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Editing Race and Ethnicity in the Twelve Colonies

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{{disline|This article discusses an aspect of the [[Re-imagined Series]] version of the Twelve Colonies. For information on the [[Original Series]] version, see [[The Twelve Colonies of Man]].}}
''At the Battlestar Wiki, we recognize that race is a problematic concept without any concrete biological definition. Nevertheless, the topic of racial identity in the [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)|Twelve Colonies]] has proven of interest to many fans of the show. Therefore, this page serves to review the information available as best as possible.''


 
''In this article, we have chosen to indicate race by apparent region of origin, within the following broadly defined categories: European, (Sub-saharan) African, Middle Eastern, South Asian, East Asian, and Native American / Amerindian. Where bi- or multi-racial individuals are noted, component ethnicities are listed in alphabetical order. Individuals of apparently [[Wikipedia:Hispanic|Hispanic]] appearance are noted as biracial Amerindian/Europeans. Issues relating to the Adama family are briefly discussed in their own section at the end of the article.''
 
{{Twelve Colonies Series}}
''At Battlestar Wiki, we recognize that race is a problematic concept without any concrete biological definition. Nevertheless, the topic of racial identity in the [[The Twelve Colonies of Kobol|Twelve Colonies]] has proven of interest to many fans of the show. Therefore, this page serves to review the information available as best as possible.''
 
''In this article, we have chosen to indicate race by apparent region of origin, within the following broadly defined categories: European, (Sub-Saharan) African, Middle Eastern, South Asian, East Asian, and (Native) American. Where bi- or multi-racial individuals are noted, component ethnicities are listed in alphabetical order. Issues relating to the Adama family are briefly discussed in their own section near the end of the article.''
 
 
 
Colonials whose appearances correspond to various real-world ethnicities appear in the [[Re-imagined Series]] and ''[[Caprica (series)|Caprica]]''. As yet, no reference has been made to race, nor any allusions to racial identities or racial discrimination, as it would be defined in the real world. Tensions between different Colonies are portrayed, and are called racial, but there appears to be as much variation in appearance within colonies as there is between them. Thus, the writers use differences between the colonies, as exemplified by [[Gemenon]] and [[Sagittaron]], to mirror real-world race issues. In "[[The Woman King]]" {{callsign|Helo}} uses the term "racist" to describe the Sagittaron-hating [[Dr. Robert]]. In the ''[[Caprica pilot|Caprica]]'' pilot, [[Joseph Adama]] asks if [[Val Chambers]] is making a "racial comment" about Joseph's Tauron ancestry.
 
The two finalists for the part of {{callsign|Starbuck}} were [[Grace Park]] and [[Katee Sackhoff]], implying that, for some parts at least, the producers employed [[w:Color-blind casting|color-blind casting]]. Nevertheless, analysis of the ethnic mix of the Twelve Colonies has intrigued fans of the series.
 
{{RDM twelve colonies series}}__TOC__
==Race and Nationality==
==Race and Nationality==
In general, no clear associations have been made between particular ethnic groups and individual colonies. Furthermore, there is some evidence within the series that race and colony of origin are not strongly correlated - when Baltar attempts to guess at Boomer's place of origin in "[[Flesh and Bone]]," he comments on her accent, not her physical appearance. For more on this, see the article [[Language in the Twelve Colonies]].
In general, no clear associations have been made between particular ethnic groups and individual colonies. Thus far, Caprica's population does appear to be substantially of European appearance, and Gemenon's substantially African, but these patterns are not exception-less. Furthermore, there is some evidence within the series that race and colony of origin are not strongly correlated - when Baltar attempts to guess at Boomer's place of origin in "[[Flesh and Bone]]", he comments on her accent, not her physical appearance. For more on this, see the article [[Language in the Twelve Colonies]].


It is generally accepted that the Colonials originally emigrated from a single planet (i.e. Kobol and/or Earth). This being the case, it is entirely possible that the various apparent races are reasonably homogeneously distributed across all of the Twelve Colonies  (i.e. there are both European and African Sagittarons, Gemenese, etc. rather than all of the Europeans coming from one tribe/colony, all the Asians from another, etc).
It is generally accepted that the Colonials originally emigrated from a single planet (i.e. Kobol and/or Earth). This being the case, it is entirely possible that the various apparent races are reasonably homogeneously distributed across all of the Twelve Colonies  (i.e. there are both European and African Sagittarons, Gemenons, etc. rather than all of the Europeans coming from one tribe/colony, all the Asians from another, etc).


