I'd always suspected that if I knew a damned thing about ancient Egypt or Cimmeria that what we were seeing would be so inaccurate that change would be the only fanwank. And Daniel's often dealing with altered alphabets, and in the times where he's dealing with translations it's never as easy as stasis would imply.

Basically, I figure that the societies are similar enough to what Daniel knows so that he has a launch point, but different enough that there's a challenge for the ep.

It hadn't occurred to me to see them as frozen. Though I can see the Go'auld having a freezing effect on the cultures, especially since they weren't going for cultural obliteration, because they had to keep being the same gods they were hundreds or thousands of years ago. Too much change would serve them ill. I hadn't really thought on it, though.

Thing is, they're immediately identifiable as specific Earth societies, right?

Whereas almost any group I can think of from 1500 years ago has changed so much since that time (yes, in part due to exposure to other cultures) that it would be unrecognizeable to their ancestors and to us as relating to those ancestors. At least in everything but gross physical description, and even there I wonder: people move, after all.

Thing is, they're immediately identifiable as specific Earth societies, right?

I guess I'm just very unrigourous about it. If they're not identifiable, either Daniel has no job, or it's all about Daniel doing his very difficult job.

Also, now that I think about it, their rulers have a vested interest in hamstringing change. The gods are identical to thousands of years ago, after all.

But I don't have enough archeology or anthropology to make a strong point. It's one of those devices that doesn't bother me, just as universal translators don't bother you.

Also, now that I think about it, their rulers have a vested interest in hamstringing change. The gods are identical to thousands of years ago, after all.

True. But as an anthropologist (well, by degree, anyway), I'd love to have someone at least once, go, "You know, this is very very odd." Instead they act as if it's to be expected, and it's so very not.

::shrugs::

As you say, it's not enough to make me dislike the show, but it's like the gravity issue in Firefly: every once in a while I wish someone would take the time to show me the writers recognize the problem.

I wish someone would take the time to show me the writers recognize the problem.

They did mention the problem, but went back to ignoring it. Wormhole X-Treme must have been very cathartic.

That having been said, I differ from you there too. Unless the mention is a fix (which I can't see happening -- it would probably overcomplicate the structure). If it is very odd, then we (for all values of we that equal I) need to know why. Otherwise, I'll tuck it in the box of devices and move on. I can only handle the Lampshade Hanging in a comedic treatment.

They did mention the problem, but went back to ignoring it.

The problem of the static societies? Ah. I haven't seen that episode, perhaps.

Wormhole X-Treme must have been very cathartic.

Indeed. I'm reminded by a recent post on LJ by tightropegirl, who's a staff writer for a genre show, that the writers really do make an effort to address a lot of the plot holes we notice. It's just that they can't include it all, and choices get made about what to lose along the way. ::shrugs::

The problem of the static societies?

They did mention the "but everyone speaks English!" thing, sorry. Not the static society, as much as I can remember.

I can't remember what that was in response to -- someone had brought up another problem with show logic, and that's how they dismissed it.

It does bother me a bit that they have Air Force technical advisors so they get all the technical military stuff right and then completely disregard any realism regarding the anthropology and archaeology. Would it kill them to look up carbon dating just once? It doesn't. work. for stone. They've done that so many times it hurts. I noticed the same mistake on Buffy once though.

I can't remember what that was in response to -- someone had brought up another problem with show logic, and that's how they dismissed it.

I think it was a sarcastic props person, responding to Martin's demand that the apples be spray-painted a different color because "they're alien".

Consuela, I'm with you; it does bug me, and I do wish they'd take a pass at explaining it. I mean, if it were hunter-gatherer cultures, I wouldn't really have a problem, because they do tend to stay fairly static (I think). Mind you, "Ancient Egyptian" spans, what, several thousand years? Still, the idea that none of the transplanted groups changed at all is so incredible I just try to ignore it. For one thing, if there are as few people as we keep seeing, I'd expect them to be living at subsistence level!

But from now on I'm wanking the "frozen by the Goa'uld." Cause it makes a kind of show sense, and I like it. Even if it doesn't explain Cimmeria -- wait! Protected Planets Treaty!

if it were hunter-gatherer cultures, I wouldn't really have a problem, because they do tend to stay fairly static (I think).

Here comes the archaeology geek bit. This is a simplification that grew out of the Colonial anthropology of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Hunter-gatherer societies can be extremely complex and dynamic, and show as much, if not more, variety and agency as agriculturalist peoples.

Sorry, I'll shut up now.