Thought on the Occupation

[Epsilon IX]

This was something I have been thinking about for some time and would like to share here. If this has been done before (as I imagine it has a few times) I do apologise.

One of the big re-occuring themes in DS9 was the Occupation of Bajor by the Cardassians. I believe that the primary reason we felt sympathy of the Bajorans was because of the way they looked and their spirituality. As we saw, in stark contrast to the Cardassians, who wore all that rubber and rather brutal looking clothing, the Bajorans looked very human-like (apart from their 'broken, wrinkled noses'), with some of the females of the species being quite sexy (eg. Kira (once her hair and costume had been fixed), Ro, Leeta) and wore that clothing which gave them that 'rustic' effect which catered to our sympathies, and I think that that was it that made it easy (perhaps a little too easy) for us to sympathise with their plight.

What I would like to know was would we have felt as much sympathy for the plight of the subjugated race if they had looked different. To demonstrate my point I have provided some examples of other alien races:
http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/File:Antedean_dignitary.jpg
http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/File:Treen.jpg
http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/File:Culluh.jpg
http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/File:Oxilon.jpg
http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/File:Horta.jpg
http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/File:Yarnek.jpg
http://memory-beta.wikia.com/wiki/File:DrRee.jpg
http://home.fuse.net/ChristopherLBennett/Cethente.jpg
I've used these examples because they look so silly it's hard to take them seriously, they look like monsters, they look repugnant, they dress awfully, they act annoying, their eating habits are offputting (Hasparat does sound very tasty, not like some of the food some of the species shown above like to eat!), they're so alien it's hard to empathise with them etc. You get the idea, I'll let you use your imagination (eg. looking like giant spiders etc.).

Following on from appearance is the question of spirituality and faith in the Prophets. Would we have like the Bajorans so much if their faith centered around such practices as, to give examples, 'human' sacrifice (like many Meso-American civilisations), burying virgins in the soil, or drinking the blood of slaughtered children?

Not related to DS9, I think a similar agument can be applied to the Na'vi in Avatar. Would we have liked them as much if they weren't depicted as the perfect sexual fantasy creatures who were 'in tune' with nature?

 

[sonak]

I think you're reaching in an attempt to make a point about racism and ethnocentrism.



The Horta in "Devil in the Dark" wasn't humanoid and the episode made you feel sympathetic for a mother trying to protect her young.


There are countless episodes of Trek that have "conventionally ugly" protagonists that we are meant to side with.

Look at Voyager's "nemesis" where the traditional good guys= good looking humanoids is turned on its head. (in fact it's probably a bit TOO obvious in intent)


Trek can be accused of some pretty bad messages at various points, but I don't think they've emphasized ones about judging by appearance.

They've actually been pretty good on that front.



So no, the Bajorans were sympathized with because they had been brutally mistreated by the Cardassians for generations, NOT because they looked more human or were more religious.

 

[RyuRoots]

I believe that the primary reason we felt sympathy of the Bajorans was because of the way they looked and their spirituality.

Uh, no. I felt sympathy for the Bajorans because they were a peaceful people who had been forced to endure a socially, geologically, and (for many) personally torturous occupation for many years.

Following on from appearance is the question of spirituality and faith in the Prophets. Would we have like the Bajorans so much if their faith centered around such practices as, to give examples, 'human' sacrifice (like many Meso-American civilisations), burying virgins in the soil, or drinking the blood of slaughtered children?

Would we have identified with them if they practiced barbarism against innocents instead of having the civil religion that they did. That's your question. Uh, probably not.

Not related to DS9, I think a similar agument can be applied to the Na'vi in Avatar. Would we have liked them as much if they weren't depicted as the perfect sexual fantasy creatures who were 'in tune' with nature?

I didn't like them, myself.

 

[Navaros]

the primary reason we felt sympathy of the Bajorans was because of the way they looked and their spirituality. As we saw, in stark contrast to the Cardassians, who wore all that rubber and rather brutal looking clothing, the Bajorans looked very human-like (apart from their 'broken, wrinkled noses'), with some of the females of the species being quite sexy (eg. Kira (once her hair and costume had been fixed), Ro, Leeta) and wore that clothing which gave them that 'rustic' effect which catered to our sympathies, and I think that that was it that made it easy (perhaps a little too easy) for us to sympathise with their plight.

What I would like to know was would we have felt as much sympathy for the plight of the subjugated

I totally disagree with the idea that the Bajorans evoke sympathy. IMO the show utterly fails at achieving that goal, although certainly it was the makers' intentions that they do.

To successfully evoke sympathy IMO the race would have not to be inherently annoying, like how they are are presented on the show as is. Not giving them hideous-looking noses and clothing and earring would go a long way, too. As it stands, Bajorans' inherent annoyingness makes me lament that they were not uniformly wiped out before the story-time began in Emissary.

 

[Gul Re'jal]

Errr, no. I don't sympathise with the Bajorans because they look like me. I sympathise because they were being butchered by the Cardassians. If they were all Horta or Antedeans, they would still be suffering people and my feelings wouldn't change.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

I don't see the Bajorans as annoying. I do admit I would have liked to give them a bit of fashion advice, but overall I like them.

The idea of a reversal is interesting, though, and I would not rule out the idea of some knee-jerk reactions on the part of some mammalian species, and different ideas of what they consider beautiful.

 

[the skullcowboy]

yeah ummm I don't think the way they looked had any bearing on the empathy they received from viewers etc..

 

[MNM]

I never sympathised with the Bajorians. the only set of people on Trek I found more annoying were the Marquis.

 

[DevilEyes]

I happen to think that the Cardassians look beautiful, so their looks had nothing to do with my sympathies. Though that probably wasn't the intention when Cardassians were first introduced. For some reason, reptilian-looking species tend to the villains in Trek.

I don't see the Bajorans as annoying. I do admit I would have liked to give them a bit of fashion advice, but overall I like them.

The idea of a reversal is interesting, though, and I would not rule out the idea of some knee-jerk reactions on the part of some mammalian species, and different ideas of what they consider beautiful.

That's why it's great to watch the Mirror Universe in ENT "In A Mirror, Darkly" with humans and a humanoid alien like Phlox as bad guys, torturing and brutally killing a Tholian and other non-human looking aliens.

 

[DS9 Gal AZ]

Frankly, I don't think appearance had that much to do with it. Sure, we may have found them relatable because they were very human-looking, but this show could even make us sympathize with the Jem-Hadar at times. I liked the Bajorans. They were spiritual but not passive, religious but not fanatical (well, most of them, anyway). I might go so far as to say they're my favorite trek race.

Personally, I don't think the Cardassians were ugly. It was an interesting look.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

I happen to think that the Cardassians look beautiful, so their looks had nothing to do with my sympathies. Though that probably wasn't the intention when Cardassians were first introduced. For some reason, reptilian-looking species tend to the villains in Trek.

Because people associate cold blood (or at least when they THINK a species is cold-blooded) with a cold heart. They're used to thinking of dinosaurs and such as heartless killers. (Which isn't even correct of all dinosaurs. OR all of their avian descendants.) It's the same way people think of sharks and insects.

Oh, and I think Cardassians look wonderful, too. That's one thing I love about having an AU--being able to draw them and dress them in all sorts of neat fashions that we could never see in the canon universe. (Don't worry--to the rest of you who haven't seen the drawings other than the "Christmas Cardassian" in my avatar, they are very, very, VERY modest. )