What follows is a list of individuals whose colony of origin has been unambiguously identified, along with their apparent ethnicity.
What follows is a list of individuals whose colony of origin has been unambiguously identified, along with their apparent ethnicity.


===Aerilon===
===Aerelon===
*[[Sharon Valerii]] - east Asian (purported, actually a [[humanoid Cylon]] infiltrator)
*[[Sharon Valerii (Galactica copy)|Sharon Valerii]] - east Asian (purported, actually a [[Cylon agent]] infiltrator)
*[[Sekou Hamilton]] - African
*[[Sekou Hamilton]] - mixed race, African/European (Based on his skin tone and accent, the actor, Biski Gugushe, would probably be identified as a light-skinned African-American.)
*[[Gaius Baltar]] - European
*[[Socinus]] - American and European
*[[Saul Tigh]] - European (purported, actually a humanoid Cylon)
 
===Canceron===
===Canceron===
*[[Robin Wenutu]] - European
*[[Robin Wenutu]] - European
===Caprica===
===Caprica===
*[[William Adama]] - American and European
*[[William Adama]] - mixed race, Amerindian/European
:''The actor, Edward James Olmos, would probably be identified as "Latino," "mestizo," or "Hispanic". Olmos is a social activist working to help the Hispanic-American community, Olmos has made favorable remarks about having the opportunity to play one of the first significant Latino characters in space.''
:''The actor, Edward James Olmos, would probably be identified as "Latino", "mestizzo", or "Hispanic". Olmos is a social activist working to help the Hispanic-American community, Olmos has made favorable remarks about having the opportunity to play one of the first significant Latino characters in space.''
*[[Carolanne Adama]] - European
*[[Caroline Adama]] - European
**[[Lee Adama|Lee]] and [[Zak Adama]] - their children, see [[#The Adama Brothers|note]] below.
**[[Lee Adama|Lee]] and [[Zak Adama]] - their children, see [[#The Adama Brothers|note]] below.
*[[Laura Roslin]] - European
*[[Laura Roslin]] - European
*[[Kara Thrace]] - European (Born on Picon according to Sky One; nomadic childhood; this info is not confirmed.)
*[[Kara Thrace]] - European (Born on Picon according to Sky One; nomadic childhood; this info is not confirmed.)
*[[Aaron Doral]] - European (purported, actually a [[humanoid Cylon]])
*[[Gaius Baltar]] - European (Born on Sagittaron according to Sky One, but this info is not confirmed.  Given that Baltar was elected as Quorum of 12 representative for Caprica, this information from Sky One seems unreliable).
*[[Aaron Doral]] - European (purported, actually a [[Cylon agent]] infiltrator)
*[[James McManus]] - European
*[[James McManus]] - European
*[[Tory Foster]] - south Asian (purported, actually a humanoid Cylon)
*[[Tory Foster]] - south Asian
*[[Michael Robert]] - European
*[[Daniel Graystone]] - European
*[[Amanda Graystone]] - European
*[[Zoe Graystone]] - European
*[[Lacy Rand]] - European
*[[Baxter Sarno]] - European


===Gemenon===
===Gemenon===
*[[Sarah Porter]] - African
*[[Sarah Porter]] - African
*[[Venner]] - European and African
*[[Venner]] - African
*[[Galen Tyrol]] - European (purported, actually a [[humanoid Cylon]])
*[[Galen Tyrol]] - European
*[[Rya Kibby]] - European
*[[Rya Kibby]] - European
*[[Jurgen Belzen]] - European
===Picon===
===Picon===
*[[Safiya Sanne]] - East Asian (but see his article for some debate on origins)
*[[Safiya Sanne]] - east Asian (but see his article for some debate on origins)
*[[Playa Palacios]] - European
*[[Playa Palacios]] - European
*[[Asha Janik]] - European
*[[Samuel Anders]] - European (purported, actually a [[humanoid Cylon]])
===Sagittaron===
===Sagittaron===
*[[Anastasia Dualla]] - African and European
*[[Anastasia Dualla]] - African
*[[Leon Grimes]] - American and European
*[[Leon Grimes]] - mixed race, Amerindian/European
*[[Tom Zarek]] - European
*[[Tom Zarek]] - European
*[[Portia King]] - European
**[[Willie King]] - Her son, also European
*[[Jacob Cantrell]] - European
*The Sagittaron quarter of [[Camp Oil Slick]] is shown in "[[The Woman King]]" to constitute various ethnicities.
*[[Clarice Willow]] - European


