Reminds me that this is one they missed for that Tearjerker thread I posted, the Centauri siege/invasion of the Narn homeworld, when G'Kar surrendered himself and they trotted him out in chains, still walking with a more noble gait that Emperor Cartaggia...
Martin (so happy he bought four boxes of Kleenex yesterday) "If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director?" -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com From: jazzynupe_...@yahoo.com Date: Wed, 19 Aug 2009 09:17:03 -0700 Subject: RE: [scifinoir2] Re: The Best of Science Fiction's Oppressed Species i totally agree, and i did so like G'Kar. he was oh so noble! --- On Wed, 8/19/09, Tracey de Morsella <tdli...@multiculturaladvantage.com> wrote: From: Tracey de Morsella <tdli...@multiculturaladvantage.com> Subject: RE: [scifinoir2] Re: The Best of Science Fiction's Oppressed Species To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Wednesday, August 19, 2009, 12:10 PM They should definitely include Narn -----Original Message----- From: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com [mailto:scifino...@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of B. Smith Sent: Wednesday, August 19, 2009 7:08 AM To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Subject: [scifinoir2] Re: The Best of Science Fiction's Oppressed Species How about the Narn from B5? --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, "Mr. Worf" <hellomahog...@...> wrote: > > They forgot Robotech. > > 2009/8/19 Tracey de Morsella <tdli...@...> > > > > > > > The Best of Science Fiction's Oppressed Species<http://io9.com/5340280/the-best-of-science-fictions-oppressed-specie s> > > > > By Lauren Davis <http://io9.com/people/Lauren_Davis/posts/>, 3:30 PM<http://io9.com/5340280/the-best-of-science-fictions-oppressed-species>on Tue Aug 18 2009, > > > > [image: > > http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/8/2009/08/thumb160x_District9Poster_00 0.jpg] > > *District 9 <http://io9.com/tag/district-9/>*'s crustacean aliens may be > > the first extraterrestrials to experience South Africa's apartheid, but > > they're hardly the first species to feel the sting of oppression. We list > > science fiction's other downtrodden, enslaved, and dehumanized (so to speak) > > species. > > > > > > [image: > > http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/io9/2009/08/Alien_Nation_01.jpg]*The > > Newcomers (Alien Nation <http://io9.com/tag/alien-nation/>):* *District 9*'s > > aliens are most often compared to the Tenctonese, better known as the > > Newcomers. Like the *D9* aliens, the Newcomers just can't catch a break. > > After fleeing from slavery on their own planet, a quarter of a million > > Newcomers land in Los Angeles to find a sometimes less than welcoming human > > population. Aside from the unfortunate names some INS officials assign the > > new arrivals (in the original movie, Matt Sykes' partner was named "Sam > > Francisco"), there are anti-alien Purists who think the Tenctonese should > > have stayed on Tencton, and plenty of murder, both from humans looking to > > eradicated the Newcomers and from those who would harvest their > > life-extending glands. > > > > [image: > > http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/8/2009/08/thumb160x_Jem_Hadar.jpg]*The > > Citizens of the Dominion (Star Trek <http://io9.com/tag/star-trek/>: Deep > > Space Nine):* With all of its explorations of race and morality, the *Star > > Trek* universe has had its fair share of oppressed species: the Troglyte > > miners who served their fellow Ardanans, the Romulans' Reman slaves, the > > Orion women (who only appear to be slaves), the Tosk who serve as prey for > > the Hunters' sport, the Bajorans who endure 50 years of Cardassian > > occupation, and, of course, anyone who encounters the Borg. But the Founders > > of the Dominion have a special talent for oppression, from engineering the > > supersoldier Jem'Hadar with an innate addiction to the drug ketracel white > > to infecting the Trevean with a congenital blight. Even the Vorta, who serve > > as the Dominion's middle managers, are mere slaves to the Founders, and are > > compelled to commit suicide if it serves their masters' purposes. > > > > [image: http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/io9/2009/08/Clone.jpg]*Clone > > Troopers (Star Wars <http://io9.com/tag/star-wars/>):* Slavery runs > > rampant in the Galactic Empire, with the Empire itself enslaving species > > like the Wookiees and the Mon Calamari wholesale, and