Published!!!11!
Posted on October 27th, 2006 by Brad
The good folks over at the American Prospect Online were kind enough to publish a piece I wrote about Republicans and Battlestar Galactica. Go check it out if you want (and tell ’em how much you think it RULES!!!11!).
Cheers!
PS- Now y’all know my last name. Yippee. Please don’t let Patterico know- I don’t want him stalking me at my home address. Thx.
ftw!
Go boston bloggers and go battlestar galactica.
aimai
int thefactis(void)
Fracking nice!
Now, where did you get that photo???
Brilliant! Among the many quotable lines in there, this is my favorite: “Sadly, Santorum was only the latest in a slew of right-wingers to base policy arguments on shameless dorkery.” I’m still laughing.
I would love to read your article, but I’m still friggin’ waiting for Netflix to send me season 1 of the show and I don’t want anything spoiled for me.
Dear Brad,
As a frequent reader, I would like to note that even if America has a 19 strength, as a 20th level Warmage, America only has a Base Attack Bonus of +10, which leaves its total attack bonus (minus any magical weapons, such as the vaunted ICBM of Total Supremacy it might possess) at an anemic +14, which makes the melee combat we have chosen to engage in an entirely unsuitable tactic in the War on Terror.
If America had placed its 19 in Intelligence, as I had suggested in the lead-up to the Iraq war, then the +4 bonus to its Warmage Edge would have surely turned the tide. Unfortunately, fifth columnists in the military decided that Strength was a priority in the assignment of our stats, and we have paid the price every since.
— ACS
“prominent transhumanist conservative blogger”
Because transhumanism and scifi are two great tastes that taste great together.
Brad, Battlestar Galactica has always been a show steeped with leftward views.
Goldberg and co. were just too stupid to realize.
Nice piece. Mundanes probably won’t know what a marilith is but if they got that far down who cares?
The first time BG really got to me on the level you’re talking about was the episode (I think in season one) where Starbuck tortures the Cylon prisoner. It was so well-done that at times I almost had to turn away from the screen; it was just perfect. It was exactly the kind of techniques we were hearing about on the news: waterboarding (well, head-in-the-bucket but the effect was the same), stress positions, everything. I have to wonder if all the people who say they support torturing our enemies really have an appreciation for what they are advocating. It’s one thing to say hell yeah, break out the thumbscrews on the bastards who killed our people, but it’s quite another to see the thumbscrews actually being applied to another living, screaming human being. Or in that episode’s case, a toaster who reacts like one and definitely looks like one.
In the hands of good writers, Science Fiction (all fiction, really) can be a powerful means of exploring philosophical concepts and topical issues. It’s not just zap guns and spaceships. Seems like an obvious thing but it bears repeating. Good job promoting that knowledge to the TAP audience.
Last also showered praise upon Emperor Palpatine, whom he dubbed “an esoteric Straussianâ€? and “a dictator … but a relatively benign one, like Pinochet.â€?
Ahh, we’re learning important stuff here. If they think that Pinochet was a relatively benign dictator, then the direction they want to take America becomes much more clear and understandable.
Good job on getting the piece out there. Keep ’em coming, Bradrocket – The world needs to hear from The Sledgehammer of Justice ™
mikey
Brad, Battlestar Galactica has always been a show steeped with leftward views.
Goldberg and co. were just too stupid to realize.
Absolutely right, and Goldberg continues to prove what a moronic ass he is.
Go Brad! XO
The most notable thing about the Galacticons is that even when they aren’t directly referencing science fiction, they still sound like total space cadets when discussing American military power. As they understand it, America is an omnipotent level-20 Warmage with 19 Strength and 20 Charisma who can wipe out entire armies of mariliths, gold dragons, and goblinoids with the flick of a wrist.
This is perfect.
Fracking nice!
Now, where did you get that photo???
I have an Easy-Bake Oven here that makes funny photos.
Congratulations! I thoroughly enjoyed it because I just started watching the show when I heard it had started to hate America… but…
Empireophelia?
-philia, I think.
Ophelia was the daughter of Polonius and the love interest of Hamlet.
My apologies. I can’t help myself. It’s a feature and a bug.
Awesome.
