Stargate is also about a conflict with a much more advanced society that has interstellar travel and uses it to oppress as many worlds as possible. The cat is out of the bag a far as any concern about interfering goes. Also, humans are the less advanced civilization here, and a lot of the time they're arming other humans.
I was going to say that in full fairness, their gods are actually false though...
Unless, are we considering the Ori (+Ancients = Alterans) to be closer to a literal form of god? We might need to nail down a definition on this first. Then again, they killed their asses, so perhaps humans were the real "gods" all along?
(Until we wake up, finding ourselves covered in goo and having serviced the machines by being their batteries, amidst all the weirdest, physics-defying plotlines...)
Unless, are we considering the Ori (+Ancients = Alterans) to be closer to a literal form of god?
Sure, the Ori are closer to gods than the Goa'uld because they actually have abilities that are effectively supernatural to our perspective. Whereas the Goa'uld just rely on stolen technology to do everything that appears supernatural. But the show made sure we understood that fancy abilities like that of the Ori still does not make one a god. They just know more about the secrets of the universe than we do.
We might need to nail down a definition on this first.
You are right, they did cover how the definition of a "god" is a little fuzzy. But regardless of what you define as a "god", what the Ori were demanding was wrong, and they should be resisted.
DANIEL: I think maybe I know what the Ori are -- who they are. And I'm not denying they are very powerful beings, but if I'm right, they're not gods. They're like the ascended beings I know: they simply have a greater understanding of the knowledge of the universe. DOCI: What is a god, but a being that is worshipped by those beneath? Is great knowledge, power, understanding not enough for you to revere the Ori? DANIEL: Respect, yes, certainly. But that doesn't mean I would murder innocent people in their name.
One possibility as to what defines a "god" is a creative function. Like for a Professor Moriarty, the crew members of the Enterprise along with its computer were collectively together the effective "god". Although the counter-crosswise power differential in the relevant episodes of TNG was an interesting exploration of the concept: even though Captain Picard and even more so Geordi Laforge could have shut down Moriarty "at any time", at least under normal conditions, the plot set up conditions that were highly abnormal to place Moriarty and the crew on more equal footing, even if only temporarily.
A more common refrain is that a "god" is something that is worshipped by some group of people - like a crocodile or hippopotamus could be considered a "god" to primitive proto-humans in that light. It is thus a device only useful as a quick explanatory function (don't mess with the god - it'll fuck you up with its huge powerful jaws or clawed feet!) until a society outgrows the need for such, and relentless curiosity demands a more precise understanding of what the large powerful being actually is.
But then after that, are there other "gods" - akin to whether there exists any magic as a source of wonderment - as one evolves further upwards? I guess we'll find out!! :-D
31 Comments
ViatorOmnium@piefed.social · 45 pts · 1d
If violating the prime directive was required to reduce an existential threat to the federation they would also distribute phasers like candy.
Tar_alcaran@sh.itjust.works · 21 pts · 1d
The Federation barely hands out phaser rifles to soldiers in the middle of an existential war...
ramble81@lemmy.zip · 5 pts · 1d
Couldn’t they just replicate more weapons?
Gladaed@feddit.org · 14 pts · 1d
Depends on the plot
rumba@lemmy.zip · 3 pts · 1d
yup, the prime directive is like magic, it takes a mundane, easy-to-fix plot and turns it into a nail-biting jaunt into naughty-land
Gladaed@feddit.org · 3 pts · 1d
While also being ethically correct and hence not a needless complication of the trivial.
Gladaed@feddit.org · 8 pts · 1d
But that would never happen, since a diabolically evil story teller is required for such scenario.
People don't get strapped to tram tracks every day.
SolacefromSilence@fedia.io · 3 pts · 1d
Maybe that's what Standard Oil and GM were really trying to protect us from
Danarchy@lemmy.nz · 39 pts · 1d
Every planet stargate visited ended up with ten times the school shootings later on but they never show that
cRazi_man@europe.pub · 18 pts · 1d
School shootings only happen because they weren't given enough guns. The solution is to give them more.
SippyCup@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 1d
Yeah but half of those were Apophis showing up.
ms_lane@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 1d
Ba'al for President.
Taleya@aussie.zone · 6 pts · 1d
Still better than SGA's trail of wraith
marcos@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 1d
Hum... They talk a lot about how they destroy a lot of societies.
