Commentary & Questions about Season 1 episode TKO

One thing about TKO that doesn't make sense...

Humans are not allowed in the Mutai, but why? There are references in the episode to some kind of suffering and bloodshed that is shared among the races of the Mutari. That makes me wonder which races are Mutari and which ones aren't Murati.

Can the Centauri participate, or the Minbari? Is it mostly just a League of Non-Aligned Worlds thing, and if so, why didn't they just say that? Let's just say that all non-Human races--even the Minbari & Centauri--can participate, then what is the one thing that makes Humans unworthy.

If it has to do with strength or fighting skill, that's pretty weak. It's an old sci-fi cliche that aliens are usually stronger than Humans, but it would be going too far to say Humans are the weakest of them all. And as far as fighting skills, the alien fighting methods don't seem that different from Humans, and most of the races still have two feet, two fists, and two eyes to work with, just like Humans.

On the other hand, if the Mutai is for the League (or the younger, less widespread races, in general), shouldn't they have more respect for Humans since it was Earth that helped the League survive the Dilgar War? I would say that the Dilgar War would count as common bloodshed that might qualify Humans for the honor of being Mutari.

I guess I'm just looking for deeper meaning behind something that looks kind of cliche. It just seems too easy, in terms of making the story sympathetic to the viewer, to make the issue a Human vs. non-Human thing. If it were explained that some other races are also not allowed, or if there were some specific reason given that Humans are out, then I could deal with that.

Think about it this way... If we were all Drazi, on the Drazi homeworld, watching a Drazi-written episode of a Drazi-produced TV show about a Drazi space station of peace in neutral territory, would this same episode have been about Drazi not being allowed in the Mutari, or would it still be about some alien race known as Humans not being allowed in?

That's one thing that sets B5 apart from a lot of sci-fi shows, especially Star Trek. In Trek, humans are the mack-daddies and the story is all about us; the aliens are just thrown in as oddities that make Humans look that much more normal, righteous, and well-rounded. However, B5 really is about Minbari, Centauri, Narns, Vorlons, and Shadows almost as much as it is about Humans, and all those races are treated seriously. Humans are just a part of the tapestry, and we're not the most powerful things around (even if, thanks to our main characters, we do end up being pretty important in the grand scheme of things).

The story about the Mutai just kind of falls short of that vision. It's portrayed as an all-alien thing, Humans being wrongly and apparantly singularly prohibited, and no real reason is given. If Humans were allowed in, but the Llort or Hyach weren't, we as Humans watching the episode probably wouldn't care about the discrimination. That's a good justification for how we, as Humans, should feel watching the episode as it is written but not good enough justification for writing it that way in the first place.

The Mutai still ended up being somewhat interesting, but I just wish there were details on who's in, who's out, and why.

I *think* that it's more an attitude thing perhaps; that humans have an attitude that is innapropriate to the Mutai?

Like when Occidental and Oriental cultures first met, I'm sure that martial artists of the east refused to teach Westerners, believing they lacked the subtelty of thought, or the philosophically enlightened attitude which they saw as integral to their art.

Also, if the races already competing have been doing so for centuries, then the reason could be no stronger than tradition? this means that there would naturally be no logical reason for it, it's just the way things are done, until something out of the ordinary happens, to break tradition.

Just my thoughts...

VB.

I think something was once mentioned about Minbari being allowed to participate but not bothering to... it's not their deal.

Re: Commentary & Questions about Season 1 episode

Every society is capable of xenophobia. Of forming mostly mistaken perceptions and clinging to them... even if there is no objectively provable reason. Of fearing change, and shunning what originates from outside.

Humans do it -- both in current reality and the story of "Babylon 5". Our capacity for curiosity... is limited. Curiosity is learnable... but difficult to develop, when conditions do not favour learning it.

Why should aliens differ? It appears that many of those who practised the sport of Mutai... had developed xenophobia towards new and unknown participants. This was possibly augmented by the rules of entry (into Mutai).

A precedent was needed, for them to accept a new race into their midst. A proponent of change had to overcome tradition.

Likewise, the Rangers did not accept anyone but Minbari. Until events confused the definition of who really is Minbari... and until Humans were needed.

