On Thu, 31 Jul 1997, Erik Tsao wrote:
> Anny Middon wrote:
> >Frankly I can't understand why Stargate has achieved cult
> >status, so much so that a TV series just started on Showtime. I thought it
> >was pretty lame.
> >
> >Maybe someone on this list can explain it. Why is Stargate so popular?
>
> It might have something to do with the popularity of Egypt (or
> representations of Egypt--no matter how poor) in American culture. I
> myself had a BIG problem with the way that the Egyptian Gods, and the
> Egyptians themselves, were portrayed in this movie. Why portray the
> Egyptian gods as malevolent aliens, and the Egyptians as dupes of these
> extra-terrestrial con men?
dupes? The Egyptians were the ones who kicked the "gods" off of our
planet in the first place. I don't know that much about Egyptian
mythology, but if it was anything like Greek Mythology, humans were seem
as pawns and slaves of capricious human-like gods. I liked it. I didn't
like everything about it, especially that the main bad guy was the only
person of indeterminate sex, though he? was quite a visual treat. Also,
how many times have you heard that sufficiently advanced technology is
indistinguishable from magic? Those "alien con men" basically were gods.
For an alien-influence explanation of Egypt, I thought it was damn
flattering. What else was going to happen after this supposedly great
set-up? Were we going to meet the galactic federation? The Egyptian
space-faring society? I thought that the explanation given was quite
complete and "neat". I also enjoyed the conflict between science,
military, and caring/compassion. There were at least two complex
characters on the alien planet, the scientist who became more active and
interactive and less bumbling, head-in-the-clouds brainiac, and the
military leader who battled with military orders and emotional distance on
the one hand and emotional presence and involvement on the other. So,
while it has been a while, I liked the entire movie except for it's non or
anti feminist and queer aspects. And I didn't like it just because it
dealt with Egypt. I think mostly I liked the originality of the movie (at
least as far as movies/tv shows go), the stunning visuals, and the tone of
the movie (It embraced exploration, science, and personal emotion. Even
the tense part at the end was mainly linked to a personal emotional
struggle rather than some sort of war thing (though that was there)).
Anyway, I'd like to see more sf movies like it but feminist and queer.
-- Joel VanLaven
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