Yeah, I think I agree with you there. I mean, I'm not suggesting that BSG is particularly bad in this area; heck it's a lot better than many shows, but it's never a bad thing to think about.
I do wonder if there would have been a whole load of different issues raised by casting a black actor in Tigh's role considering they reimagined him as a violent drunk. Obviously by this point in the series he's one of the most complex, interesting characters they have, but initially I think that could very well have been problematic.
I think the actor who plays Helo is actually part Canadian First Nations on his mother's side, but yes, I think that the character of Karl Agathon is generally perceived as Caucasian.
On a slightly similar tack, I do often wonder how the Bill-Lee familial relationship affects people's perceptions of Adama's race? I mean, do more people assume that Lee got a lot of recessive genes or do more people assume that EJO donning blue contacts signifies he's playing a white/more white character? Do people even give it any thought?
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Re: Part the Second
Date: 2009-01-19 11:38 am (UTC)I do wonder if there would have been a whole load of different issues raised by casting a black actor in Tigh's role considering they reimagined him as a violent drunk. Obviously by this point in the series he's one of the most complex, interesting characters they have, but initially I think that could very well have been problematic.
I think the actor who plays Helo is actually part Canadian First Nations on his mother's side, but yes, I think that the character of Karl Agathon is generally perceived as Caucasian.
On a slightly similar tack, I do often wonder how the Bill-Lee familial relationship affects people's perceptions of Adama's race? I mean, do more people assume that Lee got a lot of recessive genes or do more people assume that EJO donning blue contacts signifies he's playing a white/more white character? Do people even give it any thought?