"Walkabout" discussion

[ruuger]

This is the discussion post for the episode 3X18 "Walkabout". Spoilers for the whole of the series, including the spin-offs and tie-ins, are allowed here so newbies beware.

Summary:
Kosh' replacement arrives on B5, Sheridan and Lyta test Shadows' weakness, and Franklin tries to find himself on a walkabout in Downbelow.

Extra reading:
The article for "Walkabout" at Lurker's Guide.

Comments

[lizbee.livejournal.com]

I think you are being over-sensitive here...

I'm sorry if recognising racism that originates from my own country seems over-sensitive.

Franklin is not an Aborigine but probably African-American (guessing by his Western name and American accent; I think it is never said - and it does not matter).

Er, yes. It is still appropriative.

If he'd been shown with an American racist cliche, it would have been more worrying. I rather suspect that JMS just was not aware of this association in Australia.

While I freely admit that I'm applying a 2010 sensibility to a late-'90s product, I am still uncomfortable with JMS unthinkingly reproducing Australian racism, and then applying it to his only regular character of colour. It's an ugly kind of carelessness borne of classic white privilege.

Also, he is not claiming to perform an Aboriginal spiritual exercise, but one of th Foundation.

Yes, hence the cultural appropriation.

He says the Foundation borrowed it from Aboriginal cultures, implying it has made it its own now - one may even speculate that parts of its practice were changed. Personally, I like the idea that the Foundation does not only incorporate Western religious traditions.

Appropriation seems to be the particular schtick of the Foundationists. If they put as little research and thought into their beliefs -- and apparently, speaking to an actual Indigenous Australian was beyond them -- I can only assume they spend a lot of time being laughed at.

I think we are meant to see a character undergoing a spiritual exercise from his particular, inclusive religious background, no more no less.

Yes, that is obviously what we are meant to see, but the result is considerably different. And I am white; I can only imagine what an Aboriginal person would make of it. The intent to be tolerant and inclusive is admirable, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't discuss what happens when intent doesn't match result.

So go ahead, give it a chance!

Er, no thank you.