:flail: Help me out, here!
Aug. 13th, 2005 03:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
justalurkrOur area of confusion is Stargate: SG-1. In deference to those who are going to have to wait several weeks to see the first half of Season 9, the question and general flailing are under the cut:
Will people who have seen all of the episodes between the introduction of the Orii and last night's "Powers that Be" help me out with explaining why SG-1's new villain no longer has much to do with a thoughtful speculative fiction exploration of religious extremism? Because I really think it doesn't, anymore.
Village full of people exploited first by Qetesh as hosted by Vala, then by Vala pretending to be Qetesh is confronted at once by a Prior of the Orii and the truth about their false goddess. A fairly thoughtful interplay between Daniel Jackson, the disillusioned believers and the Prior-tized Priest of Harrid's and Sallis's village on the other side of the universe. This was good stuff, people! Well, as good as it gets with the current crop of writers, anyway. Subtlety is not their strong suit.
I'm grooving a little on the whole "free will" or "religious freedom" debate, then...the Prior puts his staff where his mouth is. Village gets sick. Vala whips out a healing device and uses until it or she gives out. People start to die. Dr. Lam, Medicine Woman, is called in in full bio-hazard gear to help and is helpless. Our New Toy, Cam, is stricken. Things look bad!
So far, so good with Evil Convert-by-the-Sword Missionary Man metaphor, or whatever the proper term is. THEN...the villagers profess "Hallowed are the Orii" and the dead rise, the sick are healed and Our Heroes look like dangerously stupid wankers.
This is not religion, people. No one pretends handing out parking tickets next to the fire hydrant is religion, do they? Empirical evidence as to the consequence of an action removes it from the realm of religion or faith or any of that, as far as I'm concerned. The Orii position is that:
1. You will be on the path to enlightenment
2. You will be on our path to enlightenment.
3. You will be well taken care of should you adhere to #1 & #2.
4. You will be dead if you try to opt out, even if you have no plans to interfere with the faithful.
#3 isn't empirically on the list of any religion I know. Not getting into trouble with the local clerics or government isn't quite the sames as seeing for oneself that the freak with the staff has power of life, death and life again over you. Believing in Bible stories 2000 years after the fact is not the same as having stood outside Lazarus's tomb.
For me, the Orii just became goa'uld with a more difficult technological schtick and some snake-free Jaffa, complete with staffs, of their very own. Freedom of religion no longer enters into it for me, as faith that something good will happen if you believe, even though odds are against it, is no longer on the table.
The writers just set themselves up for the task of proving that [1]There's something intrinisically wrong with being taken care of by all-powerful beings (after spending a few seasons showing non-interference in an unsympathetic light) and [2] Unascended heroes defeating ascended beings within the rules of engagement set up in "Origin" and "Threads." In other words, if Daniel does anything beyond what he's capable of as a mortal, The Others will stop him.
So...what's the least offensive way to state that what appears to be a big anti-religious statement carried out well or badly is really just the SG writers kicking shit and hitting hot buttons with business as usual?
Will people who have seen all of the episodes between the introduction of the Orii and last night's "Powers that Be" help me out with explaining why SG-1's new villain no longer has much to do with a thoughtful speculative fiction exploration of religious extremism? Because I really think it doesn't, anymore.
Village full of people exploited first by Qetesh as hosted by Vala, then by Vala pretending to be Qetesh is confronted at once by a Prior of the Orii and the truth about their false goddess. A fairly thoughtful interplay between Daniel Jackson, the disillusioned believers and the Prior-tized Priest of Harrid's and Sallis's village on the other side of the universe. This was good stuff, people! Well, as good as it gets with the current crop of writers, anyway. Subtlety is not their strong suit.
I'm grooving a little on the whole "free will" or "religious freedom" debate, then...the Prior puts his staff where his mouth is. Village gets sick. Vala whips out a healing device and uses until it or she gives out. People start to die. Dr. Lam, Medicine Woman, is called in in full bio-hazard gear to help and is helpless. Our New Toy, Cam, is stricken. Things look bad!
So far, so good with Evil Convert-by-the-Sword Missionary Man metaphor, or whatever the proper term is. THEN...the villagers profess "Hallowed are the Orii" and the dead rise, the sick are healed and Our Heroes look like dangerously stupid wankers.
This is not religion, people. No one pretends handing out parking tickets next to the fire hydrant is religion, do they? Empirical evidence as to the consequence of an action removes it from the realm of religion or faith or any of that, as far as I'm concerned. The Orii position is that:
1. You will be on the path to enlightenment
2. You will be on our path to enlightenment.
3. You will be well taken care of should you adhere to #1 & #2.
4. You will be dead if you try to opt out, even if you have no plans to interfere with the faithful.
#3 isn't empirically on the list of any religion I know. Not getting into trouble with the local clerics or government isn't quite the sames as seeing for oneself that the freak with the staff has power of life, death and life again over you. Believing in Bible stories 2000 years after the fact is not the same as having stood outside Lazarus's tomb.
For me, the Orii just became goa'uld with a more difficult technological schtick and some snake-free Jaffa, complete with staffs, of their very own. Freedom of religion no longer enters into it for me, as faith that something good will happen if you believe, even though odds are against it, is no longer on the table.
The writers just set themselves up for the task of proving that [1]There's something intrinisically wrong with being taken care of by all-powerful beings (after spending a few seasons showing non-interference in an unsympathetic light) and [2] Unascended heroes defeating ascended beings within the rules of engagement set up in "Origin" and "Threads." In other words, if Daniel does anything beyond what he's capable of as a mortal, The Others will stop him.
So...what's the least offensive way to state that what appears to be a big anti-religious statement carried out well or badly is really just the SG writers kicking shit and hitting hot buttons with business as usual?