They have left no room for me to comment on your article’s rulishness, so you will have to direct the editors here for said praise. Any article which summons the term “dorkofascist” is right up my alley.
Who knew “that karaoke dude” had so much to say. I will forward this without delay to my sci-fi lovin’, retired psychoanalyst of a political blogger Dad, who is sure to find joy in every metaphorical word.
The most notable thing about the Galacticons is that even when they aren’t directly referencing science fiction, they still sound like total space cadets when discussing American military power.
whoa – you mean we can’t drop one of our aircraft carriers into the sky over tehran, have it launch its strike fighters and then warp out before it hits the ground?
damn.
As they understand it, America is an omnipotent level-20 Warmage with 19 Strength and 20 Charisma who can wipe out entire armies of mariliths, gold dragons, and goblinoids with the flick of a wrist.
Warmage? Feh. My Level 20 Cleric of Clangeddin could take him out in 3 rounds.
PS: Gold Dragons fighting *with* goblinoids and mariliths? I think not.
PSS: Hey, at least I’m not basing foreign policy decisions on my dorkery.
I love the new Galactica. Amazing show. And while I would think it was a “Left wing” show, I think it does an amazing job of posing difficult questions to its audience.
Can you dehumanize an enemy that is trying to BE human? Is torture acceptable on the “nonhuman” enemy, or does it cripple you, also?
Roslin attempted to rig the vote, but stopped it. Instead, she, and Adama, ultimately recognized the right of their people to make a HORRIBLE mistake.
Roslin is committed to acting as a religious leader. In this world, it is an unmitigated disaster. In Galactica, they found Kobol, and she found an important clue to Earth. There is something of substance to her faith. And let’s face it: when you have no cards to play, a leap in the dark is not really a mistake.
Overall, this program challenges, both right and left. I understand their motivations, even as I ask myself what I would do in the face of such disaster. This may be an important question for us in upcoming decades…
As others have noted, it’s amazing that they ever thought the show was some sort celebration of the “war on terra.” It’s never endorsed any sort of black and white view of humanity or the cylons. What did they think the show was trying to say about torture in the second season?
It’s funny, but finding political sentiments in a TV show is a bit like finding Jesus’s face in a tortilla: If you look long and hard enough you can see pretty much anything you want to see.
Personally, I like BSG because of the characters and the storyline, not because of some perceived political tilt. And yes, the writers clearly draw on the real world — many aspects of the Season 3 opener (don’t worry, no spoilers) was clearly drawn from well-known 20th century historical precedents — but instead of merely duplicating the world we know, they have amalgamated their sources and created something different. We can see glimpses, shadows, reflections of the reality we know, but it’s just not a simple metaphor or analogy.
Frankly, I think it says something about Goldberg’s (deeply submerged) uncertainties about US Iraq policy and actions that he sees BSG as an indictment of them.
Isn’t it like how Reagan thought “Born in the USA” was just a nice patriotic song by that Springsteen fella?
Congrats Brad, you were always my favorite.
ps. Patterico doens’t “stalk” he just “rattles” people’s “cages”. THERE IS A HUGE DIFFERENCE.
Congrats, but their arguments made me ill. I was intrigued by Lileks plan, but wondered why only one side ever gets disintegrated? Why not disintegrate all the pro-torture townsfolk every time a tortured person gives wrong or useless information? I can see it now: “Hold up, anti-torture Chicago citizens! The guy who said he was going to blow up Chicago when we tortured him turns out to be a kindergartener with a speech impediment and a love of kites! Oops! All pro-torture citizens now report to the Disintegration Chambers…”
Spot on, my fellow Boston homey.
Never bring a level 20 Warmage to do a job for a level 30 Paladin…
/end dork
Isn’t it like how Reagan thought “Born in the USA� was just a nice patriotic song by that Springsteen fella?
And Dubya’s favorite song is Born to Cut and Run. Sing along with me, folks–“It’s a death trap; it’s a suicide rap.
Tread said,
October 27, 2006 at 19:49
Brad, Battlestar Galactica has always been a show steeped with leftward views.
Goldberg and co. were just too stupid to realize.
South Park generally leans more to the left as well yet we have “South Park Republicans” because occasionally the Rosie O’Donnell’s and Rob Reiner’s are lampooned..
