We’ll be talking about Caprica all season, with new installments every Tuesday. Check here for the complete list of discussions, or sign up here for the RSS feed.
Here’s an exchange between Salman Hameed, Diane Winston and Henry Jenkins, on episode two.
Salman Hameed______________________
Fellow Capricologists,
Episode two was bit of a let-down for me. Perhaps it was to be expected after watching a finely crafted 2-hour pilot. May be it was because too many themes were crammed into an hour-long slot and not given enough to fully develop any one: the obsession of Daniel Graystone regarding his robotic creation, Amanda Graystone’s further discoveries about her daughter’s life, Zoe’s new life and her communication with Lacy, William Adama’s “education” by his uncle, the lifestyle of Clarice Willow—the High Priestess of Athena. All of this, but perhaps not enough Joseph Adama. C’mon, I could have lived without the drama of the High Priestess in this already busy episode.
That said I enjoyed the visual efforts to humanize a robot. So many times we have seen characters in films that are humans on the outside, but machines inside (for example, the Terminator series). You peel the skin only to find an emotionless machine. Often Sci-Fi (SyFy for the hip crowd) films add “eyes” to make it possible for us to empathize with a protagonist robot (for example, Wall-E). But Caprica uses Zoe interchangeably with the metallic robot to emphasize the humanity of an artificial intelligence (however much—since we know that Zoe is an avatar). We peel the metal of the robot and find an emotional Zoe underneath (or more accurately, an image of an avatar that is an identical copy of Zoe’s avatar). Furthermore, this robot has its own personal identity since its software (soul within the Caprican universe?) can only work with a particular body (though beware, souls can be transferred using the technology of Cold Souls). The robot, however, is also designed to kill—and thus it has another personality that is bound to clash with Zoe’s.
This bit about establishing identities within an artificial life form is fascinating, and I’m looking forward to how this multiple-personality disorder will be addressed in the coming episodes. At the same time, I think a sledgehammer was used where a scalpel was needed, when Lacy’s character, off the bat, called these multiple personalities Trinity (Zoe, Zoe’s avatar, and the robot body). Come on, don’t take short cuts. Develop the plot some more before diving straight into Trinity.
A quick comment about racial stereotypes: Last week, Anthea astutely pointed out (and lamented) that the suicide bomber in the pilot episode, Ben Starks, looked Middle Eastern. I wasn't sure about it then. But now that we have met his mom, her features reinforces Anthea’s point. However, like BSG, I’m quite sure that this stereotype will be used to play with our expectations (along with, I hope, Tauron’s Italian-styled mafias). I just hope that Gemenon—the home to the Soldiers of the One—doesn’t turn out to be a barren, desert-like planet.
Despite coming down from the high of the pilot episode, the ending of episode 2 throws the future of Daniel Graystone, his contract to build more robots, and the balance of power in his relationship with Joseph Adama, all up in the air.
Until next week...
Diane Winston______________________
Who is Zoe? What is Zoe? Who or What was Zoe?
That’s the trinity (yes, Salman, it was a sledgehammer)—or, more accurately, the trifecta at the heart of “Rebirth,” this week’s episode of Caprica. Zoe’s identity was on many minds as we saw her conjured in the Cylon’s red-tinged memories, Ben Stark’s mementos, Lacy’s home movies, and Amanda’s final, desperate outburst. Even as the Zoe/Avatar/Cylon (ZAC) itself struggled with a new identity (“Do I look male?”) and old/new ways of being in the world (bite enemies, hug friends), she was seen for herself by one whose sight could be trusted. Did you catch the family dog snuggling contentedly at ZAC’s feet? Animals don’t lie; at least not on television. This was a come-to-Lassie moment.
What makes us human? And why do we assume that being human constitutes an intrinsic standard of humaneness, goodness, or authencity? Why in the last ten years, when the evidence of our collective inhumanity—from blowing up planes, to shooting civilians to using rape as a weapon of war—scars our days, has our nighttime entertainment focused on assaying forms of humanness. Was Tony Soprano human? Well maybe, but what about Al Swearengen? Okay, him too, but what about Dexter? Hmm—if he’s inside the tent, what about something that isn’t even a someone? We’ve seen humanoid Cylons, slinky terminators, and programmed “dolls” save our (“real”) butts more than once. Yet we’re ready to debate it all again as we watch a life form shapeshift (within its own consciousness and to our omnipotent gaze) from a clanging metal monster to a winsome teenager. (Did anyone have a problem with this? My 10-year-old deemed it “cool,” but my husband thought it lacked finesse. I liked it, but I’d vote for a new dress.)
Caprica’s landscape is littered with families that aren’t families. The gifted Graystones don’t communicate. Alone in their aerie, Daniel and Amanda jealously guard memories of their daughter. How could Daniel not mention the avatar? Why would Amanda hide her concerns about Zoe’s loyalties? Life is no easier in the Adams’ apartment where the adults pull in different directions. Grandma yearns for the old country; Joe for new beginnings. No wonder young Bill grows up to find community, purpose and identity in the military’s ranks. High Priestess Clarice Willow’s polygamous household looks like it might offer something better: big love and shared purpose. But the profusion of furtive glances and angry accusations give lie to what is heralded as an extended family. Even “found” families are treacherous. Zoe kept secrets from Lacy, Lacy deserts Zoe and Ben when they run away, Ben kills Zoe in his holy holocaust. I can only wonder what kind of family Zoe hoped to find on Gemenon.
I love the details: everything from Mrs. Stark’s frumpy hat to the Adama family candlesticks to the high-flying Buccaneer flag. We know who we are by our things. Daniel seems most relaxed with Serge, the family robot. Zoe can’t stop fingering her gold pin. A recyclable carton brings Lacy’s home life into focus.
The episode was slow, but I like it more with each passing day. Some of the shots were gorgeous, but I’m not sure about that opening montage. It felt like Six Feet Under meets The Addams Family.
I certainly did find Caprica to be great fodder for the mind thinking on things religious. It reminded me of a message I read years ago talking about "virtual synagogues". The moderator said that a rabbi had written that a "Golem" could never worship God because they would worship too purely. Thus we have the cylon religious fervor understood a little better.
The thing that seems to be lacking is any kind of depth to these polytheists. We find all sorts of insights into the "Soldiers of the One" but very little into the religion of the colonies (I've only watched "Rebirth" so I may be missing quite a bit.)
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