President (Baltar) of invading homes and making arrests in the middle of the night for being dissenters or sypathetic to the resistance, people being jailed with no charges and - on top of all that - torturing people.

The ironic thing for me in all this is that on this television show the resistance is depicted from the resistance's point of view....something that no media outlet has attempted with the Iraqi occupation.

I wonder if the American audience - no doubt sypathetic to the human resistance and their methods on a fucking television show - will make any such connections to the Iraqi war and begin to relate to the citizens of Iraq and begin (more forcibly) demanding a stop to what's happening there? You'll also notice that - like the BSG show - the occupied people hate any "locals" who join the new police force...accusing them of doing the occupier's dirty work. This is in direct correlation to the violence that is brought upon the new Iraqi police force.

It's funny that entertainment can do in-depth social commentary in the context of a "fictional story" yet the media can't/won't touch it in the context of reality.

[rep]

You just got this? Most BSG nerds figured it all out in the webisodes. GOD.

[seremtan]

I wonder if the American audience - no doubt sypathetic to the human resistance and their methods on a fucking television show - will make any such connections to the Iraqi war and begin to relate to the citizens of Iraq and begin (more forcibly) demanding a stop to what's happening there?

i think the answer is probably no. any link would be made emotionally, and since the (US) viewers emotions are tied up with the real US troops on one hand and the fictional insurgency on the other, i doubt many people will ever make more than a purely intellectual connection. i mean fuck, there's probably some wingnut bonehead arguing somewhere on the giant retard clusterfuck that is the internet that the BSG insurgents are in fact analogous to US troops, on the side of life, liberty, pursuit of happiness, mom and apple pie, and that the cylons represent the insurgents (who are all al-qa'eda or unreconstructed baathists, as we all know)

[4days]

aye, what seremtan said - and it probably didn't get mentioned much because it was a spoiler.

if it goes any further than that - it's only going to be one slack-jawed couch-potato saying to another, "makes you think, doesn't it?". then the other one will say "yeah, it does" - then they'll both just go "MURRRR" and watch 'america's next top model'.

[seremtan]

assuming they can actually get those words out mouths crammed with burgers and pie

[Agent-X]

Only thing it makes me think about is the writers cant come up with something original. Im sick enough of all the reality show crap and now I have to see the evening news played out on the sci-fi channel. So yes some of us get it. And people wonder why I dont hardly watch t.v. anymore. Its so full of unoriginal crap nowadays. "Hey I got an idea we need to make an BSG, CSI episode". Id rather pound myself in the head with a hammer than watch that crap.

[Foo]

assuming they can actually get those words out mouths crammed with burgers and pie

oh you went there.

[Grudge]

Only thing it makes me think about is the writers cant come up with something original. Im sick enough of all the reality show crap and now I have to see the evening news played out on the sci-fi channel. So yes some of us get it. And people wonder why I dont hardly watch t.v. anymore. Its so full of unoriginal crap nowadays. "Hey I got an idea we need to make an BSG, CSI episode". Id rather pound myself in the head with a hammer than watch that crap.

You're just bitter because they're not sucking GWB's cock.

[Agent-X]

Yeah thats it. You got me man. I have been owned on the interweb. Oh woo is me.

[Captain]

Only thing it makes me think about is the writers cant come up with something original. Im sick enough of all the reality show crap and now I have to see the evening news played out on the sci-fi channel. So yes some of us get it. And people wonder why I dont hardly watch t.v. anymore. Its so full of unoriginal crap nowadays. "Hey I got an idea we need to make an BSG, CSI episode". Id rather pound myself in the head with a hammer than watch that crap.

"Evening news"? This point of view doesn't get into the evening news, what the heck are you on about?
And it looks like you refuse to watch television in fear of seeing something new and undocumented that could make you think about the world around you in a different perspective.

[seremtan]

Id rather pound myself in the head with a hammer than watch that crap.

sounds like a plan

[seremtan]

assuming they can actually get those words out mouths crammed with burgers and pie

oh you went there.

*cue comments about fat brits*

[Agent-X]

Only thing it makes me think about is the writers cant come up with something original. Im sick enough of all the reality show crap and now I have to see the evening news played out on the sci-fi channel. So yes some of us get it. And people wonder why I dont hardly watch t.v. anymore. Its so full of unoriginal crap nowadays. "Hey I got an idea we need to make an BSG, CSI episode". Id rather pound myself in the head with a hammer than watch that crap.

"Evening news"? This point of view doesn't get into the evening news, what the heck are you on about?
And it looks like you refuse to watch television in fear of seeing something new and undocumented that could make you think about the world around you in a different perspective.

Not true not true. On the war im with most of you. Bush is an idiot. I dont know if you live here in the U.S. ITs just that ive watched so much it gets repeditive. I do watch stuff like dicovery, history channel, news when I can find an objective opinion. For entertainment I dont want to see whats going on..I see enough of that. Id rather just watch a good story is all im saying. Dont be so quick to assume things about people you dont even know. I try my best to be objective in all things and if someone can point out something to me I listen.

[4days]

regardless of any point they are or aren't making - i don't see how the bsg people could've done much else.

occupation was always going to be a big potential storyline, and now the humans are mostly dead (species-wise), they can't really do a 'civilised' 2nd world war style occupation.

[Agent-X]

I just wish they had stayed in space in the first place. I liked all the political intrigue dont get me wrong. But I also liked all the space battles too.

[hax103]

Probably not because...

occupational shit is happening all over the world by many countries.

i.e. Just for fun...