Mad props to ACS for running out the joke to the geek punchline that a mundane audience would have found over the top. I’m gonna be grinning about that one for, oh, at least until lunchtime.
Mmmm. Turkey sandwich on multigrain… maybe I’ll splurge and have an avocado slice.
p.s. We’re all going to hell for joking about this shit, you know. At least, those of us who believe in hell. The rest of us will just have to live in abject shame for the rest of our lives.
Empireophelia?
Not only should it be -philia, but you shouldn’t mix Latin roots with Greek suffixes. Should be something like “aftokratoriphilia” or “basileiphilia”.. but who the hell is going to get that?
What a nice “benign dictator,” eh? And mad congrats to the Bradster.
The show’s head writer Ronald D. Moore* telegraphed some of the changes in this season in an op-ed that ran in the NYT last month:
http://select.nytimes.com/search/restricted/article?res=F00811F638550C7B8DDDA00894DE404482
Yes, it’s behind the firewall. And if you want me to cut and paste the entire thing here, just say the word.
*Chowchilla Union High School Rulez!
My favorite sci-fi analogy to the current political situation comes from the novel Dune. Please pardon the following dork-off:
George Bush is the Beast Rabban. The reason they had to rig two elections is because the Baron Harkonnen wants the Beast to make things as bad as possible here on the planet Amerarrakis.
Somewhere out there in an undisclosed location on Geidi Prime, there is a Feyd who has been sharpening his knife skills against captured Atriedes warriors.
Come 2008, the Baron will unleash Feyd against all things Bush, and the people will welcome him as their savior. The only problem is, Feyd is worse, far worse, than the Beast Ra-Bush.
Now, three questions remain:
Who is Feyd?
Who is the Baron?
Is there a Muad’dib in the desert right now, learning to ride the worm?
Mmmmmmmmmm — published bloggers totally turn me on. And now I know how to find you….
Oops! Channelling annie for a sec there. Sorry.
s9: We’re all going to hell for joking about this shit, you know.
Get on the bus.
Maybe Little Ricky the Hobbit can run for Thain in Virginia after his Senate career ends this fall.
Yeah Brad! May your next gig be “free speech” with America’s Endoscopic Sweetheart.
We’ll be looking for you in the “Glenn Reynolds, Transhuman” costume come Halloween- I’m thinking Ayn Rand t-shirt and a lightsaber.
Love that dirty water, etc.
Empireophelia…Ophelia was the daughter of Polonius and the love interest of Hamlet.
No, that’s right. Empire starts out sexy, but eventually discovers that it’s unloved and functionally sterile, so it goes nuts, sings a few “nonny-nonnies” and drowns itself. This is just before everybody around it gets killed. Really, it works.
Kudos Brad, but where’s the WoW? The fash level caps are 60 these days, not 20, donchaknow.
Brad: your article made me go WTF, because statements like:
imply that BSG hasn’t been morally & politically ambiguous from the get-go, when it *has*. I think readers who don’t know frak about BSG will think that BSG made some kind of radical shift at the end of S2, when in reality it just made more explicit what the clue-enabled could see all along.
Whoa, Brad. Nothing turns me on like a writer who has actually done some background research – and it shows.
Combine this spurt of admiration with those denim shorts of yours and (gasp) Brad is Teh Hawt !!
I’ve never seen BSG, but I’m starting to get intigued. Not sure I need to watch with you guys keeping me posted on the twists and turns, but maybe I’ll get my paws on the DVD and check it out. With Baseball season on the verge of ending, I’ll need to find stuff to fill my hours.
Bruce Bochy?? WTF??
mikey
Good on you, Brad.
My favorite sci-fi analogy to the current political situation comes from the novel Dune
Oooooh, Jeff. That was good! And I understood it – apparently, I am “mundane”.
Sarcastro: Television. Homosexual.
Both good.
hey congrats! the american prospect on line, that’s almost a real magazine! (j/k! if we can’t snark each other, who can we snark?)
i, however, will probably not read it because i won’t understand it, because i don’t watch bg, because it wasn’t the same when lorne greene left.
.
.
