At 09:41 AM Sunday 11/27/2005, Robert Seeberger wrote:
Warren Ockrassa wrote:
>
>
> I love the new BSG. I really do. It has complex character
> development
> and a storyline that is mercifully bereft of the "reset button" at
> episode's end. But damn, would it be so hard to not have dumpsters
> in
> the background when shooting dialogue in some "alien" world's back
> alley?
I have to disagree here.
These are human worlds even if these people are not terrestrials, so
why not dumpsters, shopping carts, wheels made of rubber, or even
Doh!, doughnuts?
Watching the show, I see no aliens, I see us.
So if the solutions they use are often identical to solutions we use,
what of it?
Dumpsters are a design driven by pursuit of efficiency for the purpose
of garbage collection. Why should we be surprised to see that garbage
collection is done the same wherever humans live?
I noticed the dumpsters on Caprica. I also saw cars, warehouses,
streets, military vehicles and what-have-you, and have no doubts you
might also see port-a-potties.
In the scenes in question, buildings in the background are also
typical 20th century warehouse/factory construction. Is this also
problematic for you?
It's not for me. Driving around my town, I can easily find buldings
built in every decade of the last century, and know of one building
still standing that was built in the mid 19th century. We have several
here built in the early 19th century (though they are preservations to
be quite honest).
OK, having said all that and posed minor questions, let me make a more
salient point here.
Being involved in construction and having some awareness of the
"utility" aspects of man made objects, I note that the older a
building is the more likely it is to have been built with permanancy
in mind. Newer buildings are constructed with a defined lifespan. In
those terms, the WTC were temporary constructions as are all "tall"
buildings built since.(And most before) This trend applies across the
construction industry to all sorts of installations.
>From this, it should be understood that older buildings tend to stick
around longer than newer buildings.
So......in the Galactica universe, where the 12 worlds are all
colonies, this effect would be exagerated. Buildings built soon after
the establishment of a colony might still be in use over a much longer
term, even though they are built to a more temporary standard.
This to me, makes the dialogue scenes in front of 50s era warehouses
more realistic than the scenes where someones idea of futuristic
settings is edited into the background. Blade Runner is a very good
example of how the past intrudes into the future to create a sense of
realism that stays with you.
So why not dumpsters?
After a lengthy period of isolation, though, why should all of their
artifacts look exactly like those found in contemporary North
America? Even on Earth, you can tell a difference between the
scenery, the clothing, etc., when you travel to Europe, Asia, Africa,
. . ., even after centuries of contact and trade. Why should the
people on a planet where the people have not had contact with Earth
in so long that no one from either world knows of the other world
except as an ancient legend just happen to wear suits and ties that
look exactly like what some people on Earth wear, when styles in
other parts of Earth and little more than a century ago in the parts
of Earth where they are worn today look so different?
--Ronn! :)
"Since I was a small boy, two states have been added to our country
and two words have been added to the pledge of Allegiance... UNDER
GOD. Wouldn't it be a pity if someone said that is a prayer and that
would be eliminated from schools too?"
-- Red Skelton
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