How Science Fiction Found Religion by Benjamin A. Plotinsky, City Journal Winter 2009

Selected Responses:

Sent by Maddermusic on 03-18-2009:

In your discussion of Battlestar Galactica, you somehow failed to note the show's most remarkable feature—its intense engagement with matters of religion. The entire war between human and Cylon is a religious war, with the monotheistic Cylons rejecting the polytheism of the humans. This is one of the show's most fascinating aspects, and it relates directly to the theme of the article. How could you miss it?

Benjamin A. Plotinsky responds:

My concern is religious allegory in science fiction: not movies that invent fictional religions for their characters to practice, as Battlestar Galactica surely does, but movies whose plots call to mind real religions with which we're familiar. That strikes me as a far more interesting and ambitious task. When a screenwriter or director gestures at Christianity (or at anything else in the real world) allegorically, he's winking at us, the audience, and trying to tell us something: perhaps that he's a man of faith himself, but just as probably that he's trying to contribute, in some fashion, to the long Western tradition of hero-myths that Raglan, Campbell, and others have done so much to describe.

As it happens, Battlestar Galactica does offer an example of this sort of religious allegory, though I didn't mention it in my article. The whole series is a retelling of the biblical book of Exodus: the nation fleeing its persecutors through a wilderness in search of a homeland. To my mind, that's a more useful contribution for a critic to make than a simple statement of what we already know about the series.

Sent by Louis on 03-06-2009:

All these stories contain what we could call the messianic expectation. Don Richardson's Eternity in their Hearts explores it to the hilt in the ancient myths and folk religions of various peoples. It is so pervasive, so universal, that it has to be considered (in Jungian terms) the primary archetype of our collective subconscious. The pertinent religious question is settled in my mind - the tendency of a root to grow toward water confirms that there is, in fact, water to be found. Christ is, as Bach asserted so beautifully, the joy of man's desire.

Sent by Tom Stewart on 03-06-2009:

This is in response to your comment: in the 1980 sequel, Yoda—a character, created by Jim Henson, who looked suspiciously like Kermit the Frog and sounded suspiciously like Fozzie Bear—"

Jim Henson did not create Yoda. It was designed primarily by Stuart Freeborn, who (it is rumored) designed Yoda after three people - Mark Twain, Einstein, and Stuart Freeborn himself).

Jim Henson did lend George Lucas some of his British staff to help assist with Yoda, because production was falling behind - but by then, the design work and latex castings had already been done. Frank Oz (Head Puppeteer)and Wendy Midener (Assistant to Frank) puppeteered Yoda. Yoda sounded "suspiciously like Fozzie Bear" because Frank Oz was the puppeteer of Fozzie, Mrs. Piggy, Grover and Bert. Jim Henson did no design work or puppet work in anyway on Yoda.

All in all, you did write an interesting article. It is something to ponder.


Table of Contents A quarterly magazine of urban affairs, published by the Manhattan Institute, edited by Brian C. Anderson. • • • • • • • • •	Benjamin A. Plotinsky How Science Fiction Found Religion Selected Responses: Sent by Maddermusic on 03-18-2009: In your discussion of Battlestar Galactica, you somehow failed to note the show's most remarkable feature—its intense engagement with matters of religion. The entire war between human and Cylon is a religious war, with the monotheistic Cylons rejecting the polytheism of the humans. This is one of the show's most fascinating aspects, and it relates directly to the theme of the article. How could you miss it? Benjamin A. Plotinsky responds: My concern is religious allegory in science fiction: not movies that invent fictional religions for their characters to practice, as Battlestar Galactica surely does, but movies whose plots call to mind real religions with which we're familiar. That strikes me as a far more interesting and ambitious task. When a screenwriter or director gestures at Christianity (or at anything else in the real world) allegorically, he's winking at us, the audience, and trying to tell us something: perhaps that he's a man of faith himself, but just as probably that he's trying to contribute, in some fashion, to the long Western tradition of hero-myths that Raglan, Campbell, and others have done so much to describe. As it happens, Battlestar Galactica does offer an example of this sort of religious allegory, though I didn't mention it in my article. The whole series is a retelling of the biblical book of Exodus: the nation fleeing its persecutors through a wilderness in search of a homeland. To my mind, that's a more useful contribution for a critic to make than a simple statement of what we already know about the series. Sent by Louis on 03-06-2009: All these stories contain what we could call the messianic expectation. Don Richardson's Eternity in their Hearts explores it to the hilt in the ancient myths and folk religions of various peoples. It is so pervasive, so universal, that it has to be considered (in Jungian terms) the primary archetype of our collective subconscious. The pertinent religious question is settled in my mind - the tendency of a root to grow toward water confirms that there is, in fact, water to be found. Christ is, as Bach asserted so beautifully, the joy of man's desire. Sent by Tom Stewart on 03-06-2009: This is in response to your comment: in the 1980 sequel, Yoda—a character, created by Jim Henson, who looked suspiciously like Kermit the Frog and sounded suspiciously like Fozzie Bear—" Jim Henson did not create Yoda. It was designed primarily by Stuart Freeborn, who (it is rumored) designed Yoda after three people - Mark Twain, Einstein, and Stuart Freeborn himself). Jim Henson did lend George Lucas some of his British staff to help assist with Yoda, because production was falling behind - but by then, the design work and latex castings had already been done. Frank Oz (Head Puppeteer)and Wendy Midener (Assistant to Frank) puppeteered Yoda. Yoda sounded "suspiciously like Fozzie Bear" because Frank Oz was the puppeteer of Fozzie, Mrs. Piggy, Grover and Bert. Jim Henson did no design work or puppet work in anyway on Yoda. All in all, you did write an interesting article. It is something to ponder.	EMAIL ARTICLE PRINTER FRIENDLY RESPOND TO ARTICLE SELECTED RESPONSES TRANSLATE SUBSCRIBE TO FEED SHARE ARTICLE More by Benjamin A. Plotinsky: The Pharmaceutical Umbrella That Jewish Novel Poetic Justice More . . . If you liked this story, you may also be interested in: The Persian Version What Mad Men Gets Wrong Thus Spake Zora This story was cited in: NRO: The Corner SF Signal SF Gospel RevolutionSF BBC: Will and Testament Washington Times Search Site Advanced Search
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