some races, like the > > Twi'leks, would sell their own children into slavery in hopes of offering > > them a better life. And biological species buy and sell sentient droids (and > > ban them from their bars) without a second thought. But the genetically > > engineered (though otherwise human) Clone Troopers hold a special place > > among *Star Wars*' oppressed beings. Not only are they specifically grown > > for compulsory military service, they are essentially the property of the > > Galactic Republic, a government that has supposedly outlawed slavery. > > > > [image: http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/io9/2009/08/ood.jpg]*The Ood > > (Doctor Who <http://io9.com/tag/doctor-who/>):* Humans looking to have > > their own sentient slave without the guilt were told they could pick up an > > Ood servant with minimal damage to the conscience. After all, the Ood live > > to serve, right? Nothing in the Doctor's universe is ever so easy, and Donna > > and the Doctor soon discover that Ood Operations, the company supplying the > > alien servants, had cut off the Ood's telepathic link to the Ood brain, > > hampering their free will and leaving them to mix drinks and do laundry for > > their human masters. > > > > [image: http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/io9/2009/08/farscape9.jpg]*Banik > > (Farscape):* Oppression is a fairly widespread characteristic of the * > > Farscape* universe. Pretty much anyone living under Peacekeeper rule has a > > few humanoid rights trampled on (including the Peacekeepers themselves), and > > Scarrans have a pair of servant races who provide them with soldiers, > > intelligence agents, and technicians. But the Baniks hold an especially low > > place in the *Farscape* hierarchy. Having been mostly wiped out by > > Peacekeeper forces, the remaining Baniks have been enslaved, and the Banik > > Stark is repeatedly subjected to Scorpius' Aurora Chair, a torture and > > interrogation device. But the casual disregard for the lives of Baniks > > reaches its most shocking low when Scorpius purchases a lot of slaves that > > includes 9,999 Baniks and D'Argo's son Jothee. After he purchases the lot, > > Scorpius hands the slaves over to Natira, who, having no use for them, > > simply exterminates them all. > > > > [image: > > http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/8/2009/08/thumb160x_225px-Leela_s_Home world.jpg] > > *Sewer Mutants (Futurama):* The 31st Century has little respect for > > humanoid or alien life, but at least most life forms are afforded the common > > courtesy of being able to walk the Earth's surface. Sewer mutants have no > > such privileges, requiring special permission to leave the subterranean > > ruins of New York. Sewer mutants, in turn, stick it to the sub-mutants, who > > are relegated to the sub-sewer (probably New York's original sewer system). > > > > [image: > > http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/8/2009/08/thumb160x_dobby-poster.jpg] > > *House Elves (Harry Potter <http://io9.com/tag/harry-potter/>):* House > > Elves are powerful magical beings, with the ability to repel some of the > > most powerful wizards to come out of Hogwarts. But most of their magic goes > > toward serving their often less than noble wizard masters. House Elves are > > compelled to punish themselves if they disobey their masters or even utter > > an unkind word against them, and at least one ancient wizarding family held > > onto a gruesome tradition of decapitating elderly House Elves, then mounting > > their stuffed heads on the wall. > > > > [image: > > http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/8/2009/08/thumb160x_enemy1.jpg]*Dracs > > (Enemy Mine <http://io9.com/tag/enemy-mine/>):* Humans and Dracs are in > > the midst of a bitter war, so it's little surprise that the humans tolerate > > scavengers who capture Dracs for slave labor. But it also helps a brutal set > > of outlaws thrive without concern for human laws or Drac life. > > > > [image: http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/io9/2009/08/Kzinti.jpg]*Denizens > > of the Kzinti Empire (Known Space <http://io9.com/tag/known-space/>):* The > > Kzinti began their lives in the galactic community as mercenaries, but once > > their Jotok clients taught them to use their weapons and technology, the > > Kzinti quickly turned on them, enslaving their former employers. From there, > > the Kzinti spread out across the galaxy, enslaving or eating any species > > they encountered. Although