Flipping gender or point of views; multifandom musings (including BSG, Star Wars, DS9 and Carnivale)

[selenak]

Firstly, American readers, if the ramblings on these humble pages or anything else has made you interested into the new Battlestar Galactica, the Sci-Fi Channel is running a marathon on Tuesday of the first five episodes starting at 7 p.m. EST, so you should have a chance to catch up. A fan of the old show - proving that loving both is far from

Comments

[estepheia]

A female Solo would be HOT.

[selenak]

I agree.

[vaznetti]

Interesting thoughts on genderswitching. It's something I don't much care for in fanfic*, but which I love in other contexts--for example, the new Starbuck, or the idea of a female Vader, although I think that that would have some dramatic effects on the Luke and Leia storyline. Although, or maybe because. In high school we put on a production of Dracula with a female Van Helsing, and although we didn't change the script (darn theater instructor!) even at the time I could see how electrifying that could be.

* I think because I associated it with effects to turn a slash relationship into a het one, or vice versa.

[selenak]

Although, or maybe because. In high school we put on a production of Dracula with a female Van Helsing, and although we didn't change the script (darn theater instructor!) even at the time I could see how electrifying that could be.

There is a famous precedent - silent movie star Asta Nielsen played Hamlet, but Hamlet as a woman disguised as a man. (With a prologue explaining that due to not wanting the throne to go to brother Claudius, Hamlet Senior had his newborn daughter announced as a son.) The relationships with Laertes and Ophelia stayed, and especially the one with Ophelia suddenly gained a whole new twisted subtext.

I am your mother certainly would have a different impact, though just as powerful. Darth Vader as Irina?

[vonniek]

I was discussing Carnivale a few days ago in my LJ and agentotter came up with the theory that it would be Sofie, not Ben or Brother Justin, who would be the deciding factor in which side would win--that Sofie has a seed for great evil in her and that's why Appollonia tried to kill her. That the battle between Ben and Justin would be for Sofie's soul. I have no idea that the show would go this direction, but I have to admit that having a woman be a center of an apocalyptic battle between Good and Evil (for a change) intrigues me.

I've never thought the Tattooed Man might be Scudder. Hmmmmm. Interesting....

[selenak]

Which would make Sofie the new Eve and also both ease and toughen the question of Free Will. Because Ben and Justin appear to be pre-destined to their roles, which is a tragedy for them both. But if Sofie is destined for something yet can make a choice about it, it means Free Will still does exist in the Carnivale universe. Otoh, if Sofie can reject her inner seed of evil, why can't Justin? (That short bit of dialogue from 1.12 between him and Iris:

J: The bible tells us we're all doomed.
I: But the bible also says that we can be redeemed. Through God's grace.
J: Maybe God has other plans for some of us.

seems to indicate the key might be that Sofie does not believe herself to be doomed, as opposed to Justin who does.

I've never thought the Tattooed Man might be Scudder. Hmmmmm. Interesting....

smashc just told me that she/he never thought anything else. Which would make Ben/Sofie the parallel to Justin/Iris, no?

[buffyannotater]

seems to indicate the key might be that Sofie does not believe herself to be doomed, as opposed to Justin who does.

That's an aspect I've found very interesting about the show: both the "hero" and the "villain" both believe themselves to be doomed, or inherently wicked in some way, even though they were both raised in diametrically opposed situations--the hero was raised by his mother to believe he came from the Devil, and the villain was raised by a priest to believe he was a child of God.

As S2 progresses, I'm thinking more and more that Sofie will play a huge role in the upcoming battle (maybe Ben and her are brother and sister), and Ruthie, as well, in some capacity, who had an affair with Scudder. What I find really fascinating is that it is so hard to tell whose side the previous generation is on. Is Management "good" and Scudder "evil," or is Management manipulating Ben to bring a "good" man to him that he will destroy? Or is Management still "good" but a greyer shade who believes the ends justify any means? Was Management

[smashsc]

I think Sofie's role will be key too. My thought is that she'll be key in continuing the battle beyond Justin & Ben. I know [info]karbonkid has some interesting theories about Sofie, I'll have to find where he spelled those out agin.

The 2.04 knowledge (which selenak doesn't have quite yet) about Scudder/Ben's family really raises flags to me about who was good and who was evil in the previous generation. Esp when compared with the Russian's past. More and more it seems to me that it doesn't matter who is good and who is evil. That is, what matters is that the two fight. Both Justin & Ben seem to have more potiental for good/bad than their fathers. The fight keeps escalating and that is the driving force. Management wants the battle to continue. And maybe Apollonia didn't which is why she tried to kill Sofie. Both sides are doomed to continue the fight no matter which side they fall on.

[selenak]

I'm a big fan of genderswapping, and although I never met the original Starbuck, it does make me wonder how being genderswapped changed her character. At the moment (having seen just 2 episodes) she doesn't seem all that unusual - the crackerjack female fighter with deep emotional wounds is something we've seen before, with Kira and Susan Ivanova. It makes me want to back and watch the original, just so I can see how the characters compare.Judging by the pilot of the original and the two or so episodes I saw way back when, the emotional wounds are what's new. Male Starbuck was just a swashbuckler. But then the adding of emotional trauma is not confined to Starbuck. In the original, Zack was killed by Cylons, there was no guilt for anyone, and Apollo and Adama got along along just fine. (Whereas in the new series, they start out barely on talking terms and are now tentatively becoming closer again.) The other genderswapped character is Boomer, who was a man but then also wasn't a Cylon sleeper agent unaware of her nature because the

[nenya_kanadka]

he crackerjack female fighter with deep emotional wounds is something we've seen before

Judging by the pilot of the original and the two or so episodes I saw way back when, the emotional wounds are what's new.

I can't be the only one who is annoyed that "kick-ass" female characters always seem to have to have emotional wounds. It worked for Kira, yes. (And thank heaven Jadzia was there as an example of a strong woman who hadn't been emotionally banged around. And that Kira retained her kick-ass-ness when she started healing from her wounds.) But come on--is there some rule that says women can't do cool adventurous things unless they're driven by some deep internal pain and trauma? The men don't have to. *sigh*

[selenak]

True enough, though in the case of the new BSG, everyone, male or female, got emotional wounds in their pasts. So I don't mind in this case.

[j_bluestocking]

Management is voiced by Linda Hunt. (Or so I assume; it certainly sounds like her.) And given that her first breakthrough role involved playing a man (The Year of Living Dangerously), the fluidity of gender here, even on an unconscious level, is interesting.

[selenak]

This is where a childhood of watching films and shows only dubbed comes in. I never heard her voice before.

Anyway: yes, it is. I'm curious whether they'll go anywhere with this...