From: owner-chakram-refugees-digest@smoe.org (chakram-refugees-digest) To: chakram-refugees-digest@smoe.org Subject: chakram-refugees-digest V5 #253 Reply-To: chakram-refugees@smoe.org Sender: owner-chakram-refugees-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-chakram-refugees-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk chakram-refugees-digest Thursday, October 13 2005 Volume 05 : Number 253 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: [chakram-refugees] London Times article ["S. Wilson" Subject: Re: [chakram-refugees] London Times article At 07:10 PM 10/11/2005 -0400, KLOSSNER9@aol.com wrote: >http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,14931-1812318,00.html >This address is to a (London) Times article on women action heroes >in film and TV. No mention of Xena. The article takes the view that >the claims of "empowerment" are fraudulent and that action women are >very acceptable to chauvinist men. >Boeotian I'll agree, I'm not very empowered by chicks who happen to be kicking butt while wearing tiny bits of clothing and tons of makeup. Sure, it's exciting and a thrill to see women in very different roles from the ones they typically inhabited in the 1950s, but I dunno... the lack of compelling story, along with the seduction-tuned "action hero", just kinda makes it a joke to not be taken seriously. However, I'll admit I'm a lover of eye-candy as much as the next person. If there's a compelling story there, then I'll watch. I'll simply bite my tongue if the heroine is running around in pasties and a thong while she's machine-gunning terrorist aliens from planet Zoid. But the "female action hero" drivel that's coming out these days is not worth my $8 at the theater, and definitely does not empower me. Putting a pouty-lipped, scantily-clad Angelina Jolie behind a gun does not make her, or the story, amazing. Fun, maybe. But about as empowering as an ice cream cone. Hollywood has cheapified what was a very real movement of cool female action heroes - but then, everything Hollywood touches usually turns to crap. The suits behind these films are usually the ones who push for a little more cleavage, or a little more leg, or a little more sex appeal, in the once-tough, once-kick-ass female heroine. Their bottom line is the dollar, not empowerment. There are a few female action stars on TV these days that're worth watching (I'm sure there are more, but I don't get to watch much TV) - they're on Battlestar Galactica. S. ========================================================= This has been a message to the chakram-refugees list. To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe chakram-refugees" in the message body. Contact meth@smoe.org with any questions or problems. ========================================================= ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Oct 2005 01:29:06 EDT From: IfeRae@aol.com Subject: Re: [chakram-refugees] Battlestar Galactica In a message dated 10/10/2005 8:42:41 AM Pacific Daylight Time, fsktl@aurora.uaf.edu writes: > By the gods, I'd forgotten what an excellent actress Lucy is. Seeing her > in this new, complex, broad-ranging role-damn, that grrl is just sooooo > good! What a joy it was to watch her in action again. >> Amen! > I've never watched any eps of this show. I intended to while I had access > to cable this summer but I never got around to it. So the first time > watching this ep, I wasn't sure what was going on at all. But even if I > had had some idea of the story so far of the series, about all I did on > the first run through was watch Luce at work. Just like in the old Xena > glory days. >> Same here. Except I did get to watch a few before hers. Even watched a few since. But the only one I taped to watch again was hers. > And then I watched it > again. And then by mistake I taped last night's Cold Case over it. > AAAAAARRRRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!! >> No, you didn't! Well, I understand we'll be able to get the DVDs. And here I thought I was through doing that for a TV show. > > Oh well, at least I got to see it a FEW times before the "Horrible > Accident". > > Sniffle. Whimper. > > There were some things I did want to check in the ep, but now that's just > not possible. *SIIIIIIIGH* >> KT, I can't even laugh, I feel your pain so much. At least Cold Case was the culprit. It's become one of the few I actually try to watch. Ironic, tho since you'll have to take a forensic approach to piecing together the lost aspects of BSG. Sorry. Couldn't help myself. :-) > We first see Lucy onscreen onscreen. She's part of the news tape, > commenting on the massacre. And she's using her "big kids' Kiwi voice", > the voice/accent she uses when she does documentaries in real life. >. Yep, I immediately thought of Warrior Women. > All through the show, Lucy does some real nice little facial expressions, > gestures and mannerisms to define her character.>> My favorite is the over the shoulder "Did you get that?" to the camera guy when Tighe bumps past her after she interviews him. Probably one of yours too, huh? Sorry again. Getting a little ahead of things. > We see this attitude immediately again when she is first brought before > the president and Commander Adama. >> Yes, except first there's a bit of awe at realizing where she is. It's more like, "Man, I am in the den of power, but I am not going to let it intimidate me." She also shows just enough deference to show respect for the positions and a willingness not to judge the Pres and Adama as bad solely because of their positions. IOW, not a rebel just for the sake of it. I like how she tempered the attitude with open mindedness. > But when Adama quietly, with just a touch of reproof in his voice, > replies, "Funny", she responds to that little verbal slap with somewhat > of > an apology. She demurs just a bit to him. "Just something to break the > ice." But then she follows that up with the gesture of literally tucking > her tongue into her cheek. Later after we see how good a manipulator she > is, it