I was referred to your American Prospect article by my karaoking daughter. It’s really quite good. While the Sci-Fi connections might seem remote to some, we have only to recall Reagan’s love affair with Star Wars.
Now that I think about it, most of the Bush era has been run on some kind of grandiose, romantic fiction…
Dorkofascism does indeed rule. Great job.
Excellent article! I’ve been forwarding it around to my long list of liberal nerd-oid friends–our favorite is the nutter who *praises* the Emperor. (I feel like Obi-Wan, sputtering, “But, but, he’s EVIL!”) And many thanks for repeatedly diving into the fever swamp of right-wing lunacy–you are definitely a man with a strong stomach.
I came up with this list some time ago, but thought this would be a good venue to post them:
20 SIMILARITIES BETWEEN GEORGE W. BUSH AND DARTH VADER
1. Spent childhood in hot, dusty climate.
2. Demonstrated early aptitude as a pilot, but in later years he was less reliable behind the stick.
3. Has no problems killing populations of desert dwelling people, including women and children.
4. Despite hamfisted attempts to explain it, mystery remains about where he was and what he did during a war.
5. “Married above himself.”
6. Famously short fuse.
7. Endorses torture.
8. Although not a member of the military, often likes to parade around with men in uniform.
9. Disliked by REAL military officers.
10. Mercilessly punishes people who tell him the truth, instead of telling him what he wants to hear.
11. Father of twins.
12. Doesn’t like Black people. (Ask Lando Calrissian!)
13. Determined to build space-based weapons platform, despite proven unreliability.
14. Secretly loathes his father figure.
15. Tries to outdo his father figure, but always falls short in comparison.
16. Distrusts deliberative, legislative bodies, preferring governmental authority to be centralized in a strong, imperial executive.
17 Choking.
18. Futilely tries to crush a rebellion he had a hand in creating.
19. Ultimately, had to rely on the voice of a light-skinned Black man to sound convincing and authoritative.
20. Although he is the face of the government, is actually a pawn to a sinister, shadowy figure who is even more evil, and infinitely more cunning.
Naaaaiiiiiice.
Wow. Since when was BSG ever about terrorism? It’s about people making effing hard choices and going through hell, from the comfort fo your sofa. That certain people (“CYLONS ARE TEH MUSLIMSLOL!!1”) would suggest it betrays a completly toddler-esque grasp of critical/abstarct thinking skills, and on the world in general. “I’m going to take this complex, depressing, shocking show, and force it to adhere to what I think.” Like when a baby sees a cow, and thinks it’s a dog, because all they know is that fury + four legs = DOG.
SPOILERS! (Season 1+2)
Season three, they’re insurgents, and suddenly it has “jumped the shark”? Really? Wow. How sad it must be to not have any capacity to think differently, or to view yourself as anything other then Rightiously Correct. I would have figured you would have picked up on the whole, “Everyone’s a bastard if you push them” thing after [I]Pegasus[/I], where a #6 has been tortued and abused for months, Sharon gets raped*, and Tyrol and Helo get the shit beaten out of them by fellow… Colonials, I guess.
Or how about when Baltar kills Crashdown. No? Nothing? That still fits in with your demand that this show is an alagory to current events?
The only thing about New Caprica that is Iraq-ed is the suicide bombings, (which, should be pointed out, is not something new since 2003) The production team has drawn from dozens of accounts accross history about invasions, and occupations.
NO MORE SPOILERS!
Snape Kills Dumbledore.
I’m so sick of this. Every damn day goes by, and these morons continue to prove their complete ineptitude and failure to understand anything more complex then the Barenstein Bears, and they still get airtime. What the fuck, yo?
*There were two version, in the broadcast and DVD, Helo and Tyrole bust in just in time, but they also filmed and cut a version where they bust in while she’s being raped, which is a DVD extra, I believe.
You have to admire Jonathan Last for at least being honest. None of this “We are the rebels and the Democrats/Liberals are the evil empire!” No, you guys are in control. Sure, it doesn’t work out as good narrative-wise, but the real world isn’t like some sci-fi movie. Then again, the reality is their enemy.
Source
Webb on father’s putting their four year old son’s member in their mouth: “It’s not a sexual act”
Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey, you’ll lose!
