Is Battlestar Galactica Christian allegory? Certainly appears so.
In Battlestar Galactica season 4, the writers’ religious allegory subtext is becoming ever more clear. Not so much that the ‘Human’ Cylons look and act like humans, but it’s more about the underlying story subtexts. Consider the story of 12 apostles vs the 12 cylon models. Also, apparently, when the 12 models do come together, the world will change. Consider that the human Cylons believe in ‘the one god’ vs the human humans who still believe in the ‘pagan gods’. This is a blatant metaphor between our history of those Greeks/Romans who believed in the pagan gods vs those who believed in God (and Christ – Christianity). Consider now that Baltar appears to have healing abilities and is also on an unknowing teaching mission. Baltar also looks, at times, like BSG version of Christ. In fact, the Cylons have practically hand picked Baltar to do their ‘one god’ spread-the-word bidding.
The story of finding Earth really is less of a goal than it appears. Sure, Earth is the hope that the BSG survivors cling in order to start a new life. But, inevitably, the Cylons will find any place that the humans choose to inhabit. The whole story arc has set up so so many Christian religious allegorical undertones that I’m not thrilled by this aspect of the show. The writers are at a crux. They can either continue down the 12 Apostles + Christ path and conclude this show as a blatant metaphor for Christianity, or they can drop this subtext and turn it back into the Sci-Fi series that it should be.
Obviously, BSG is taking liberties with the Christian history in order to fit the context of the show, but it certainly appears that allegory is where BSG is heading. I personally like Sci-Fi series that don’t try to bring real-world religious metaphors and morality plays as the show’s subtle (or blatant) message. But, I guess the show writers are gonna do what they’re gonna do. I’ll keep watching until this religious allegory arc becomes so unbearably tedious to watch, I’ll stop watching. If I really want to read the Bible, I can read it for myself. I don’t need to see it played out in a Science Fiction show.
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I couldnt agree more with this. I started watching this series and became hooked. But each show I watch seems to push more and more religious beliefs onto my lap. Correction, its starting to shove religious beliefs in my face and down my throat. Very sad too. It was starting out so well. Like he said. “If I really wanted to read the Bible, I can read it for myself.”
Was talking about this theory with someone, I can see where you’re going but I think both yourself and that person are reading far to into something.
Battlestar pulls (pulled) a lot of ideas from what is happening in our lives today, and with it having such incredibly strong religious overtones (or at least divine being overtones) it can be easy to quickly connect it with certain religions.
Not to mention that though I am skeptical that the writers purposefully made it Christian in nature, even if they did, it would have been done most likely to draw parallels with the large Western European / North American audience, and not as there avenue to preach the gospel to the Sci-Fi channel.
People will always see many different things from the show, which is one of the things that made it great.
For people thinking it’s “shoving beliefs” down your throat, learn to have your own mind and come up with your own thoughts. Shows will talk about religion until the end of time, as well as other topics you may not like, it’s your job as a free thinking person to form opinions.
Richard
Due to the ending of the series and the way the producers ended BSG, they kind of avoided the direct religious references.. but, at the same time, they were blatant references to ‘how it all started’ due to the subject matter of the ending of the series. I’m kind of glad that it’s now over because if they had continued along the path they were on without the way it ended, they would have had to deal with the subject matter more in-depth. Frankly, the end of the series was underwhelming, contrived and predictable. But, satisfying endings are extremely hard to write.. primarily because in real-life nothing really ‘ends’ in the way that TV series do.
You can see my most recent blog entry fora full commentary on this idea.
There is a reason why sci-fi / fantasy writers use religious and mythic allegory. Mythology is also drawing upon universal symbolism or “archetypes” by science fiction and fantasy writers to capture the audience’s sense of wonder by appealing to a deeper level of emotion or spiritual awareness. Therefore, George Lucas became an avid follower of Joseph Campbell, author of The Hero With a Thousand Faces, and self-consciously used these symbols and stories in each of the Star Wars movies. Ursula K. LeGuin, author of The Dispossessed and The Left Hand of Darkness, wrote what she called not science fiction but “thought experiments” relying on Jungian psychology and Eastern symbolism found in the Tao Te Ching. Frank Herbert, author of Dune, drew from biblical messianic prophecy tinged with ancient mythology and Arabic sounding words suggesting the religion of Islam. Other fantasy authors such as J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis used Christian symbolism, although Tolkien claimed he hated the very idea of allegory and had no such intentions.