makes me wonder if she didn't immediately decide that this is what > he would respond to best. That he appreciates someone who accepts a > little > chastisement with an acknowledgement of it but without letting it get > them > down. >> I didn't feel this was manipulation -- not at first, anyway. I did get the feeling she was used to disarming people with her girlish "aw shucks" aspect, but more "Hey, I tried it [humor in this case] and got busted. Next?" Now, with Tighe later, I do feel she was using that quality to do more than break the ice -- to set him up for the kill. Unfortunately, I didn't know at the time whether Cylons could be copies of humans, in which case the D'anna we saw earlie might not be a Cylon. Then the more knowledgeable informed me that D'anna was no doubt Cylon. Then I didn't know if I was watching a Cylon who doesn't know she is, or if she's the same Cylon we saw at the end. I'm assuming the "I sent it to the Fleet" meant she did it personally, as opposed to the Cylons who say "I" in reference to their copies. So now I'm thinking that maybe everything she did from beginning to end was manipulative. Whatever, she seems to be a more evolved (or humanlike) Cylon than the two I've seen (Blondie and Sharon). > > Interesting movement as she says this. She gives a little dip, a kind of > almost respectful acknowledgement of the conflict between them. Lucy > spaces her words and uses an odd rhythm in her phrasing, kind of groping > for the right words to say to state the reason she suspects they've > brought here there. And she couples this with that quirky movement-she's > not quite relaxed enough (or maybe she's just too hyper) to just quietly > stand there as she brings the subject up. But neither is she willing to > be > defensive nor apologetic about her job. It's obvious she's a little wary > but she also still retains that core of cockiness that shines through in > her voice and her action. >> Yep, there's always that "In the moment" feel to her tone, gestures, expressions, pacing that gives a feeling of spontaneity. Quite unsettling in its way sometimes, because it's supposed to be TV, yet I feel like I'm watching a real person. The quirks are always "in character," though, so I also am aware she's performing, not being "herself." I can't recall seeing quite the same quality in anybody else. > She is obviously insulted at the thought of being used, > adamant about not being a pawn in their plans. (Although she has no > problem being a user herself.) >> Which, of course, we don't know at the time. I think that's why, at the end, I feel "taken in." I believed she was who she pretended to be. > > When the president says that D'Anna's tape has made people angry and > distrustful of the military, D'Anna replies with just a spark of anger > and > some frustration of her own, "Yeah, with good reason ma'am." >> Yeah, I liked the hands in back pockets thing. Another of those disarming, kind of youthful mannerisms. I think that's what made her brashness work. The body language rarely suggested aggression, but was more like a teenager around adults. Not sure if I'm expressing that right. > will > give D'Anna total access and let her shoot her story on the massacre, > they > open themselves up to the possibility of at the very least angry > criticism; at the worst, a total collapse of trust, respect and support > from the civilian sector. Possibly even court martials in the future? > However they also get a crack at turning her into a working comrade of > theirs, telling their story in the way they want it to be known. > Essentially, D'Anna and Adama enter into a wary, prickly relationship. > Theoretically both are seeking to discover and disperse the truth; but in > practice both believe they already know what the truth of the matter is. >> I think the Pres impresses -- and surprises -- D'anna a bit by being the one who wants to show that human side. The Pres seems very confident that her people will show a nobility that D'anna (presumed to be human) will ultimately see and capture, that viewers can relate to, which shows a confidence in humans' ability to handle flaws. I haven't watched enough of the show, but it seems to deal with the same conundrum as most sci-fi where "robots" of some kind are involved: Perfection vs. malfunction. Humans take "malfunctions" as ... well ... human, even as we aspire to do better. The Pres shows her ultimate faith in humanity by trusting that the aspirations will outshine the flaws. Initially, I thought D'anna was intrigued by the Pres' guts -- or naievte -- in risking a multidimensional view, in not wanting to control the image. By the end, I wondered if D'anna was also intrigued as a Cylon. When I rewatched it, her journalistic responses to the people's personal stories suggested she was "touched" by them and genuinely surprised that they could show their butts, pop pills, freak out, drink too much, get trigger happy, fight with each other, and still have some quality that made them brave, loyal, caring, altruistic, focused, etc. When I discovered she was a Cylon, I still felt she learned from -- and maybe even admired -- something about these humans. The question is, was it all for show? How capable is she of absorbing or identifying with the ability to perform with malfunctions as a fundamental characteristic that defines humans and humans' struggle for continuous improvement? But I digress. > > She and the very quiet Bill, her camera operator, (he has like three > short > lines in the whole ep, laugh!) immediately get to work, shooting in the > commuter ship that is taking them to Galactica.>> I loved the bit when they get to the ship and the communications gal shows them equipment about which D'anna says, "Be sure to get that" in a tone that lets Bill know she doesn't give a rat's ass about it. > I loved the bunk room scene. Gender equal near nudity. And such nice > buff, > tight bodies. Something for everyone! >> I said in another post how D'anna's "I think we saw everything we need to" comment and expression at the end reminded me of when Xena caught Brutus peeing in IDES. > It took me a few viewings, but I think (can't check it, since I furken > taped OVER the ep, GROWL!) that this is Kat, the brash young officer who > later moons the camera, later fights with the mechanic and later takes > drugs when she goes out on missions.