Well, let’s see…if Bush is Beast Rabban, how about:
Feyd-Rautha: McCain. I know he’s a bit old for the part…but don’t we all expect him to be the REASONABLE Republican, unlike these neocon extremists? And yet, when has McCain seriously opposed anything this administration has done…when Bush has squeezed us enough, we will be sent…McCain.
Baron Harkonnen: Cheney. He’s even got the heart-plug installed, in all likelihood. Shoots his retainers in the face and they love him for it.
Piter de Vries: Rove, obviously. Though he looks nothing like Brad Dourif.
Doctor Yueh: It’s a stretch, but I’d make him to be Lieberman. We THOUGHT he was a good liberal Democrat…but there has to be some reason he’s gone off the reservation. It just doesn’t make any sense. Something broke him down, made him go insane, and forget his loyalties.
Duke Leto Atreides: Al Gore. Passionate, principled, betrayed. Takes the long view. Has a vision. Powerful speaker (the “wooden” Al Gore is not the real Al Gore, it was just a phase). Weird wife. Speaking of which…
Lady Jessica: Part of me wants to say Hillary Clinton. Young activist, got burned when she was in the forefront of policy fights as First Lady. Establishment slapped her down. Was quiet for a while, but found a new Voice.
Gurney Halleck: Bill Clinton. Musical. A survivor. Strong warrior. Educator. Leader of men (and women). The parallel isn’t complete because unlike Gurney, Bill did become top dog; but in all other respects I think it fits.
Duncan Idaho: Howard Dean. Dead, killed off just when he was getting interesting. And yet, not dead. Keeps coming back. Still has a role to play.
Paul Atreides: us. The American People. Light and Dark at war within us. The Sleeper must awaken. If we do, we have the resources to do a tremendous amount of good.
You can push any allegorical analysis too far. I’m sure there’s any number of ways I’m completely off-base. But it’s fun…
Apprentice to Darth Holden said,
October 27, 2006 at 19:55
Brad, Battlestar Galactica has always been a show steeped with leftward views.
Goldberg and co. were just too stupid to realize.
Absolutely right, and Goldberg continues to prove what a moronic ass he is.
___________________________________________________________
As if we needed more proof . . .
Jack Potts said,
October 27, 2006 at 21:59
I came up with this list some time ago, but thought this would be a good venue to post them:
20 SIMILARITIES BETWEEN GEORGE W. BUSH AND DARTH VADER
-Well done!-
Go back now and watch seasons 1-4 of Babylon 5, and see all the parallels between the Earth government and our current crop of fascists.
And for an even more prophetic chunk o’ fiction, nothing – and I mean NOTHING – even comes close to Terry Gilliam’s .
The DHS getting ideas on how to fight terrorism from the cast of the TV show “24” seems to fit into this mold:
http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=2112624
BRAZIL.
Kudos! You managed to sum up the mindset of the neocon morons perfectly. How do these idiots get so much air time? God, it’s hard not to think conspiricy.
I see that Gary Ruppert is now an expert on the Thai customs in Bangkok. Good thing to know. I’m not even going to ask how he became an expert on the sexual implications of said custom.
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewSpecialReports.asp?Page=/SpecialReports/archive/200609/SPE20060920a.html
Gentlement, and ladies, we may be the first to witness the mass head-explodings of the Republicans. Global warming may cause illegal immigration, but which do you hate MORE?!
Shorter Gary: Me no read whole article; take time away from clicking refresh on Drudge.
You find me some Cambodians who dispute his claim, then maybe I’ll care.
Also, I’m pretty sure you’re the only person who really cares about this crap. Were it not for you, I would have never known about it.
Sarcastro: Television. Homosexual.
” ‘Homosexual’ is a barbarously hybrid word, and I claim no responsibility for it.” – [H. Havelock Ellis, “Studies in Psychology,” 1897]
Shouldn’t hybridize latin and greek roots… didn’t say no-one did it.
Crap. Forgot to close a tag.
Paul Atreides: us. The American People. Light and Dark at war within us. The Sleeper must awaken. If we do, we have the resources to do a tremendous amount of good.
I’m good with this. Hook me up with a great big refreshing cup of the Water of Life ™ and gimme a three day nap and I do believe I’ll lead the fremen my own self!!