===Tauron===
===Tauron===
*[[Helena Cain]] - European
*[[Helena Cain]] - European
*[[Sam Adama]] - Eastern European
*[[Joseph Adama]] - American
*[[Shannon Adama]] - European
*[[Tamara Adama]] - American and European
*[[Guatrau]] - American
*[[Tomas Vergis]] - European
*A young woman at ''Backtalk With Baxter Sarno'' - Asian
*Various members of the *[[Ha'la'tha]] - Various, mostly European and American


===Virgon===
===Virgon===
Line 86: Line 47:


==Race and Sexuality==
==Race and Sexuality==
:''An article dedicated to sexuality in the re-imagined series can be found at [[Sexuality in Battlestar Galactica (RDM)]].''
Interracial couplings seem common to the point of ubiquity, and have never been commented upon. It is interesting that such clearly defined racial groups continue to exist in light of this. Notable interracial couples:
 
Interracial couplings seem common to the point of ubiquity, and have never been commented upon. It is interesting that appearances corresponding to what in the real world are widely considered clearly definable ethnic groups continue to exist in light of this. Notable interracial couples:
*William and Caroline Adama
*William and Caroline Adama
*[[Sharon Valerii]] and [[Galen Tyrol]]
*[[Sharon Valerii (Galactica copy)|Sharon Valerii]] and [[Galen Tyrol]]
*[[Sharon Agathon|Sharon]] and {{callsign|Karl Agathon}} ([[Tahmoh Penikett]], who plays Agathon, is American and European)
*[[Sharon Valerii (Caprica copy)|Sharon Valerii]] and [[Karl Agathon]]
*Anastasia Dualla and [[Billy Keikeya]] (Keikeya is European)
*Dualla and [[Billy Keikeya]]
*Anastasia Dualla and Lee Adama
*Dualla and Lee Adama
*Tory Foster and Gaius Baltar
 
That being said, at least one individual, Kara Thrace, has only been shown in sexual relationships with individuals of her own race: [[Gaius Baltar]], [[Samuel Anders]], and the Adama brothers (although see the [[#The Adama Brothers|note]] below regarding their ethnicity).


==The Adama Brothers==
Some individuals have demonstrated an attraction to several others over the course of the series, both people of their own race and people of other races, notably [[Kara Thrace]] and [[Gaius Baltar]].
The Miniseries received some criticism for casting [[Edward James Olmos]], a dark-skinned Latino, as [[William Adama|the father]] of [[Jamie Bamber]], a pale-skinned Englishman. These points were addressed somewhat in the first season, during which viewers are briefly introduced to both [[Carolanne Adama|Carolanne]] and [[Zak Adama]]. During a dinner party in "[[Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down]]," [[Ellen Tigh]] offers her opinion that {{callsign|Lee Adama}} takes after his mother in appearance, while Zak took after his father. Since human skin pigmentation is determined by several genes which can be inherited independently, this scenario is quite plausible.
===Kara Thrace===
*Kara Thrace and Gaius Baltar
*Kara Thrace and Samuel Anders


As such, it is difficult to pigeonhole the Adama brothers as being of either European descent (as Lee appears, and his actor is) or mixed American and European (as Zak appears, and his actors have been). Where relevant, it is probably best to consider them both of approximately 1/4 American and 3/4 European descent, regardless of the genetic background of the actors who played them.
*Kara Thrace and Zak Adama
*Kara Thrace and Lee Adama (see [[#The Adama Brothers|note]] below regarding the Adama brothers' ethnicity)


In an effort to increase the resemblance between the two characters, Olmos wore blue contact eye lenses to show some genetic commonality with Bamber. Jamie Bamber also dyed his blond hair brown to more closely resemble his on-screen father.
===Gaius Baltar===
*Gaius Baltar and [[Number Six]]
*Gaius Baltar and Playa Palacios
*Gaius Baltar and Kara Thrace


=="Ethnic" Names==
*Baltar was found in bed with an east Asian woman shortly before the [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies]] in the [[Miniseries]].
*Number Six intimated that he found Sharon Valerii attractive in "[[Flesh and Bone]]" and in "[[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I]]".


