"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: keithbjohn...@comcast.net
Date: Thu, 20 Aug 2009 04:10:03 +0000
Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Re: The Best of Science Fiction's Oppressed Species
And don't forget when G'Kar agrees to cry out when the Emperor has him whipped,
a cry so full of anguish, i still remember it. Giving even the appearance of
defeat--as part of a plan to help Lando dethrone the Emperor--was still almost
more than G'Kar could bear.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Martin Baxter" <truthseeker...@hotmail.com>
To: "SciFiNoir2" <scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, August 19, 2009 12:20:55 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
Subject: RE: [scifinoir2] Re: The Best of Science Fiction's Oppressed Species
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/
>
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