“The Influence of Message

This is a study in contrasts: Of the messages sent and received by one viewer of 2 distinctly different TV shows that share the same name but were executed at different times, with different core values. It’s a decidedly personal perspective, but I write this asking those who read it to consider the messages, even the subliminal ones, you are receiving from what you watch.

Not so terribly long ago there was a very special TV show named Battlestar Galactica. It ran one season as I entered my teens and made an indelible impression on my young mind.

The story told was a yarn based on the journey of remnants of a destroyed civilization, fighting to survive against a foe that far outnumbered them and wanted them utterly destroyed, The Cylon Alliance. In spite of the story’s dark roots, it was an overwhelming essay in hope, surviving through pulling together with the best parts of humankind’s character, faith that there would be a better time & place for humanity to survive in, and a none to subtle message that family was at the heart of all of it. Even if “the family” was an extended, adoptive family that included one’s friends, as Adama’s “family” did.

The heroes were archetypal heroes, though they were quite human with some very real faults: Starbuck was a “ladies man” as we called them back then. A playboy pilot with a heart of gold who, however reluctantly he approached a mission, was the friend you could depend on to take the risk to pull you out of a jam. Apollo, the strike captain, was nearly suicidal in his desire to safeguard his people, yet was their best pilot and a gifted tactical planner. He held his friends back a bit with his own grief after losing his wife tragically. Boomer was the always faithful friend whom Starbuck and Apollo knew without reservation they could rely upon. Sheba was the crack female pilot leader from another battlestar. Far from being “Joanie the fighter jock,” she melded a warrior leader into a woman’s heart seamlessly. For the 1970s that was groundbreaking. Other women were shown in responsible positions also: bridge officers and medical staff that weren’t above taking part in a dangerous ground assault mission assignment.

They were led by a wise man of faith, Commander Adama, who wasn’t infallible or without emotions clouding a decision or two, but was consistently allowed to be a wise leader. He too had a supportive sidekick, his friend and executive officer, Colonel Tigh and the two complemented each other well. The villains were clearly villains also. Genocidal robots, all in shiny chrome, bent on snuffing humankind out of existence. A collaborating villain was a treacherous traitor that betrayed his own people in exchange for power and his own life.

Jump to 2003:

The mighty battlestar comes up for an overhaul, an update. A different direction is chosen for telling this story. This time the “heroes” would be flawed and dysfunctional in an effort to be more realistic. The classical feature film-looking cinematography replaced with a handheld “documentary” feel. Some ships saw redesigns, most notably the Galactica, nearly unrecognizable other than the still insect like 3 part body structure with pod landing bays. Oh, and just to mix up the relationships: certain male pilots were now female and the competent XO of old, was replaced by a barely functioning drunk. Oh, and this time the villains are the ones with religion and the traitor might only be insane.

I was concerned, as a woman, that these newly female characters would end up as caricatures of womanhood or worse women trying to be men. In the case of Kara “Starbuck” Thrace, my fears were confirmed. Gone was the capable pilot that was a gentle female, off duty, and because of that blend, gone was the role model that Sheba was to my generation. Instead of that blend of strength and grace; an obnoxious, mutinous, insubordinate, petulant, “I’d really rather be a man” character was presented. I should have taken that as a warning that things would not be well for the women in this “Galactica” universe.

I’ve sat through more of this show than I would ever have because of 2 personal factors:

1) One of my friends guest starred and asked me to check it out.

2) I moderate on a BG discussion board and having a bit of a clue as to what transpired can help with that.

In all of 23 episodes, I’ve watched something in the neighborhood of 15. So what I’m about to say is incomplete. But I would like you to evaluate this contrast for yourself and see if the message sent by and possibly unwittingly woven into this new show, is one that you wish to hear.

The original show was a future “super mom’s” dream. Serina was a mom to Boxey, trained as a shuttle pilot to fill a desperate fleet need and a capable viper fighter pilot when she had to step into a combat role. Sheba bested the best of the male pilots who couldn’t shake her tailing him when both thought the other was an enemy. (Neither knew the other’s Battlestar existed at that moment). Cassiopea was the tender geisha/courtesan-turned nurse, because nurses were more vital to the fleet. The women were both looked out for and treated as capable equals. It was not exactly standard fare for the time, but a positive influence when you are a young female teenager. Again, 1970s episodic TV was nearly always emulating the best of humanity.

To contrast, consider elements of the new show. Dysfunction is the core of every relationship, and I suspect this is where my concern is rooted. Star Trek, Star Wars and the original Battlestar Galactica all have had competent, strong females within their franchise histories. Women who were able to do the job when needed, but who always retained the respect of the males that surrounded them.

As a woman, I can tell you I have grown in my concern as to how women in this new fictitious colonial society have been treated. It is not a safe universe to be a woman in when:

1. your superior officer can punch you (guilty: Lee & Tigh, neither was reprimanded)
2. your husband can punch you (Tigh and Ellen/Helen)
3. "Cylon" men & women beat another "Cylon" woman to deceive a "human" officer that she'd escaped from Cylon captivity (Sharon, Doral, Six)
4. If the military stages a coup, Madame President is officially denied her cancer fighting hallucinogenic medicine. (Laura)
5. Men in your society will make a speech about how society turned your attacker into an animal, rather than immediately remove you from the cage that you are locked in with same attacker, essentially vilifying you while you are still in a place of less than safety. (Zarek to Callie) Since most attempted rape and rape victims fight their entire lives with guilt over the incident, that was highly unnecessary to throw at the feet of all the women watching.
6. If the Cylons capture a female, they tie them to machines and keep them in gyno exam position in a Cylon-human baby farm setup. (The Farm episode) Men are quickly killed and not made into lab rats.
7. If you are a male Cylon prisoner you will be beaten (Leoben), females, however will be beaten, have guns held to their head (Tigh & Sharon) and raped (Sharon & Six with Cylon interogator from Pegasus/Pegasus crew).

Perhaps it could be more accurate to say that the show over it’s course so far has glorified so many forms of violence against women, just in it's choice of story matter and in letting so many instances slide without repercussions or even questions to the perpetrator. This sets it apart as an entirely different influence on viewers than crime dramas that seek the perpetrator's punishment, in my opinion. It is that subliminal influence that concerns me.

I don't watch Lifetime due to it's obsession with "woman is victim of _________" programming. I just don't consider victimization a healthy constant viewing diet for anyone. Finding it within a science fiction story’s society was jarring. It makes the show’s initial question, “Is humanity worth saving?” to an even lower note.

I doubt the writers are deliberately going for this view of womankind as objects of violence, but I do have to ask them: What message have you sent so far? Is that what you really want us to receive? Are you looking at the broader picture of what you’ve said in total?

As a viewer I’ve had to say goodbye to watching this show for other reasons: my love of the original story matched to my distaste for plot holes and the head games portrayed in this one. Once I compiled the list of violent incidents that is the heart of this article, I realized why I found it to be the most depressing deviance of the original show’s message. One Galactica universe, the original, treated women with respect and equality, the other has shown my gender much violence without implying it’s wrong. In my heart of hearts, is the subliminal message I don’t think my society needs to see.

What messages are you receiving from what you are watching?”