Even more after they cause a full-on nuclear war.
kettuli@lemmy.world · 15 pts · 1d
In Star Trek they have society shaping technology, in Stargåte they have rifles. That go pew pew. Not exactly the same thing.
leftzero@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 28 pts · 1d
Tell that to the Goa'uld system lords. Or the replicators.
Oh, wait, you can't, the fifth race went pew pew and shaped their societies out of existence.
Thebeardedsinglemalt@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 1d
Only because those societies were trying to shape everyone else out of existence
SolacefromSilence@fedia.io · 9 pts · 1d
The fifth race didn't have a problem with the Paradox of Tolerance.
ms_lane@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 1d
Nox never seemed to have an issue.
ViatorOmnium@piefed.social · 12 pts · 1d
And in Star Trek they would definitely intervene in the Goa’uld Empire situation, as they did in https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/The_Return_of_the_Archons_(episode), https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/The_Apple_(episode), or any other of the thousands of situations where the captain of the Enterprise decided to punch a god in the mouth.
Thebeardedsinglemalt@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 1d
But not so much in Justice, and in that one Picardy was like "nah, the prime directive doesn't apply to killing the son of my side piece"
bugbear@lemmy.sdf.org · 8 pts · 1d
Later on they got advanced technology that could be considered society shaping though
hzl@piefed.blahaj.zone · 5 pts · 1d
Stargate is also about a conflict with a much more advanced society that has interstellar travel and uses it to oppress as many worlds as possible. The cat is out of the bag a far as any concern about interfering goes. Also, humans are the less advanced civilization here, and a lot of the time they're arming other humans.
Einskjaldi@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 1d
The strangest thing is that special ops officer wasn't passing out old Soviet arms and camo pants like lollipops and make a human fighter resistance.
HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 1d
you neglected to mention C4
Thebeardedsinglemalt@lemmy.world · 15 pts · 1d
TBF the ones they were helping arm were already an armed rebellion against the system lords after they learned they were false gods.
Amnesigenic@lemmy.ml · 11 pts · 1d
Stargate is regime change propaganda, no I will not elaborate
rumba@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 1d
I prefer to consider it gentle prompting and instructional :)
OpenStars@discuss.online · 1 pts · 1d
I was going to say that in full fairness, their gods are actually false though...
Unless, are we considering the Ori (+Ancients = Alterans) to be closer to a literal form of god? We might need to nail down a definition on this first. Then again, they killed their asses, so perhaps humans were the real "gods" all along?
(Until we wake up, finding ourselves covered in goo and having serviced the machines by being their batteries, amidst all the weirdest, physics-defying plotlines...)
SatyrSack@quokk.au · 2 pts · 1d
Sure, the Ori are closer to gods than the Goa'uld because they actually have abilities that are effectively supernatural to our perspective. Whereas the Goa'uld just rely on stolen technology to do everything that appears supernatural. But the show made sure we understood that fancy abilities like that of the Ori still does not make one a god. They just know more about the secrets of the universe than we do.
You are right, they did cover how the definition of a "god" is a little fuzzy. But regardless of what you define as a "god", what the Ori were demanding was wrong, and they should be resisted.
OpenStars@discuss.online · 1 pts · 23h
One possibility as to what defines a "god" is a creative function. Like for a Professor Moriarty, the crew members of the Enterprise along with its computer were collectively together the effective "god". Although the counter-crosswise power differential in the relevant episodes of TNG was an interesting exploration of the concept: even though Captain Picard and even more so Geordi Laforge could have shut down Moriarty "at any time", at least under normal conditions, the plot set up conditions that were highly abnormal to place Moriarty and the crew on more equal footing, even if only temporarily.
A more common refrain is that a "god" is something that is worshipped by some group of people - like a crocodile or hippopotamus could be considered a "god" to primitive proto-humans in that light. It is thus a device only useful as a quick explanatory function (don't mess with the god - it'll fuck you up with its huge powerful jaws or clawed feet!) until a society outgrows the need for such, and relentless curiosity demands a more precise understanding of what the large powerful being actually is.
But then after that, are there other "gods" - akin to whether there exists any magic as a source of wonderment - as one evolves further upwards? I guess we'll find out!! :-D