Oh! I’m gonna need a hot, lethal wife and a freaky life taken’ sister. Let’s roll…
mikey
Since you can also see the future, mikey, can you tell us if Webb’s gonna win?
(I’m not asking gary, his powers of prognostication are weak.)
Battlestar rulz! Though it aint no Farscape.
Gary drulz!
Back in ’03, I was trying to explain to two co-workers, one a Major in the Air Nat’l Guard who’s a little slow and the other a rascist conservo-nut gun-fetishist why we shouldn’t have been surprised when the Iraqi’s didn’t shower us with rose pedals. I asked them if someone invaded the United States if they would fight to protect their homes even if Bill Clinton was still President. They both looked at me like I was an alien.
Pffff, people don’t invade US, Seanly! WE invade THEM! Geeez.
A variety of things have gotten me into BSG in the last few months, though I have to call myself a “bandwagon” type because I did use the clip show to catch up. From there, I got the sense that the show is a lot more ambiguous than Goldberg et. al. would like to believe, which is why it works. While large claims can be made at times, instead what occurs is to present and understand the conflicts in a more understandable setting. I saw more of the focus on the Cylons, particularly those who can blend in, as part of the question of fear, and how far can one go to find people. There’s a reason why people watch BSG, 24, etc. The characters are flawed. Sure, there are great heroes, but they aren’t friggin’ Superman from the 1940’s and 1950’s. They’re more later Superman, when the morals and ethics that are dealt with in society are more pronounced.
This reminds me… I need to dig up and reread one of my former professors’ paper on the similarities between Minority Report’s “precrime” concept and the Bush doctrine… good stuff, good stuff.
Since you can also see the future, mikey, can you tell us if Webb’s gonna win?
1973. University of Virginia. A young man we’ll call Billy was a pre-law junior. Small in stature, African American with big black plastic framed glasses, Billy worked graveyard shift, and his family struggled mightily to pay his tuition. George Allen and his wealthy white friends were visciously cruel to Billy, every day, constantly. The racial taunts, the physical abuse (everything from atomic wedgies to locking him in a dumpster), the emotional bullying, it never ended. Billy would hide in the back of the library so nobody would see him crying. There was nobody to turn to, nobody to help him. He didn’t have a lot of friends, was somewhat embarassed about his clothes, and between school and work he didn’t have time to socialize. He used every free moment to study or sleep.
Fast forward to early November 2006. Let me introduce you to William Logan. Still small in stature, successful corporate lawyer, good family, three kids, nice house. Unlike George Allen, William doesn’t look back at his days at UV fondly. But on that Tuesday, William felt a trememdous satisfaction, a great sense of a burden lifted from his heart, when he pulled the lever for James Webb. And he could not know, and we will never know for sure, but in a very close election, his was the vote that put Webb over the top. Billy went home and had dinner with his family. And that night he slept better than he had in years…
mikey
Mikey, so say we all!
We’re proud of you, Bradrocket.
Yay, Braditors!
Sarcastro: I actually agree with you; I was just taking the piss. If you’re interested in the topic, you should read the intro to David Halperin’s 100 Years of Homosexuality, where he talks about the coining of the term and mocks Greek-n-Latin hybrids.
“WE invade THEM! Geeez.”
No, we ‘liberate’ them…from life.
Thought you’d be interested to know that today at work I tried to access this link from Atrios and immediately got a message from our network that this was an UNACCEPTABLE SITE and could not be accessed.
I thought this was rather funny since our so-called “filtering” system — Blue Coat — purports to only block sites that are either pornographic, hate-filled/racist, etc.
I’ve blogged from work from time to time for more than two years and have accessed hundreds of political sites, but this is the first time I’ve ever gotten such a message.
Freedom of thought? Sadly, no!
You wrote it?
Then can I ask, do you think everyone who likes Galactica is a “Mountain Dew swilling reject” or is it just those who use it to fantasize about a military dictatorship and massive murder?
Because it comes off that way to those of who think it’s an excellent show but think the idea of using it as a proxy for Iraq is ludicrous.
