BSG: The Plan

[mary_the_fan]

Wow, I haven't been in here in a while! *blows dust off entries*

Hay, everybody!  I just watched The Plan and have the urge to talk about it. 

Comments

[watson1]

Some of the female nudity in The Plan and Caprica really bugs me. Not for the classic reasons, but because of the clear and compelling absence of sexism and traditional sex roles in BSG itself. So the “T&A&C” scene in the head on Galactica totally works for me

Good point, Mary. When it comes to nude bars, they do fall back onto traditional sex roles. Which is not in evidence in the rest of the series. I'm not sure why they would do that, but it is evident.

[watson1]

“I don’t care if she plucked puppies from God’s ass!

Hah. I laughed so hard when I heard that. That is going to be my new saying. :)

BTW, Cavil killing that little boy freaked me out. I wasn't expecting it - because I actually thought he was becoming humanized. So, it was a big shocker.

[mary_the_fan]

I agree. I was worried about the boy the whole time, but it was still shocking. As much as I hated that scene, it was a really good way to show the way the two Cavils had diverged. As Cavil talked about friends being a liability and recalled Sam's comments about love transcending death (I think...), they flashed between Fleet Cavil killing the boy and Caprica Cavil unable to bring himself to shoot Sam.

[olsonm_raymond]

There is a way in which they could disagree with you two re the nudity. It is a tad silly that breasts are equated with genitals in are culture. There are cultures in which this is not the case. So it could be that in the BSGverse, bare breasts aren't that big a deal. You'll note that the women were not totally nude, only bare chested.

But it didn't seem like that's what they were going for. I don't know if it can be done in american culture at this time.

[mary_the_fan]

But it didn't seem like that's what they were going for.

I agree with your conclusion, ray. I guess the way I'd examine it is this: If bare breasts are no biggie (which has not been established in BSG until now) then why have them? Why would the bar ask its bartenders not to wear anything on top unless it was a draw?

You could argue that it's the same reason you'd ask male bartenders not to wear shirts. For us, shirtless men are sexy but not considered naked. But then I'm back to the lack of shirtless males in that bar. I only saw topless women, not topless men. /nitpicky and wordy is an irritating combination

[olsonm_raymond]

No, you are absolutely right. I think it is plausible that in the BSGverse breasts aren't considered nudity. But that's not indicated if only women are seen naked*. Maybe it's a difficult thing to show; but then maybe it should be avoided (though I agree that the scene in the showers worked better).

*I seem to recall Ron Moore thinking they would have female and male strippers in the flashback in the finale and he was surprised that it wasn't shot that way.

[olsonm_raymond]

Cavil and the Boy. They underplayed it but it is entirely possible that the boy wasn't real and was actually Cavil's 'humanity/conscience'. The evidence for this is that the boy was wearing a replica of Dean Stockwell's costume from The Boy With Green Hair. (see icon) Further, the boy was cast to look like a young Stockwell. The character is named John (Cavil's real name). The Boy With Green Hair was about ignoring the consequences of war via war orphans and their plight. (they even used some lines from the movie)

Again, they underpayed it so this isn't the neccessary interpretation but I like it.

[mary_the_fan]

That is fascinating! That never would have occurred to me.

[olsonm_raymond]

I'd seen The Boy With Green Hair and the boy in The Plan rung all kinds of bells but I couldn't quite place him until I listened to the commentary. I think it's supposed to be a classic BSG ambiguity. Was he real a wasn't he? There was evidence both ways but they never quite said.

[tomfoolery815]

I think it is definitely not a stand-alone movie. It requires that the viewer knows BSG.
Couldn't agree more, mtf.

As a BSG fan, even I had to put on my thinking cap once in awhile to connect the dots or make sense of character.
Oh, me too! Lots of underlined questions in my notes, with lines connecting them to the answers down the line.

I was oohing and aahing over the sets, the models, the effects. Never have I seen a prettier apocalypse.
It was a visually dazzling genocide, yes.

By the way, my cousin Galley has a new LJ handle: katyh43 I took the liberty of presuming she could join us ...

[mary_the_fan]

Of course she may!

Drive by

[katyh43]

Just a quick drive-by post but wanted to say I enjoyed your recap Mary.

Re: Drive by

[mary_the_fan]

Thanks! I hope you stick around and talk with us. We pretty much all track the threads...