Some characters have distinctly Indo-European personal names or surnames which span multiple "Earth" languages and their generally associated ethnic origins: these include first names such as [[James McManus|James]], [[William Adama|William]], [[Laura Roslin|Laura]], and [[Helena Cain|Helena]], and surnames like [[Emmitt Jones|Jones]], [[Daniel Novacek|Novacek]], [[Bryan Smith|Smith]], [[Brendan Costanza|Costanza]] and [[James McManus|McManus]].
==The Adama Brothers==
 
The miniseries received some criticism for casting Edward James Olmos, a dark-skinned Latino, as the father of Jamie Bamber, a pale-skinned Englishman. These points were addressed somewhat in the first season, during which we were briefly introduced to both Caroline and Zak Adama. During a dinner party in "[[Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down]]", [[Ellen Tigh]] offers her opinion that Lee takes after his mother in appearance, while Zak took after his father. Since human skin pigmentation is determined by several genes which can be inherited independently, this scenario is quite plausible.
Other characters have surnames that are of non-western origins, such as [[Tom Zarek|Zarek]], [[Billy Keikeya|Keikeya]], [[Royan Jahee|Jahee]] and [[Robin Wenutu|Wenutu]].
 
There are also ancient Greek, Roman and Hebrew names. Personal and surnames, names of locations in use, as well as names like "Adama" which are carry-overs from the [[Battlestar Galactica (TOS)|Original Series]]: [[Prosna]], [[Socinus]], [[Cally Henderson|Cally]], [[Playa Palacios]], [[Sharon Valerii|Valerii]], [[Karl Agathon|Agathon]], [[Kara Thrace|Thrace]], etc.
 
Often these are combined: [[Sekou Hamilton]], Cally Henderson, Billy Keikeya, [[Gaius Baltar]], William Adama, and [[Louis Hoshi]].
 
To make matters even more complicated, these names do not correspond to either ethnic or "racial" populations among the surviving Colonial citizens, nor do they align with Colonial nationalism. Not all Sagittarons have a European personal name like "Tom" and a Hebrew surname like "Zarek" and not all dark-skinned characters have non-western first names like "Sekou". Daniel Novacek (played by [[Carl Lumbly]], an actor of Jamaican origin), for instance, has an Eastern European surname. In "[[Blood and Chrome]]," when [[Xander Toth]] is mistaken for a Captain Ramirez, he rhetorically asks, "Do I look like a Ramirez?," the first suggestion that name and apparent ethnicity correspond in the Twelve Colonies.
 
It is interesting to note the prevalence of Indian/Sanskrit names such as Singh (Lion) in [[Gara Singh]], Patel (Village Chief) in [[Sasha Patel]], or Priyah (Beloved) in [[Priyah Magnus]], as well as other typically Indo-European pagan names like the Germanic Olaf (Ancestor's Heirloom) in [[Olaf Willow]]. This is interesting to note because the 12 Colonies seem to be based on ancient polytheistic Indo-European cultures (Germanic, Roman, Greek and Indian).  Scholarship over the last century has determined that many of the languages and polytheistic religions of Europe and India are related (both English and Hindi are members of the Indo-European language family for example, and Greek Zeus/Latin Jūpiter/Sanskrit Dyáus Pitā are all thought to be references to a common Proto-Indo-European deity), indicating a precursor culture known as Proto-Indo-European existed.  Sanskrit, the oldest surviving Indo-European language (today used as a liturgical language in Buddhism and Hinduism), is frequently used in religious hymns by the Colonials, and Roman/Greek alternative names like Jupiter/Zeus are used interchangeably.  The implication could be that the survivors of the Colonial exodus are the ancestors of the real Proto-Indo-European cultures who gave their language and religion to Europe, Iran and India.
 
==Notes==
For a discussion of race in BSG, see this blog post from the Radical Compounds blog:  [http://radicalcompounds.wordpress.com/2009/12/29/bsg-post-racial/ Is BSG Post-Racial or is that not even the problem? ]


{{reflist}}
As such, it is difficult to pigeonhole the Adama brothers as being of either European descent (as Lee appears, and his actor is) or mixed Amerindian/European (as Zak appears, and his actors have been). Where relevant, it's probably best to consider them both of approximately 1/4 Amerindian and 3/4 European descent, regardless of the genetic background of the actors who play them.


[[Category:A to Z]]
[[Category:A to Z]]
[[Category:Colonial]]
[[Category:Colonial History]]
[[Category:Colonial History]]
[[Category:Colonial History (RDM)]]
[[Category:Colonial Society]]
[[Category:Colonial Society]]
[[Category:Colonial Society (RDM)]]
[[Category:RDM]]
[[Category:RDM]]

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