Battlestar females represent
One of the things I’ve really enjoyed about Battlestar Galactica is the presence of a variety of strong female characters. It’s far too common for female characters in film and television to be resigned to weak roles where they lack agency or strong motivations. I’ve noticed this particularly, I hate to say, in the science fiction genre. While obviously it’s worse amongst the older literature and films, which I suppose reflected the prevailing attitudes of the times, I think the depiction of female characters in science fiction is still problematic.
That’s why it’s great to see a successful franchise such as Battlestar putting women in strong, starring roles where they are given excellent character development and realistic goals and motivations. It’s good to see that the writers haven’t resorted to the short-cut forms of characterization so often seen in graphic novels. Not only does Battlestar attempt to do proud by its female characters, but it’s attempted to even out the gender numbers, too. Older viewers will recall, for example, that Starbuck in the original series was actually male, not female, but the writers have changed the character’s gender, and in so doing have evened up the gender balance a little.
Overall, the representation of female characters is pretty good, although there are certainly still issues with women being subjected to physical atrocities that the male characters don’t seem to have to worry about. Still, gripes aside, Battlestar, like shows such as those in the Whedon universe, has made an effort to bring females into the front lines, and give them appropriate representation—as they truly deserve.
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