some subject worlds were more or less ignored by > > the Kzinti, some species were pushed off their worlds entirely, and breaking > > Kzinti law meant execution by hunting (usually followed by a feast featuring > > the accused as the main course). Even Kzin females, termed Kzinretti, are > > oppressed by their males, having been rendered subsapient by the hijacked > > Jotok technology. > > > > [image: > > http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/8/2009/08/thumb160x_vortigaunt.jpg]*Vo rtigaunt > > (Half-Life):* Vortigaunts are the slaves of slaves, used by the Nihilanth > > as military forces or as factory workers. Although their enslavement forces > > the Vortigaunt to oppose Gordon Freeman in the first game, they get a bit of > > a happy ending when Freeman kills the Nihilanth. Once freed of their > > extradimensional masters, the Vortigaunts seek to keep humanity from falling > > to a similar fate, working against the Combine forces. > > > > [image: > > http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/8/2009/08/thumb160x_neosapien.jpg]*Neo sapiens > > (Exosquad):* Artificially created for life as laborers on Mars, the > > Neosapiens are stronger and faster than Terran humans, require little food > > and no sleep, and have a longer natural lifespan than their masters. You > > would think humans might think twice before creating such a physically > > advanced race only to enslave them, but they have to deal with the > > consequences in the ensuing rebellions. But the Neosapiens were not above > > creating servants of their own, engineering the animalistic Neo Warriors to > > serve as the Neosapiens' ground forces. > > > > [image: > > http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/io9/2009/08/Early-New-X-Men.jpg]*Mutan ts > > (X-Men):* "Have you tried not being a mutant?" The classic line from *X2*pretty much says it all. It's bad enough that the mutants have to cope with > > powers they don't always fully understand, or that their lives are > > punctuated by the occasional supervillain attack or alien invasion; they > > also have to cope with humans who hate and fear them, and religious fanatics > > who see them as an affront to God. > > > > [image: > > http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/8/2009/08/thumb160x_cylons.jpg]*Cylons > > (Battlestar Galactica <http://io9.com/tag/battlestar-galactica/>):*Artificial beings have been oppressed by humans since Karel ÄŒapek's > > *R.U.R.* premiered, and they've been turning on their masters just as > > long. The Cylons get bonus points, not because the nature of their > > oppression is unique, but because they're simultaneously portrayed as > > essentially human and yet dehumanized by their human enemies. Even > > forgetting racial slurs like "toaster" and "skin job" used to remind humans > > that their fleshier foes still have robot parts, there are some in the > > Colonial Fleet, like the rapist members of the *Pegasus* crew, who are > > inclined to treat the humanoid Cylons as warm-bodied objects. And the Cylons > > continue the cycle of oppression, with the humanoid Cylons effectively > > lobotomizing the Centurions and treating the Raiders as glorified pets. > > > > [image: > > http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/io9/2009/08/planet_of_apes_xl_01--film -A.jpg] > > *Humans:* Humans are the oppressed species nearly as often as they are the > > oppressors. Sometimes, we're enslaved by our own creations, as in the * > > Matrix* trilogy. Sometimes we've simply lost out as the dominant species > > of the planet, as in *Planet of the Apes<http://io9.com/tag/planet-of-the-apes/> > > *. Sometimes an alien invader simply decides we'll make good slaves, as in > > *Stargate* or *Battlefield Earth <http://io9.com/tag/battlefield-earth/>*. > > But we're a reliably plucky species, and even if we don't manage to pull > > ourselves out of the gutter, we don't make life easy for our oppressors. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > Bringing diversity to perversity for 9 years! > Mahogany at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/ > ------------------------------------ Post your SciFiNoir Profile at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scifinoir2/app/peoplemap2/entry/add?fmvn=mapYa hoo! Groups Links ------------------------------------ Post your SciFiNoir Profile at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scifinoir2/app/peoplemap2/entry/add?fmvn=mapYahoo! 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