Monoculture

The incomparable Túrin Húrinson — who cannot be compared to anything — writes about a longstanding problem with science fiction. He calls it the problem of scale. I call it monoculture. But it’s really the same problem, the exact same constant irritant against my skin: the lack of cultural diversity in science fiction universes presenting adventure on the scale of lightyears. As Túrin says, each city seems to be the only city on the planet. Each culture seems to be the only culture. Each country seems to be the only country, or there are, at best, maybe two or three countries (but then only if there’s about to be a giant war, a’la season six of Stargate SG-1). There is very little sense that things can happen on a smaller scale.

There’s more problems, on a deeper level. There are the 12 Colonies, each with their own distinct culture (though I can only remember a few distinct characterizations – Gemenon is religious, Caprica is the capital, Saggitaron was oppressed, uh…). But these are entire planets! Does anyone think that if there were eleven other planets as densely populated as Earth, that that would mean Earth’s culture would become homogenous? Hell no. There would just be many, many more cultures out there.

Part of the problem, of course, is the very nature of the show; it wants to depict a civilization of only a few thousand people travelling across a distance of hundreds of light-years (and this is what it would take, nevermind the Cylon’s claim that they were “an entire light-year away” when they found out where New Caprica was. Gimme a break. Alpha Centauri – the nearest planet to Earth – is 4.6 light-years away). Each different planet and star system is really more on the level of a city-state in Greece in the ancient Mediterranean. Or, in what is a more apt analogy, on the level of the 12 tribes of Israel when they made the exodus from Egypt. BG never really wanted to portray what a civilization that spread across 12 planets and multiple star systems would be like.

But of course this isn’t just a problem with Battlestar Galactica. Consider Star Trek – every episode I’ve seen involving a planet treats it like there is one city on the planet, just one civilization to deal with. Star Wars is the same way; Tattoine is “small village in the desert”, Coruscant is “large city”, Naboo is “seaside city”, etc.

He’s right, of course, but the problem is bigger than he might be realizing. In Star Trek, we have numerous monocultural planets, but we also have entire monocultural lightyear-spanning empires. The Klingons, for instance; near as I can tell, they have no subject races in their empire. It’s just the Klingons. And their civilization doesn’t even make any sense. In a culture that only values warriors, why would anyone become a plumber, doctor, scientist, engineer, entertainer, hardware store owner, or garage door repairman? How do their starships even work? I have my own fanon theories, but that’s all they are: my own speculation regarding how such a society could eve exist.

And then we have planets like Risa, which seems to consist entirely of beaches. And of course, let’s not forget the planet Angel I, whose capital city was apparently the template for dozens of cities across the galaxy, including Starbase 515, Malcor III, Krios, Klaestron, and Banea. I’ve always wanted to see a science fiction series that depicts as honestly as it can the numerous cultures that would undoubtedly appear as mankind spread itself across the stars. It would be beautiful.