>> It is. > > It intrigued me that D'Anna pushed the lens up so that Bill couldn't > continue to shoot Kat's bare butt. I imagine she did that to protect her > mission-to show she knows what's acceptable to record and what's not. At > least for unimportant moments. >> It also suggested she wasn't interested in titillation as part of the "real" story. > > I loved Lucy showing D'Anna's perky interest in Adama's dangling towel. I > bet this was a Lucy suggestion since it's the second time she's had a > character she's playing do that-she also checked out Brutus' equipment > when she had the chance. I love the highly amused look she gives him when > the towel slips, the little waggle of her eyebrows-grrl be enjoying > herself! Grin. >> Bwahahaha! Seems we noticed the same thing. Sorry, got ahead of myself again. It has been suggested that I read things all the way through before responding, but what's the fun of that? > > So we see resistance from the ranks to the "total access" concept. And we > see D'Anna's resistance to the resistance.>> You catch the "Here comes Frick and Frack" comment from the crew when D'anna and Bill show up? > > The rest of the episode spools out watching D'Anna insinuating herself > and > her camera into the daily fabric of life on the ship > You're probably going to mention the eratic shots in the command center, so I'll hold my tongue on that for now. > Tigh's formal interview ends in disaster. And even when D'Anna tracks > Starbucks down with a "pass" from Captain Adama to speak with her, > Starbucks talks to her yes, but she's not exactly cooperative. It's one > of > the few times in the ep that the tables are turned on D'Anna-where D'Anna > is not controlling the environment, the interview nor the interviewee. > Not > at all. >> I bet Lucy loved getting to watch another actress pound that punching bag, while all she had to do was stand there. Nope, no battling rats and bats in this ep for Miss Do I Have To Do Another Fight Scene Lawless. > > Of course, this is another "How like Xena!" reference-D'Anna, like Xena > carries "stuff" in her cleavage. (Which brought back fond memories of how > on the Xenaverse list, we used to refer to Xena's favorite cache area as > her "pleasure chest".) >> LOL! Yep. > Later we see D'Anna and Bill watching their footage. D'Anna says, "I'm > not > sure I got the story." They're watching the bunk room scene (D'Anna's > favorite scene, no doubt) and suddenly, Lucy does this literal and very > natural "Sit up and take notice" movement. And says in pure uninflected, > unaffected and very musical Kiwi, "Back up a bit?" >> Yep, I loved that. > > But wait-that's not all! We got a surprise ending! Now believe it or not, > the person who made me the tape said as he handed it to me, "You won't > believe it--she's a cylon!" If he wasn't the only person I know in > Fairbanks who gets the Sci-Fi channel, I would have hit him over the head > with the cassette.>> LOL! Not sure if you caught it, but during the funny scene with the VP (D'anna, "What a strange little man."), Blondie Cylon whispers to him, "Trust me, this one can help." I didn't pay much attention the first time, but later I realized she meant more than that D'anna could help as a journalist. I still have no idea whether Blondie Cylon exists only in his mind, if other Cylons are aware of her or what her agenda is. D'anna does look at VP rather strangely, and now I wonder if it wasn't just because he's so weird. > > When I saw the ending, my first thought as they watched the "cut footage" > was, "She went to get a picture of the baby. That was her whole agenda." > And I thought the D'Anna on the ship was the only D'Anna-I didn't know > that some cylons were replicated humans. >> Join the crowd -- of one, at least. > > Then when I read the posts in my spoiler folder, (and FAT lot of good it > did to try not to be spoiled, eh?) I found out that most people didn't > think that D'Anna in the theater was the same D'Anna that got the > footage. > And they talked about multi-possibilites. Like, is the D'Anna we saw on > Galactica the human original? If so, does she know she's been replicated? > Or was that D'Anna also a cylon? Was the D'Anna in the cylon theater the > same cylon or yet another one? There were discussions about exactly how > many cylon replicants exist and if D'Anna is a totally new one or is one > of the ones that were already enumerated sometime in the past. >> Um, I'm afraid most of that was generated by Yours Truly. As I said earlier, the consensus among Those In The Know seemed to be that she was one and the same. > I am absolutely DELIGHTED that Lucy will be back for at least two more > shows in this series. It will be fascinating to see where they go with > her > next. >> Absolutely! Finally a character with some teeth. > The last shot was a big ol' close-up of Lucy's face. And again, how > Xenaic-she gets the big ending image. Yes! >> I think that's what I loved most about this ep -- that because of her role, Lucy got to be in so many scenes. Come to think of it, she pretty much ends her X-Files ep floating in the water. Damn, when her eyes opened I hated that we wouldn't be seeing more of that character. Anyway, I sure hope the BSG folks interweave her as much in the next eps. Is it two more? > -- Ife ========================================================= This has been a message to the chakram-refugees list. To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe chakram-refugees" in the message body. Contact meth@smoe.org with any questions or problems. ========================================================= ------------------------------ End of chakram-refugees-digest V5 #253 **************************************