SGA meta

[ceitie]

I’ve been following the discussions about colonialism in SGA, specifically, the comparison between the Earth people on Atlantis and the British in India that was being talked about in horridporrid’s post here. This isn't so much about the direct comparison between the Atlanteans and the British, but just a thought that occurred to me as I was reading the replies to the post.

I do think that there is a clear imperialist subtext in the Atlanteans’ actions toward the rest of the Pegasus galaxy. Part of that is because of the obvious lack of interest on the writers’ part of any kind of serious Pegasus world-building, or even in the peoples of Pegasus at all, other than as mission-of-the week plot devices. Unfortunately, we have to deal with the text that the show gives us, and the subtext of that canon is rife with the idea of the Atlanteans as sweeping in to be the saviors of a galaxy that would be helpless without their intervention (as proved by the fact that thousands of years have passed without anyone defeating the Wraith), and therefore as morally justified in doing whatever the hell they want in order to continue fighting.

However, one question that did occur to me while I was reading this discussion is whether the comparison is fair when dealing with the actual canon, rather than the subtext that the writers (hopefully) unwittingly generated. I’m talking about the fact that Pegasus is a galaxy, not a country, or a nation, or even, as far as we know, a loose coalition of peoples. The idea that Atlantis and its technology somehow belongs to the millions of people who live on the many worlds of the Pegasus galaxy, rather than people who lived on a world in the Milky Way galaxy, simply because… there are less light years involved in the gate hop? When you’re talking about a galaxy’s worth of people each living on their own worlds, even when those worlds are mostly connected by a gate network, I find it difficult to hold with the idea that all those other worlds have any more of an intrinsic right to an unused city and its technology on a world with an unknown gate address than the people whose world is in a different galaxy.

I realize that all of this doesn’t actually negate the subtext of the Atlanteans as colonists in any way, especially since the show doesn’t do much to actually differentiate the peoples of the Pegasus galaxy as anything other than… “the people of the Pegasus galaxy”, with a few exceptions like the Athosians and the Genii, or the mission-of-the-week people whose bad choices generally lead to our heroes either having to save them or escape from them. However, if the show did care about the Pegasus galaxy other than as a setting for space battles, the galaxy would probably be a tapestry of alliances and enmities, and some of them wouldn’t even be aware of the presence of others if gate addresses had been forgotten, not to mention the worlds isolated by space gates. In that situation, inviting anyone and everyone to study their technology would make the Atlanteans a lot less self-righteous and paternalistic, but it might also result in even more loss of life if those technologies were applied to military actions against other worlds. On the other hand, picking and choosing scientists that they trusted would also cause problems, as well as continuing to reinforce the imperialist subtext of the Atlanteans being superior and “allowing” people in Pegasus onto Atlantis.

And if all of those politics actually played out on the show in any coherent way, that would be awesome. Sadly, unless they fire all the writers tomorrow, as well as the producers and possibly the network executives, I don’t think it’s gonna happen.

Comments

[horridporrid.livejournal.com]

I think a big issue is, as you say, the lack of any kind of defining of the Pegasus people. That our heroes don't interact with them much, don't get to know the cultural diversity that should be there, gives a taint of colonialism to the whole thing (they don't see it because they don't care). But if you look at the actual canon cultures...I think there's really nothing there to see.

It's like someone cloned a village a hundred times over and then set them all on a sliding scale of technological abilities. With everything else, religion, family-structure, government, etc., they're pretty much exactly alike. It's impossible: reality would never work that way. But in this show, it does. It's like the actual diversity comes with the differences between humans, Wraith, Ancients, and Replicators. Or something.

[ceitie.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the writers don't give a crap about the actual people living in Pegasus galaxy, and it really, really shows. Even the people who are given names, like the Athosians, the Satedans and the Genii, only are given enough background to supply the plot for that episode. The writers aren't even attempting to make diverse societies; your example of the cloned village is spot-on. It's either a pre-industrial farming village, a medieval(complete with long gowns and tapestries) castle, or an early modern society. And they all dress like Europeans, more or less, which drives me fucking crazy. Like, SG1 was pretty clumsy in its attempts at cultural diversity, but at least there was some kind of effort?

And because the writers aren't interested, there's barely any canon supporting the idea that the characters from Earth are interested either. Sigh.

[horridporrid.livejournal.com]

It's the problem of being a plot-driven show, I think. The cultures that drive the plot (like the Wraith) get a bit more nuance -- but even then, only as that cultural tic drives the plot. I feel like the show is getting a bit more...relationship oriented (not in a "shippy" way, but in how people interact and grow, etc.), so that might lead to a deeper exploration of the culture behind them. Maybe.

And because the writers aren't interested, there's barely any canon supporting the idea that the characters from Earth are interested either. Sigh.

Honestly, I can fully buy Rodney not caring. It's just not his thing, just as figuring out how people tick isn't his thing. (Unless there's a scientific development he's interested in, of course. *g*) John? I think if he had the time (wasn't a prisoner of the plot), he'd care, and I think he gets the importance of understanding the people he's hoping to work with or gain something from. (As hinted to in his relationship with both Teyla and Ronon.)

But yeah, those that obviously have an interest are full on background. The science groups Rodney sends out to planets deemed safe and then promptly forgets until the next briefing or if something goes horribly, horribly wrong. Which means human Pegasus culture is pretty much pasted on. (Maybe the reason it's all heavily European-based? Knowing they were going to simplify to the point of caricature, the show runners decided to make them all similar to a group that they can't be accused of mocking?)