All good sci-fi is allegory of some type. It works best when the audience is affected on an unconscious level. It draws them in. That the writers of BG use Christian allegory probably is due to the fact that we are largely a Christian culture. However, when we overanalyze (as you and I like to do) the allegory loses some of its magic. It’s most effective when we don’t realize we are being preached to in the comfort of a dark movie theater — which is in many ways like going to church.
David Puttnam, producer of the award-winning Chariots of Fire and The Mission, observed: “Movies are powerful. Good or bad, they tinker around inside your brain. They steal up on you in the darkness of the cinema to form or conform social attitudes…. In short, cinema is propaganda.”
And just because we know we are being propagandized doesn’t mean that it is not effective. You will keep watching anyway.
I don’t think that the religion is propaganda or an attempt to force viewpoint on the audience. I think that the Cylon’s mantra – “All of this has happened before and all of this will happen again” – refers as much to the pattern of storytelling as it does to the cyclic nature of human history.
Most of the religious components which you highlight are merely reiterations of classical concepts. I just think you are noticing them because their are framed as such in the religious context of the series (the power of religion as an instrument). The storytelling devices – the child who will lead the world to the path of peace, the angels who speak only to a selected few heralds, and so many others – are just one set of devices used by the authors and writers to tell a story. There are any number of Shakespearean archetypes and even pseudo-classical references thrown in (Cavil as Oedipus, except he gouges his father’s eye out).
With due respect to the original poster, the religious metaphors have been present from the start of the show. For example the twelve tribes (minus the lost one) as the twelve tribes of Israel. The original series was “The Book of Mormon IN SPACE” (I’m not kidding), so this is just that concept taken to its logical conclusion.
The entire series is one large allegory for any number of things (most people like the War on Terror idea, or the role of religion in a secular world). I think it’s only natural that the references ramp up as the series nears it’s conclusion.
I think it’s incredibly difficult for science fiction not to be allegory. Even if we don’t intend it as such, there’s still arguably a subconscious desire to incorporate ideas or an over-zealous audience member who will read into things.
Actually, now that the series is over, they have revealed what they intend to reveal. Thankfully, the show did not go down the path I was expecting them to go down. But, they did end the show on the note that basically says that the Galactica fleet humans began the Earth we know it. The humans brought Paganism and the Cylons brought Christianity. That doesn’t really jibe with our actual history, but the fantasy worked for the show.
As far as the ‘All happened before’, that was a regular theme throughout the series. That part of the message never bothered me. What bothered me was all of the in-your-face Christian references and allegory. Thankfully, they didn’t make that as overt as they could have. I also understand why it didn’t happen. If they had made it any more overt, the Christian church would have come down on the show like a ton bricks. But, it was definitely overt enough to make the show a tad uncomfortable to watch at times.
For Sci-Fi in general, people write it based on their own experiences. Dune was a metaphor for the middle east and the spice was a direct metaphor for oil. Frank Herbert went even so far as to pull in direct cultural references (Feydakin). But, he didn’t pull in religion on the same way as the new BSG. The only religion he touched on was the sects like the Bene Gesserits and the Guild Navigators and their ‘powers’. But, there was no praying, atonement or whatever. I guess you could say that Paul Atreides was to become the ‘Messiah’, but not in the same way as Jesus… which would become very apparent in later Dune novels. Yes, Paul was revered initially, but that didn’t last. Paul’s kids were actually more revered than he was overall.
It may be difficult to avoid religion because it’s so much a part of our culture. But, it doesn’t have to be a primary theme. BSG almost went overboard with these concepts. Thankfully, they backed way off on it at the end of the series and left it nebulous. This is exactly how it should have been all along. There, but in the background.. not in our faces.
Thanks for your comment.