Posted on 04/15/2012 4:58:06 PM PDT by NorthernCrunchyCon
Glen Larson, creator and producer of the first show, is a member of the Church of Latter-day Saints. He based much of the first series on Mormon cosmology. Was there a concerted effort to move away from that in this version?
Not specifically, no. I looked at the original series as mythos and the way it dealt with religion as sort of a global sense. I was aware that Glen had used Mormon influences and how he had created the cosmology, but I'm not that familiar with Mormon belief or practice. To me there were things that were sort of obvious, the twelve tribes, the twelve tribes of Israel.
At the beginning, I sort of assumed that the Colonials--the human beings--would have a belief system, probably polytheistic. In the original, the "Lords of Kobol" were referred to several times. But it wasn't until the development of the miniseries when I sort of randomly gave the Cylons a belief system. I was creating the characters and working on some lines for Number 6 and I thought it was interesting if she professed a belief in a single God. I had really given her a belief in a singular God almost by accident.
I compared that with the polytheistic religion of the colonials, I started to realize that an interesting pattern was developing--the Cylons believing in the one true God and the Colonials having an older, multifaceted system of deities that was obviously patterned on the Romans. As the series went on, I started to believe that the Cylon belief was going to be a guiding principal.
(Excerpt) Read more at beliefnet.com ...
Maybe we should start an “I’m a Cylon” campaign.
Battlestar Galactica?
feldercarp
FYI
Interesting and subtle propaganda here. Mormon cosmology forms basis for universe. Polytheist pagan/Mormon analogs flee for lives and sanctuary, pursued by aggressive bad-guy Cylons. Cylons are analog to fundamentalist Christians / Al Queda, and referenced as ‘more than just space Nazis’ (come on, these are ORCS with bling!). Mention of “Madonna/whore” Cylon.
Conceptually interesting propaganda pitch to popular culture, done well and well funded.
I thought it was a Simon and Garfunkel tune.
Or this shows that Mittens is out to destroy humanity and replace it with robots? H’mm and obimbi wants us to be slaves to the government?
Willard and the Pagans. Like a bad garage band.
Within the article Cylons are meant as metaphors or analogs for Christians and Jihadists. They are the bad monotheists set against the good polytheists. The only politician they mention is Bush, who is likened to the leader of the good polytheist fugitives. The article as a whole is interesting, although oddly formatted.
Anti-Mormon timewasting, though a bit amusing.
Actually, they were Jehovah’s Witnesses. There are a couple of Watchtower references toward the end of the series.
I see a few parallels between cylons and JW’s. But ultimately it doesn’t work because:
1 - JW’s are extremely anti-military and anti-military action.
2 - JW’s aren’t monotheists in the strict sense. They are one-and-a-half-theists. JW’s believe in Jehovah (God the Father), and have more-or-less adopted the Arian heresy’s view of Jesus as demi-god. (If I not mistaken they also hold Jesus to be the Archangel Michael.)
JW's do not join or participate in political organizations. They don't vote, and don't join the military. It's not so much being "anti-military" as it is taking the admonition to be no part of the world literally.
"2 - JW’s aren’t monotheists in the strict sense. They are one-and-a-half-theists. JW’s believe in Jehovah (God the Father), and have more-or-less adopted the Arian heresy’s view of Jesus as demi-god. (If I not mistaken they also hold Jesus to be the Archangel Michael.)"
I don't think that's accurate. They believe in a single god that created all things and all other creatures. They believe Jesus was the first being created. But he's no more or less divine than other angels.
Yeah, I realize that. It only found it an amusing parallel because I live in Brooklyn. If you remember the episode when they find Earth and it’s radioactive, you see a bridge in ruins in the background. That bridge looks a bit like the Brooklyn Bridge. If it actually was the BB, then the camera would have been pretty much at the location of the Watchtower building.
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