While watching the second episode of Caprica (we’re still newly discovering it here in the land of delayed telecast) I had a nagging thought each time I saw the nascent examination of monotheism, through Zoe and Lacy, in a polytheistic society. The thought was: ‘What does this remind me of?’ Then I realised: the turbulent reign of the pharaoh Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV) in Egypt during the years 1350 to 1334 BCE.
For those of you who haven't heard of Akhenaten, here's the short version: New Kingdom Egypt (a land of conquest of surrounding lands, particularly Nubia, and many gods, particularly Amun) was humming along nicely as a polytheistic society until Amenhotep IV decided that he didn't like the idea of worshipping many gods and wanted to worship just the one god: Aten, the sun. He changed his name to Akhenaten, moved the capital from Thebes to Amarna (Akhetaten - no doubt the 'aten' suffix is becoming obvious) and set about removing references to 'gods'. The priests of Amun, who had previously been the 'main' god, didn't like it very much, as they'd enjoyed lives of privilege and power as the gatekeepers of Amun. And, it seems, others weren't so keen either: Akhenaten has been depicted in artworks from the time as a weak, diseased ruler in thrall to his consort, Nefertiti. The downfall of Akhenaten eventually led to the reign of the boy-king Tutankhamun (notice the -amun? - yes, it was back to business as usual).
I've said 'downfall' because there's no completely reliable evidence that Akhenaten died while on the throne. There is a fascinating book (now out of print) called Moses, Pharaoh of Egypt by Ahmed Osman. Osman is no conspiracy theorist - he methodically looks at the archaeological and written evidence to deduce that, facing the uprising of the priests of Amun and many others, Akhenaten left the capital with his followers in search of a new home. Osman posits that the pharaoh was actually the historical figure Moses. And, as we know, Moses was big on monotheism.
If those last two paragraphs have interested you at all, it's because the life of Akhenaten makes a great story that is as compelling now, millennia later, as it was then. What fascinates me is that this story has parallels in modern television making - or, at least, that I found a parallel. It's also fascinating - or depressing, however you want to look at it - that we're still grappling with all the same 'big questions' as those ancient societies did, and I recommend the study of ancient history for that reason. The Greek playwrights, such as Aeschylus and Sophocles, could be relied upon for story ideas for centuries to come because they covered it all, really. Any drama you could think of, it's there in their writing. The stakes were high in Lysistrata; there were high for Akhenaten; they are high on the planet of Caprica and in the series too, as well as in Battlestar Galactica, where there was serious discussion about the role of religion and mythology in a society that was struggling to survive.
Humans look to stories to illuminate their lives and to help them understand existence; they also need them for escapism. Perhaps we look to religion for the same thing. This post has meandered a bit off course but I guess what I'm trying to say is that in watching the unfolding monotheism/polytheism struggle on television, I feel connected to an ancient society that was itself trying to find its way. Perhaps its reassuring that the same stories are being told and the same issues discussed - humans now and humans in the 1300s BCE have so much in common. The past isn't even another country - it's just a suburb away. And so is the future.
Damn - news just in that Caprica has been canned.
ReplyDeleteThe whole take on the god/gods religious questions of how societies cope with and incorporate religions and religious fundies just hasn't dragged in enough viewers & Sy-Fy isn't going to give it more time to find them.
This is disappointing on a lot of levels.
It's a signal that slow and detailed world building, something which is the backbone of written Sci-Fi, isn't given that much room to breathe on Sy-Fy Tv. And that shows that are about ideas, rather than more straightforward conflict, aren't given the luxury of time to develop those ideas. (Unlike, say, The Wire on HBO.)
Just saw this video grab with the creators of Caprica talking about the role of religion in the show and I thought it develops the ideas Sophie has written about here.
http://video.syfy.com/shows/caprica/video_blogs_2/one-true-god--caprica/v1254012
Fascinating that they specifically say that the religious themes arose directly from the the events of 9/11. Most TV responses to 9/11 have been along the lines of violent revenge porn like 24. Few have bothered to actually engage with the ideas that drove and continue to drive terrorism.
So, BSG and Caprica were a case of Sci-Fi, once again, going places that many other forms of story telling either can't or won't go.
The writers and producers discuss that in Caprica they saw the dramatic conflict coming from ideas about religion rather than the space battle conflict of BSG. This is conflict of philosophy - being played out, as the opening episode showed, quite violently.
The differentiation between the monotheistic religion and the STO was sounding very much like the fraught politics of identity in somewhere like Northern Ireland - where you could be Catholic but not necessarily IRA, but also not necessarily against the IRA.
The echoes of the story of Akhenaten are indeed rich, as Sophie has pointed out. Walking through the remains of holy cities like Karnak you have such a sense of of being put firmly into a universal perspective. Massive buildings spread out across acres, temples, statues, colonnades, an industry of religion to praise a bunch of gods.
I kept wondering what they were thinking now, Isis, Osiris, Amun and Ra and company. From thousands of voices calling their names, in fear and trembling, to suddenly being plunged into a long silence, ignored and forgotten, only to be reawakened to hear themselves described as artefacts and tourist attractions.
Religion, what it means, what it does and how it ends is such a fabulously rich world of storytelling.
Such a shame that Caprica's story is being cut off too soon.