I very disappointed, Brad, that you didn’t mention my rave review of the show. And here I thought I was your favorite conservative. Anyway, congratulations on getting published at a respectable (if misguided) media outlet for a change. I hope someday to convert you so that you will use your considerable writing talents for good instead of evil.
http://jonswift.blogspot.com/2006/10/on-battlestar-galactica-heroic-cylons.html
Did you see your article got linked from DailyKos? So that should increase interest in getting you a second article.
I read the shit out of it, and enjoyed it muchly.
You will be arrested for sedition and I will prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law. (well once I get off the traffic desk)
It really sucks to have to work all day and therefore miss out on the rapid-fire repartee here at Sadly, No! There’s no way I can truly get caught up with this thread, so I’ll just cut to the chase.
Brad: You sure do clean up nice.
Gary: It’s. A. Novel. For. Chrissakes.
I wonder how BSG will change when it goes to NBC. Perhaps the gang will stumble upon a cache of long-forgotten GE weapons and finally beat the Cylons.
And anyhow, Olmos was better in American Me.
Shorter con speak:
It was fun when good was good and bad was bad…and the good killed the bad. But now I’m not always sure who’s good and who’s bad but they’re still killing each other. Sometimes the good turn bad, sometimes the bad turn good. Sometimes the good do bad things. Sometimes the bad do good things. It’s not clear anymore and I don’t like it…it’s too much like…what’s that word?…uhh…reality.
w00t! Bradrocket you so absoL00tly rawk!
Conga Rats,
GW
Whenever some Bushie tells me how effective torture is I thank them for admitting to me that at the first sign of pain they are so squealing everything they know it would make my head spin.
Hey, I’m a total liberal and I’ve followed BSG faithfully for the past two years.
But, your American Prospect article was spot on. I write for a group blog (all women) that monitors FOX News daily and we’ve known for years that the FOX pundits and hosts are living in a world totally alien to the rest of humanity!
Grats Bradman!~
Enjoyed the whole thing, a good read!
The original Star Trek and STNG were also packed with real life social dilemmas. This is what constitutes good sci-fi, it speaks on many levels.
The Grimm Brothers tales (not the stupid movie, the originals) were collected from ancient stories which turn out to still have a lot to tell us about ourselves even in this postmodern world… neat stuff, stories!
I would only hope the BSG writers don’t tread too far to either extreme political perspective, because then they’d just be “Bush in space.”
Great article! I could not access it this morning for some reason. It reminds me of that novel that made fun of sci-fi fans called “Bimbos of the Death Sun”.
And the Dune analogy upthread is terrific. Of course I doubt the rightwingers would ever want to use Dune as an example because of all the Islamic and Arabic references in it.
Symbolism is one thing, but trying to put on a black and white transferance between Cylon/Muslim and Colonials/USA is retarded.
“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.�
No doubt, he would prefer it if the embattled humans bravely manned their keyboards, churning out endless paeon of praise to their heroic prresident Gaius Baltar . . . what’s that you say? Their president is a whiny, crazed incompetent traitor? ALL THE BETTER!
I hope the Doughy Pantloads of this world read your brilliantly worded essay and shit purple diarrhea.
The “Death to Boosh” pic makes my day.
Emperor Palpatine BENIGN?
A man who discards apprentices like kleenex, stages a war and gets the Jedi to take the blame for it, as well as ordering the death of the Jedi *including* the younglings …
… that’s BENIGN?
South Park generally leans more to the left as well yet we have “South Park Republicans� because occasionally the Rosie O’Donnell’s and Rob Reiner’s are lampooned..
and let’s not forget what Republicans have mistakenly thought of the Colbert Report. So clueless they don’t realize he’s mocking them.
“Tax cuts make me feel all warm and fuzzy,” said the Veep. “Why–they’re as harmless as TRIBBLES!”
Oh, and Brad, if you do decide to watch BSG, start with the first season. Don’t jump in to the third season like Jon Swift did. pffffft!
The show is not a right-wing, good vs evil, borefest.
“Bimbos of the Death Sun” was by Sharyn McCrumb, I think, before she started writing straight mysteries. Lotsa fun but an affectionate satire, not a mean one.
Not only should it be -philia, but you shouldn’t mix Latin roots with Greek suffixes. Should be something like “aftokratoriphilia� or “basileiphilia�.. but who the hell is going to get that?
