Ron Moore on Religion and Battlestar Galactica (Part 2 of 2)

[gypsyjazzbo]

BSG ends with a relatively universalist answer to the question of religion. Some people have been disappointed that the show didn't overtly promote either a strong theistic or strong atheistic worldview, but the show seemed to me to be much more interested in examining the topic rather than promoting a viewpoint. If you're only intereted in a show that affirms your present belief system, then I doubt you'd be happy with BSG, but it persents a fair view of many major worldviews.

[Ivansama94]

@gypsyjazzbo That is what l absolutely loved about the show.

being atheist l never thought l'd like it when l heard it was about religion and stuff but not once did it promote any religious view

[Samadhiatman500]

Wonderful, thank you so much.

[R0MMAH]

Watched up until opening of second season. Saw clear transition from hinting, to spoon feeding to downright shoving the religious message down our throats...

Funded by FOX I should not be so surprised. Watching the bull on the media and the actions of the ones that get rich of the peoples ignorance then use the funds to spread more hypocrisy and ignorance makes me sick. I used to be very tolerant of such things, but now Im fed up...

[honeydeal]

I’d got so far into the show that I kept going despite a feeling sneaking up on me that I would be short-changed in the end. It’s patently religious propoganda & I read that both old & new series are a retelling of the Book of Mormon. I didn’t missed the cues to warn me but nor did I take them to heart. I saw the 1978 movie & that seemed like straight science-fiction. The miniseries is marketed as science-fiction/fantasy but I think a better name for its genre would be “science-fantasy”.

[TheoIsTheGreatest]

To me, it was made clear that the religion in Moore's version of BSG was real and tangible when they found that magic map room with the Arrow and all that.

To watch that and then whine that the ending of the series was too mystical is ridiculous. That may not have been the way you or I would've written the series, but the theological realities stayed constant throughout the series. In Moore's BSG, there really is a god (or gods) and there really is life after death. But remember, it's fiction.

[Meretneith]

The sad thing is that the beginning of the show was very good. But the idea that robots could be religious despite the fact that they are products of science(and they know that) is ridiculous. The whole conflict would be much more believable if they were rebelling against their slavery and fighting for space to live. Good SF works with a certain believability scientifically or otherwise not crap. And Ron Moore wonders why religious robots were never a topic in SF?

[TheoIsTheGreatest]

Read Ernest Becker. Religions are cultural constructs that societies use to foster a feeling of immortality. The Cylons are unique in that they actually met their makers (human beings), and in rebelling against their parents, chose monotheism over their polytheism. If you watch Caprica, you'd see that monotheism in the Galactica universe did not originate with the Cylons.

[Irrehaare]

@Meretneith I agree, I have watched BSG until the beginning of the second season. At one point I just got fed up with all the religious nonsense and I never returned to the series.

[swissnor]

Thanks.

[TJae1]

Idea is interesting ~ however ~ the logic suxd ~ caprica improved the potion ~ so it's not so bad now ~ the cylons are Us ~

[SilverShamrock71]

Also the constant referencing of Iraq, torture and other contemporary issues which seemed the only focus of certain earlier episodes didn't work. It just came across as pro war reinforcement of the "with us or against us" Bush doctrine, which (to anyone capable of free thought) just is tedious and boring as we have it rammed down our throats anyway from every other angle, obviously the studios political agenda. That majorly detracted from an otherwise extraordinary piece of art.

[SilverShamrock71]

With regard to the religious question in BSG the inclusion of a count iblis element would have been good. For me Cavil didn't really work as the evil behind the cylon attack, it didn't balance with the wise cracking sarcasm.

there was a scene shortly after the resurection of Ellen in S4.5, where she's eating an apple where I thought there could be something, apple being a motif for the serpent in the garden of eden maybe, cylons becoming self aware, blah, blah. There was loads of potential.

[SilverShamrock71]

which unfortunately was never realized. The finale was a cop out (although I still loved it). I mean what was the point of the opera house in the end? There wasn't any, no matter what Ron says, the last episodes just had the feeling of being cobbled last minute and it missed the mark on the theology. That said, some elements were done amazingly, eg. the resolution of the Roslin/Adama story was perfect. But it really went from being character driven to CGI driven, CGI has ruined movies, IMO.

[kzymeth]

@SilverShamrock71 : I really can't understand why you assert that it went from character driven to CGI driven. I agree that the finale seemed cobbled, however, it was so because it focused on characters to the detriment of plot. that's why so many plot lines fell apart, and so many things were left hanging. now, you might mention Kara, what Kara ultimately was is a matter of plot. character-wise, all of the major conflicts were resolved, if not brought full circle.

[SilverShamrock71]

@kzymeth I'm referencing the CGI orgy that was the final battle on the Cylon colony, I just think that the plot narrative was sacrificed to an extent for the sake of it (and it's not like we haven't seen space ships getting blown up a million times before). Bottom line is that after 4 seasons there were just too many loose end tie offs to cram into an hour and a half.

[rjmdrum]

Thanks for posting

. Any post episode comments and questions at this session on video?

[debaser71]

worst finale ever..."goddidit"...pathetic

[Rodimus78]

I don't care.

-r78

[TheAtheistKnight]

I have to agree.

I really liked the show but how they finished it was a bit of a let down.

[xanthoptica]

For those interested in BG as a dramatic example, I'd have to agree that "destiny" is probably the most boring resolution to a story line. This video highlights the really interesting religious tension Moore was exploring, but all we got in the end was "destiny" and a disappearing Starbuck. Nice they wrapped it up, but calling God "It" is kind of a throwaway ending in addressing those themes.

[jangoisbaddest]

Excellent thoughts from the mastermind himself. Kudos for posting this.

[chevkoch]

Thanks for sharing this.

[Nemesis000000]

Nope, nevermind, should have waited to the end where he says it was Flesh and Bone. The podcast one was Torn

[Nemesis000000]

Was this right before the podcast where he's playing an episode for the class and commenting both for them and the podcast?

[afonsoadam]

thx for sharing. very cool

[hobson1975]

That's pretty fascinating.

[smcki10]

thanks for sharing this. i'm taking comm classes right now but of course we don't have ron moore has a guest. you gotta love that man's mind.

[c5bulk]

I suggest clicking "more info"

[kicsinyuszi]

that's pretty awesome! where/when was this recorded?

thank you for sharing. ;)