A review by jennicakes
Cylons in America : Critical Studies in Battlestar Galactica by Eftychia Papanikolaou, Christopher Deis, Chris Dzialo, Elizabeth Johnston, Alison Peirse, Kevin J. Wetmore Jr., Kevin McNeilly, Matthew Wheeland, Tama Leaver, C.W. Marshall, Robert W. Moore, Erika Johnson-Lewis, Brian L. Ott, Carla Kungl, Rikk Mulligan, Matthew Gumpert, Lorna Jowett, Tiffany Potter, Jim Casey, Suzanne Scott, Carl Silvio

4.0

Read about an essay a day on my lunch .75-hour. It's divided into the three sections, with the first and third sections being full of really engaging stuff, and the second section consisting of the same essay, over and over again. All used the exact same examples from the series and quoted the same theorists (mainly Donna Haraway), and suffered from similar holes - I didn't think the fact that Cylons can't die was obscure knowledge, but it was conveniently forgotten in some of the many arguments on othering.

Would have enjoyed this more if I had read it after season 3, before the series, and, specifically, our knowledge of what Cylons are, changed so radically. Some of the best essays are about race (actual treatment of Asian and Black characters, not "omgz Cylons are the Otherrrrrr!!!"), music, and the way the political landscape of the series changed as American politics changed in the early aughts.

I hope another collection like this gets published. Not least because I hope I'm in it, ha!.