S5E3 - Ensign Ro

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Jared Rascher
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S5E3 - Ensign Ro

Post by Jared Rascher »

One of the biggest things that struck me in this episode is that we have people that we “know” are good, Picard, Riker, Crusher, that say things that show that they have privilege, and have a hard time fully disengaging from the privilege to engage with the situation that the Bajorans find themselves in. They aren’t evil, but they are limited in their empathy until they get a new perspective on the situation.

Another thing I’m going to point out I don’t mean to point out to call anyone out, but it is something that strikes me as interesting from the perspective of people engaging with the media.

For example, in the chat, the Bajoran pejorative for the Cardassians came up. It is understandable that the Bajorans, who are continually seeing the cruelty of the Cardassian policy, the personal cruelty of the Cardassian overseers, would have a pejorative for them. However, anyone that hasn’t suffered under the Cardassians would be appropriating the Bajoran’s cultural suffering and reinforcing broad cultural stereotypes.

Another comment in the chat was “you can’t trust Cardassians,” which is an understandable shorthand when commenting on the truth of what we have seen in the series, but is interesting when put in context of the series itself. Watching the series, you can also say “you can’t trust a Starfleet Admiral.” In theory, Starfleet is an organization that generally lives up to it’s promises, but from watching the television series, we always have reason to be wary of Starfleet Admirals. Is this a fair representation of Starfleet in general?

There are some things that we learn about the Cardassians and their history later that add more context, but it’s still easy to see that the political agenda of a people are not “the people” as a whole.

[mention]AndiFox[/mention] mentioned Roddenberry and religion, and how the Klingon sash may be seen as more cultural than religious, which to Roddenberry’s mind, would be an important distinction, and cause for Starfleet to have different standards for each. I would love to hear more of her thoughts on this, given that this is something she spent time researching.
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GMGERRYMANDER
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Re: S5E3 - Ensign Ro

Post by GMGERRYMANDER »

1) I think I posted never trust a Kardassian. Which I still stand behind.

2) I also liken the starfleet Admirals to the Jedi Council...

All kidding aside, your points are valid. I don't remember seeing a relatable Cardassian until DS9 and the "Tailor".

But Star Fleet, while appearing to be benevolent and all good, definitely has its problems and the Prime Directive sometimes hampers them. And Admirals always seem to be a group that are either untrustworthy, conniving, or rebellious. (Admiral Kirk...)
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Jared Rascher
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Re: S5E3 - Ensign Ro

Post by Jared Rascher »

The interesting thing about admirals and Starfleet is that it almost always boils down to the same thing.

"It's nice for the rank and file to do what we stand for, so that's what we USUALLY do, but I can see the big picture, and it would be easier to not do what we should be doing IN JUST THIS ONE instance. Especially since I'm isolated from the actual dirty work that needs to be done by violating our principles."

Which is an ongoing commentary about people in power and being isolated from the consequences of their actions, as well as the narrative beat of showing how dedicated your protagonist is when they are willing to stand up against that person in a position of power.

But seriously Starfleet, WTF is it with your admirals?
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JimLikesGames
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Re: S5E3 - Ensign Ro

Post by JimLikesGames »

Jared Rascher wrote: Wed Jul 08, 2020 3:39 pm But seriously Starfleet, WTF is it with your admirals?
Even in the 25th Century, there's no escaping the Peter Principle.
Jim Crocker
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