Re:Stargate and the world
[quote]Other countries are portrayed as being inept at best, and at worst the devil incarnate (abusing alien technology for their own ends, in a way that the SG portrayal of Americans would never do)
The IOA are portrayed as being a set of snivelling weasels, constantly backbiting and bickering.
In the Anubis posession episode, O’Neils treatment of the new Russian atache (telling him he wouldn’t be allowed offworld in a million years) had me rooting for the Russians!
I daresay this borders on blatent racism!
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Yes, as much as I enjoy watching Stargate SG-1, I have noticed the jingoism. I prefer the word “ethnocentric” to desribe it, as it appears to promote American democracy and the American way of life as being superior to all other governments and cultures in the world. While there are still many countries that are lacking in democratic reforms, the United States is NOT superior to all other countries in the world by a long shot. The suggestion that it is superior is ethnocentric propaganda. Anyone that lives in the U.S. today knows that capitalism and wealth trump its democratic ideals in 99 percent of all cases where such ideals are involved. Money is power. The wealthy corporate ruling-class runs the democratic government, not the people. The poor working-class majority has no real voice in U.S. policies, foreign or domestic.
Furthermore, the suggestion that the U.S. military is benevolent because it represents this “superior” democratic way is absolute nonsense. All we have to do is take a look at the REAL U.S. military, specifically the Air Force, and what it has been doing in the Middle East (Iraq and Afghanistan) and the notion that it is benevolent becomes completely absurd. To be benevolent, a government’s military must have a semblance of honor, but there is nothing honorable about an Air Force that bombs defenseless people like fish in a barrel.
The actions of the U.S. Air Force in the M.E. today are not the actions of a benevolent democracy, they are the actions of imperialistic, totalitarian mass-murderers.
[quote]“Extreme nationalism characterized especially by a belligerent foreign policy; chauvinistic patriotism.”
They must have ran out of Alien baddies i guess…
The Russian episode really was one of the worst they’ve put out there. I would think the days of ruskie bashing would be over, but many shows seem dertimined to hold onto outdated stereotypes and generalisations. Piss poor writing.
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I think it is safe to say that Stargate SG-1 doubles as a form of propaganda-lite along with providing entertainment. Behind all the science-fiction and war there is the ongoing perpetuation of the myth that the U.S. government and its military can never do any wrong. Certainly, while watching it, to avoid being programmed and deceived by such an ethnocentric bias, one has to keep the salt-shaker ready on the side. I suspect, however, that while most objective adult Americans with a college education may be able to see through the propaganda-lite, many young kids do not and get pumped up with (American) pride every time SG-1 beats the bad guys. I can’t help but wonder how many of those kids have already made friends with local military recruiters promising more than they can ever deliver for signing on the dotted line.
O’Neil’s character, from all that i gather from the series, has never trusted Russians. I guess we’re suppose to think that he’s one of those extremely hard-nosed military types that can’t make the change, but it doesn’t really sit well with the rest of his amiable character. Definitely too closed-minded. In this case, it was probably nothing more than a plot-device used to get the Russian guy to warm up to Jackson enough so that Jackson would accompany him to his room, where the Anubis transmigration occurs.
[quote]The US military is definately portrayed differently in the movie than the series. In the series, the military are part of the “good guys” and always try to do the right thing. I always suspected non-US viewers would get irritated from time to time by the US’s portrayal. As far as the movie goes, the military and government were more sinister, and I wouldn’t have turned my back on that Jack O’Neil[/quote]
Yes, the sinister form of the U.S. miltary and O’Neil in the movie were much more realistic than the series. That’s why I suspect that the series doubles as propaganda-lite, making the military look much more affable and tolerable than it is in reality. It’s almost as if the government made some kind of investment in the series with the idea that it could pay off by luring more recruits into its offices. I have to wonder how many SG-1 fans took that step and how many have been duped into fighting this endless “war on terror” for the corporate oil tyrants.
While the series O’Neil obviously works well with Richard Dean Anderson, when contrasted with the movie O’Neil and the loss of his son from that vicious accident with the gun, there’s some big disconnect in the realistic portrayal of the character. Given the background of the character, Kurt Russel’s attitude is much more realistic to form, while Anderson’s light-hearted joking attitude is less realistic or true to form. Observing Anderson’s routine attitude in the series, it’s hard to believe that he has lost a son to an accident and a wife to divorce. Those kind of experiences usually leave a man much more damaged than O’Neil’s character appears to display.
Sorry for the long comment, but unfortunately, SG-1 has been one of the only enjoyable, accessible and affordable science-fiction serials as of late (with the conclusion of Star Trek Vgr and DS9) and as a big fan, I’ve given it considerable thought.
Right now, I’m watching season 10 on DVD and I have to say, all jingoism aside, it’s been quite entertaining. If ya’ll get the chance, check out the episode “The Road Not Taken” for an interesting look at a parallel USA that has taken that one undesirable step further into an absolute dictatorship.