I think the pure Hellenic word, albeit a back-formation, you are looking for is Monarchist.
monarchy — “rule by one person,” c.1390, from O.Fr. monarchie, from L.L. monarchia, from Gk. monarkhia “absolute rule,” lit. “ruling of one,” from monos “alone” (see mono-) + arkhein “to rule.”
I can think of no greater insult for an American, but it sure fits.
Since we’ve been arguing about latin-greek hybrids, I did some recon and found out that the French say “la resistance,” with one of those “e-thingies” that freak out the General, rather than “Le Resistance.”
[ / French snob ]
But that sort of thing doesn’t mean we have to go back on our claim that BradRocket roolz! !
Ooooooooo Bradrocket, linky from Atrios. NTodd will be over shortly to complain. 😉
Awesome article. I hadn’t realized the right was so in love with the Evil Toasters — but then, I only got sucked in mid-season 2. Wonder what they thought of last night’s episode …
And on a side note, I miss the days when Star Trek: Next Gen was political and cool. Just saying.
Happily, yes, a great Saturday morning read. Brad_ R_ulZ!!11!
Congratulations, Brad!
Kurt Vonnegut wrote a plaint about science fiction, or rather about science-fiction fans, back in the mid-1960s:
“… The people in the field who can be charged fairly with tastelessness are 75 percent of the writers and 95 percent of the readers — or not so much tastelessness, really, as childishness. Mature relationships, even with machines, do not titillate the unwashed majority. Whatever it knows about science was fully revealed in Popular Mechanics by 1933. Whatever it knows about politics and economics and history can be found in the Information Please Almanac for 1941. Whatever it knows about the relationship between men and women derives from the clean and the pornographic versions of ‘Maggie and Jiggs’…
“… What appealed to them, I think, apart from the novelty of comic books without pictures, was the steady promise of futures which they, just as they were, could handle. In such futures they would be highranking noncoms at the very least, just as they were, pimples, virginity, and everything… ”
I ran across Kurt’s plaint (“I have been a soreheaded occupant of a file drawer labeled ‘science fiction’ ever since, and I would like out, particularly since so many serious critics regularly mistake the drawer for a urinal.”) in the early 1970s, even as the science fiction global village Vonnegut wrote about was being expanded beyond all recognition by the dual forces of new media and non-straight-white-male writers & fans. But, of course, Jonah and his wingtard buddies are still searching for this kind of golden-age space oaters — simple parables where the men are strong, the women are busty, and the aliens are either adorable muppets or drooling fiends. Transhumanism, it’s like being a grown-up, only with better accessories and fewer responsibilities!
The really ironic thing about that photoshopped image is that it gets exactly backward the roles that the writers of Battlestar Galactica have assigned to their characters in the latest episodes.
BG’s writers cast the Cylons in the position of the Americans in Iraq, and the humans in the position of the Iraqis, complete with weapons hidden in temples, suicide bombers, and torture (of the humans). This is one way writing can be very effective, SF or not: placing the reader into a novel or even in this case forbidden point of view.
The neocons and their MSM allies have done an excellent job of whitewashing the US invasion and occupation of Iraq, and preventing Iraqi and American victims from being seen as real people. BG snuck its viewers into the Iraqi point of view by the back door, and that took nerve and good writing.
I wonder how long til they’re all labelled enemy combatants and disappear?
Interesting article, but I ALWAYS
OOPS… hit the wrong button…
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Interesting article but I ALWAYS thought the cylons were akin to the American right-wing. They’re the ones with the overriding love of the “one true God.” They are the ones trying to impose that belief on the humans, who believe in multiple Gods.
As Cheney would say: It’s a no-brainer.
Okay, now that I’ve read the article I must say that it was brilliant. I laughed out loud at “As they understand it, America is an omnipotent level-20 Warmage…” On the other hand, I’m 45 years old and I still run a fifth-circle priest of Hnalla every Thursday night…
Congrats on a great article, and I’ll look forward to sharing the cell next to you, we can roll 20-sided dice between the bars.
(now to find out if HTML codes are allowed in comments…)
Sure. He *could* have raised taxes on the rich–that’d be EEEEEVIL!11!
your blog is so fine, thx a lot