Histocially, European colonialization crushed many religions with the expressed aim of replacing them with Christianity in one form or another. Also, non-Christian religions were a major rallying point for resistance to colonialization. So, when a Western TV show or Westerners in general says it’s time to “move past” religion, I can understand people seeing it as a continuation of five hundred years or so of attacks on non-Christian religions.
Of course, there are plenty of other examples of non-Christian inter-religious conflict in history and even in current events, but for people whose countries suffered under European colonialization, it’s not surprising they might see things through that lens primarily.
To bring this back to DS9, the Cardassians certainly suppressed the Bajoran religion during the Occupation, and we’ve seen the Bajoran faith was a meaningful part of the resistance for many, which is why it’s understandable that a lot of Bajorans might get bent out of shape when, say, a Federation teacher tells her students that the Prophets are just super-advanced aliens and that the Celestial Temple is an understandable astrophysical phenomenon. While it’s also understandable that said teacher might insist that teaching the scientific truth is the right thing to do, especially given she’s teaching in a Federation school.
So is the Federation guilty of cultural imperialism? Or are the Bajorans being xenophobic? Or can both be true?
All great fodder for drama.
At least that’s how I saw things when I wrote for DS9.
“Last year, Warner Bros. Discovery chief David Zaslav made $246.6 million; Disney’s Bob Iger made $45.9 million; and Paramount Global CEO’s Bob Bakish made $32 million. These individuals make more money per year than almost any entertainment executive before them. Just a small portion of each major CEO’s annual salary could cover the cost of the guilds’ reasonable structural and financial demands, and yet, they say it’s not possible. How could that be? Because it’s not about the money. It’s about power and perception. Almost none of these CEOs built the companies they run. We are not negotiating with Jack Warner or Walt Disney. We’re not even negotiating with the people who enriched these companies, like producer Robert Evans at Paramount in the 1970s. These CEOs are basically people who just work there—and who have contracts that allow them very large amounts of money. And right now, they don’t want anyone to know that. They don’t want anyone to know that they don’t actually build anything. They don’t want anyone to see them capitulate and bend the knee to any degree by making a deal with the writers and actors who build the product they fund and distribute. They don’t want to reasonably negotiate with these artists, because they think it will make them look weak. They think it will make them look like chumps, make them look simply like the employees of these companies that they are.”
This is absolutely it. All this crap is about nothing but the perceived power that comes with having a big fat paycheck, and (the fear of) losing face.:/
wowowow I found some beautiful golden chanterelles in my little meander through the forest today and cooked them up with my favorite local steak and butter.. unbelievably good..