Britain has 7500 troops also occupying Iraq

and

thousands of troops occupying Afghanistan

and

troops occupying Kosovo

and

Bosnia

and

even Ireland - officially the military is *helping* the police

and why the hell does Britain have 20,000 troops in Germany???

Its quite naive to think the USA is the only Cylon-like entity or
if you feel like it - the only Empire (ala Star Wars)

...that what is happening in the new Battlestar Galactica series is parallel to what's happening in Iraq?

I noticed nobody in the BSG thread mentioned it...so I'll mention it here.

In the BSG series (specifically season 3) it depicts the cylons occupying the settlement that the humans have made. It indicates that more than four months have passed with the cylons in complete control of the populance and the human hatred of the cylons.

The old President writes a letter to whomever. In the letter (reinforced by voice over) she mentions that there is a growing resistance (puny as it may be) to the occupation and that - while accomplishing little - the resistance has given people "hope". The resistance is shown blowing up cylons with small IEDs and - in later episodes - using suicide bombers. There are also poignant moments where the characters are rationalizing the resistance and their brutal methods. I'm sure to each character what they are doing is romantic in some way. In another episode the old President is scolding the new President (Baltar) of invading homes and making arrests in the middle of the night for being dissenters or sypathetic to the resistance, people being jailed with no charges and - on top of all that - torturing people.

The ironic thing for me in all this is that on this television show the resistance is depicted from the resistance's point of view....something that no media outlet has attempted with the Iraqi occupation.

I wonder if the American audience - no doubt sypathetic to the human resistance and their methods on a fucking television show - will make any such connections to the Iraqi war and begin to relate to the citizens of Iraq and begin (more forcibly) demanding a stop to what's happening there? You'll also notice that - like the BSG show - the occupied people hate any "locals" who join the new police force...accusing them of doing the occupier's dirty work. This is in direct correlation to the violence that is brought upon the new Iraqi police force.

It's funny that entertainment can do in-depth social commentary in the context of a "fictional story" yet the media can't/won't touch it in the context of reality.

[GONNAFISTYA]

Its quite naive to think the USA is the only Cylon-like entity or
if you feel like it - the only Empire (ala Star Wars)

While you are correct in mentioning that there are several other occupations going on in the world you miss the fact that Iraq has been in the news nearly every day for the past 3+ years...the others have not. While there are probably thousands of people who might make the "occupation" connection with any of the ones you've listed...there are millions (if not billions) who will make the connection to Iraq.

When I created this thread I'll admit that all the "insurgency" references in the BSG program reminded me of Iraq...and not Kosovo.

[seremtan]

btw everyone has omitted to mention the israeli occupation of palestinian land. so i mentioned it. just then

[R00k]

I don't watch BSG, but I have two friends who love it and they have both told me it's a strong analogy to the situation in Iraq.

As to your main question in the thread though - in the big picture, I'd say that not many American voters who support the Iraq war watch BSG. I'm sure most of the people who do watch it have noticed the parallels - but as far as the people who really need to be thinking critically right now (Churchy McTrailerpark), there's not much chance BSG is going to change their minds.

[GONNAFISTYA]

I don't watch BSG, but I have two friends who love it and they have both told me it's a strong analogy to the situation in Iraq.

As to your main question in the thread though - in the big picture, I'd say that not many American voters who support the Iraq war watch BSG. I'm sure most of the people who do watch it have noticed the parallels - but as far as the people who really need to be thinking critically right now (Churchy McTrailerpark), there's not much chance BSG is going to change their minds.

You're probably right.

Although I believe the main reason Churchy McTrailerpark won't watch it is because it's science fiction...which means it has "science" in it.

....plus the obvious fact that talking about other planets with life on them pretty much pisses all over the Bible.

[GONNAFISTYA]

Well....I guess some Americans have taken notice of the similarities of BSG's 3rd season "insurgency" and Iraq.

Clicky

But alas, this love affair between Galactica and the right was not to last: in its third season, the show has morphed into a stinging allegorical critique of America’s three-year occupation of Iraq. The trouble started at the end of the second season, when humanity briefly escaped the Cylons and settled down on the tiny planet of New Caprica. The Cylons soon returned and quickly conquered the defenseless humans. But instead of slaughtering everyone, the Cylons decided to take a more enlightened path by “benevolently occupying” the planet and imposing their preferred way of life by gunpoint. The humans were predictably not enthused about their allegedly altruistic rulers, and they immediately launched an insurgency against them using improvised explosive devices and suicide bombers. Needless to say, this did not go over very well in the Galacticon camp.

“The whole suicide bombing thing … made comparisons to Iraq incredibly ham-fisted,” wrote a frustrated Goldberg, who had hoped the struggle against the Cylons would look more like Le Resistance than the Iraqi insurgency. “The French resistance vibe … is part of what makes the Iraq comparison so offensive. It’s a one-step remove from comparing the Iraqi insurgency to the (romanticized) French resistance.”

[seremtan]

funny, i never really saw any obvious allegorical links between BSG and real events until season 3. I WUZ BLINDED BAH TEH NEOCUNT PROPAGANDAH!!!!11

[KingManULTRA]

and begin (more forcibly) demanding a stop to what's happening there?

How? Please fill me in on this secret to resolve the Iraq situation.

[GONNAFISTYA]

and begin (more forcibly) demanding a stop to what's happening there?

How? Please fill me in on this secret to resolve the Iraq situation.

It's called "getting involved"...rather than sitting on your ass ignoring it. I don't think I need to give examples of what that means.

The biggest problem with Iraq is the American people's apathy to what's happening there.

[CitizenKane]

i had a similar theory about how the vietnam war was very similar to the story of apocalypse now......oh wait