Just after the UN Panel on BSG, MrsRon asked people to share their thoughts on the meaning of BSG. I wrote the following in response:
Quote:
What do I think the meaning of BSG is? In my opinion BSG is about taking us out of our comfort zones and making us think about alternative perspectives. BSG has done this with the very serious topics listed by MrsRon in the original post but also for the topics that *fans* make important, such as when our favorite characters or ships are put into controversial situations or ones that jeopardize our own understandings of them or what we want for or expect from them.
I don't like BSG because Ron and David and Company decided to make it as dark as they possibly could - in fact, I have mixed feelings about the desire to go as dark as possible by default. Yet, even this supports my point. The darkness has been one of the aspects of the show that I have thought deeply about and the ways in which the focus on darkness has or has not affected the portrayal of the characters I love. The point remains that BSG made me think. It didn't just let me sit there and watch brain dead or give me a happy squee every once in a while. It kept me up at nights thinking about what I'd just watched, got me posting on issues that challenged me, and even had me writing a bit of fanfiction.
One last thing that BSG means to me: friendship. I have met some amazing people through my participation in BSG fandom. A few of them are among the people I care about the most in the world. In the end, this they will be what BSG means the most to me.
This was written the week before the finale. I think it is safe to say that the finale further challenged us and made us think. What I didn't expect, however, is that the challenge would also involve cherished friendships. While some friendships have been strengthened over the past few weeks, others have been strained or broken. I have said repeatedly to people that I am not mourning any characters or the ending of BSG. I am, however, mourning the sense of camaraderie and the security I felt in my fandom friendships.
Despite this, I still see my involvement in fandom as positive. BSG enriched my life, sometimes in unexpected ways. I have done some serious thinking and even soul searching about my reaction to story arcs, fandom debates, and my participation in all of it. I have made what I hope will be lifelong friends through fandom. I have experimented with writing and graphics. I have become involved in Caleb's Hope, helping the world community in my own small way because one day my husband and I decided to watch BSG instead of something else. Not a bad legacy for what is, afterall, just a work of fiction.
