Hey, let's talk gender politics.
Sam's portrayal in this episode is 100% a product of the Strong Female Character™, by which I mean she's a woman doing "man stuff." This is a pretty common trend in 90s feminism, characterizing women as being "as good as" men and male coding themselves rather than including their gender as part of their greatness. Even Sam is buying into this lightweight feminism, telling Turghan, "I am a warrior and a scholar. I do the work of men." This is a repeat of her standing up to the boys during her introduction, shooting off to Kawalsky, "I played with dolls when I was a kid," and of course the infamous "reproductive organs on the inside" line. All of this combines to create a character who seems to reject her gender, possibly because for her whole life she's been told that who she is as it relates to her gender is "wrong." (No, I'm not overly identifying, what?)
This episode might be the first step in her discovering that "women's work" is not lesser work, that learning how to cook, weave, and dye isn't inferior to doing the work of a warrior or a scholar. Turghan tells her, "The spirits have brought you here to teach you how to be a woman," and while he said that as an utter asshole, I think this episode is the first in Sam's character growth of embracing her gender. (The next major moment that challenges her preconceptions comes after blending with Jolinar and incorporating Jolinar's experiences of being gender fluid, thus expanding Sam's mind about gender presentation and what that means.)
While the sexism in SG-1 is sometimes frustrating, Sam's journey is actually more progressive than I've ever given it credit for being.
A few last notes of significance:
- This is Daniel's first "incredible opportunity to study an ancient culture up close." Daniel, I love you, you nerd.
- I love that everyone fully backs Daniel's bluff that Sam is their chieftain. No one even bats an eyelash.
- It's very clear that SOP for SG teams is based on the repeated gaffs and near catastrophic events caused by SG-1 in their first year of operation—in this episode: kidnapping mostly as a result of not using the buddy system.
Quote of the Week:
- Teal'c: What is an Oprah?
Planetary Tally: SG-1 gates to Simarka, and Jack mentions a mission to P3X-595 on which Sam drank something that made her take off something
Series Total: 5
In Fashion: SG-1 wears green BDUs with flak helmets on their mission, and Sam goes native (like any of us could forget that blue dress)
Next up: 1.05 The Broca Divide
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chasethestars
chasethestars
Comments
This makes it incredibly difficult for me to analyze her character arc through the show, because usually I am loving A) The idea of Sam Carter, B) What Amanda Tapping did with her and C) my headcanon for her, with anything vaguely resembling writers' intent bringing up the rear!
I loved the fighting in this ep and how Jack backed her up. For the rest of it, I kind of cringe and have a hard time engaging with it without dealing a whole lot of stuff that's out of the frame of the story.
I totally respect your idea that Sam was grappling with Doing Femaleness Wrong, but since that's not my headcanon for her.... I got nuthin.
Thank you so much for doing these recaps. I am loving it.
Honestly, some of these early eps are just tough. It feels like the writers constantly have one foot jammed in their mouths.
I think it's part of why I cringe at how quickly young women today still do the "I'm not like other girls" routine. We should be beyond this. Yet instead of progress, it feels like a throwback to this era when wanting respect meant putting down other women. Even some of the modern "nonbinary" language is often voiced in ways that actually emphasize ridiculously outdated stereotypes.
I've had a story kicking around in the back of my head since this episode aired and I started to write it and never finished. I never really came up with a plot. But I started the world building of it, I knew the embarrassing moments where the guys would have to wear the awful outfits and Jack would be self-conscious that Teal'c and Daniel looked better in their stupid outfits than he did in his stupid outfit. And Sam was going to be completely unsympathetic, "Oh, it's a problem now when you feel objectified?"
EDIT: Oh, argh. Just re-watched this. I'd forgotten that it ended with a violent fight. I mean, I get them wanting to show that Sam was a badass, but it accidentally underscores the idea that women who are not strong enough to physically fight a man don't deserve respect.
Edited (more commentary after re-watching ep) 2019-07-13 08:38 pm (UTC)
I hope the arc works out like you wanted it to, but even if it does, it's going to be sort of by accident. The best thing you could say about the team is that they evolved right along with progressive theories on feminism, which is possibly more than other creative teams do with long-running shows.
But there is for sure an evolution to Sam's character in which she is allowed to present as female more often. I think this is mostly a result of Amanda Tapping advocating for herself and her character.
Oh, HELLS yes.