[roslin and the meaning of "cure"]
Jan. 17th, 2006 08:31 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tellitslantOK, I started talking about Cain as a mannish woman stereotype here, and ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
jennyo spun off and started talking about Roslin and cancer here, and now I have more thoughts.
I guess it took thinking about how much we're told about Cain without actually seeing her interact with any of the other characters that got me to realize how much physicality plays a part in this show. I mean, it shouldn't be surprising – after all, it's an action show, right? And given that it's an action show, audiences were probably looking at certain characters' bodies and not others. Wink wink nudge nudge. And then there's me, and I'm thinking about Roslin's legs. I mean Roslin's body. No, I do mean that this time. ;)
I would argue that Roslin's cancer is really indicative of a larger theme of the show, which is, because we love the cliché, that outward appearance has nothing to do with interior truths (OK, I was trying to find a better way to say "don't judge a book by its cover" and I failed, so sue me).jennyo talked about how cancer has been used as a symbol rather than as a plot point, which is entirely true: Roslin is a master manipulator, and has been using her illness in an incredibly cold-blooded manner. Having cancer allows her to be virtually ignored by both the audience and the other characters. But what allows her to transcend that stereotype of "cancer sufferer"?
The same plot point that allows Cylons to walk undetected among humans.
What is physical is not always true.
No one really believes that Roslin is going to die of cancer, do they? There's no way the focal point of the show is going to disappear in the second season. Obviously she has cancer, but just as obviously she's going to overcome. She's been portrayed as a stereotypical cancer victim, and she's used that stereotype, and it's going to be shown to be a lie – because she's certainly not going to triumph in the regular way of things.
So if this entire arc of Roslin's is going to culminate in the reveal that our perception of Roslin's physicality is wrong, then how is that different from suddenly discovering that someone we thought was human is a Cylon? And to take that one step further – if having cancer and worrying about whether or not she will survive is what makes Roslin human, then what happens when you take that away?
It's amazing how many layers this show has.
(See, this is why I'm upset that Cain got short shrift, because this show can do so much better than they did for her. Sigh.)
jennyo spun off and started talking about Roslin and cancer here, and now I have more thoughts.I guess it took thinking about how much we're told about Cain without actually seeing her interact with any of the other characters that got me to realize how much physicality plays a part in this show. I mean, it shouldn't be surprising – after all, it's an action show, right? And given that it's an action show, audiences were probably looking at certain characters' bodies and not others. Wink wink nudge nudge. And then there's me, and I'm thinking about Roslin's legs. I mean Roslin's body. No, I do mean that this time. ;)
I would argue that Roslin's cancer is really indicative of a larger theme of the show, which is, because we love the cliché, that outward appearance has nothing to do with interior truths (OK, I was trying to find a better way to say "don't judge a book by its cover" and I failed, so sue me).
jennyo talked about how cancer has been used as a symbol rather than as a plot point, which is entirely true: Roslin is a master manipulator, and has been using her illness in an incredibly cold-blooded manner. Having cancer allows her to be virtually ignored by both the audience and the other characters. But what allows her to transcend that stereotype of "cancer sufferer"?The same plot point that allows Cylons to walk undetected among humans.
What is physical is not always true.
No one really believes that Roslin is going to die of cancer, do they? There's no way the focal point of the show is going to disappear in the second season. Obviously she has cancer, but just as obviously she's going to overcome. She's been portrayed as a stereotypical cancer victim, and she's used that stereotype, and it's going to be shown to be a lie – because she's certainly not going to triumph in the regular way of things.
So if this entire arc of Roslin's is going to culminate in the reveal that our perception of Roslin's physicality is wrong, then how is that different from suddenly discovering that someone we thought was human is a Cylon? And to take that one step further – if having cancer and worrying about whether or not she will survive is what makes Roslin human, then what happens when you take that away?
It's amazing how many layers this show has.
(See, this is why I'm upset that Cain got short shrift, because this show can do so much better than they did for her. Sigh.)