Still, the newly expanded Rangers did not initially accept other races... until after the Shadow war, when they possibly ran out of people, and had to accommodate for more diversity to gain greater reach.

Tradition easily outgrows the role of maintaining useful things... and enters the role of deterring innovation.

Interesting trivia on this ep: "Walker Smith" is the real name of Sugar Ray Robinson.

I think you're over-analyzing a little bit. First, of course all those in the Mutai have two legs and two arms, for the same reason that most scifi races do, namely, human actors are playing them.

I actually liked the Mutai part of TKO. To me, it is simply about racism, tradition, and respect. Walker-Smith has no real respect for the aliens, and their traditions, he calls them "snake heads." Humans are new to the other races, so the Mutai, with its old traditions, has no respect for humans. There is also more than a hint of racism on both sides. The end result is that Walker-Smith learns to respect aliens and their traditions, and the Mutai learns to respect him, and humans.

Racism isn't exactly an unusual theme, so I guess you could call it cliched, but I like the fact that it is a human who finds he is on the receiving end of prejudice, from the aliens he considers a bit less than human. It might be more effective if Walker-Smith were white, but then it would be somewhat less believable, since white heavy weight champs have been in rather short supply for some time! And yes, I know that there ARE white martial arts champions, but in the common view, boxing is THE major sport.

Re: Commentary & Questions about Season 1 episode

It might be more effective if Walker-Smith were white, but then it would be somewhat less believable, since white heavy weight champs have been in rather short supply for some time!

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Or perhaps it was just that Greg McKinney was the best actor to audition for the role and therefore got the part. Deliberately casting a white actor in preference to a black one because it might be "more effective" would be a big no-no.



I always read into the "no humans allowed in the mutai" thing that they somehow felt humans were inferior, and my instinct was that it had to do with our perceived irrationality, impulsiveness and fiery temperament being inconsistent with the more considered, philosophical (martial arts type) approach of the mutai.

That kind of "prejudice" cannot be logically explained.

Re: Commentary & Questions about Season 1 episode

I think the Human exclusion was based on a number of things, few of them having anything to do with race or "characteristics" imputed to Humans.

1) The Mutai probably evolved among what are now members of the League over hundreds of years. Humans are relative newcomers to space travel, having been sold hyperspace technology (which probably would have taken us a couple of more centuries to develop on our own) a mere hundred years ago. And they didn't really make a splash on the stage of history until the Dilgar war around 70 years after that, so Humans have only been a force to be reckoned with for about 30 years at the time of "TKO".

2) While the johnny-come-lately Humans did tip the balance of the war against the Dilgar and give the League a victory when they seemed to be on the edge of defeat (a minor echo of Valen's role in the previous Shadow War) the aliens couldn't be expected to react to this with unalloyed joy and gratitude. These comparatively ancient cultures had just been rescued by a brash young race that they probably looked down on in various ways - and they didn't like being reminded of it. Excluding the Humans from things like the Mutai is one way for the aliens to express their collective superiority to the Humans. JMS drew a very clear parallel between what the Dilgar War meant to Earth in his story and what WWI meant to the United States in world affairs. The reaction of the League worlds, including in matters like the Mutai, is also reflected in the reaction of the Europeans after WWI, who were both grateful and resentful towards the Americans who had helped rescue them from their own folly.

Regards,

Joe

Re: Commentary & Questions about Season 1 episode

Perhaps humans have a lower tolerance for cheese.

Re: Commentary & Questions about Season 1 episode

Perhaps humans have a lower tolerance for cheese.

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And an important part of the opening ceremony of the Mutai (cut, alas, for lack of time) was the ritual "cutting the cheese"!

Re: Commentary & Questions about Season 1 episode

That was a very weird post , Joe. First you state:

I think the Human exclusion was based on a number of things, few of them having anything to do with race or "characteristics" imputed to Humans.

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Then you give two paragraphs of the historical reasons for their prejudice against humans, their race, and characteristics. That, and their tradition, which I also mentioned in my post. I remain convinced that JMS WAS making a point about racial prejudice in TKO. Just because you can point to logical, historical roots for racism doesn't mean it doesn't exist. It was also clear that Walker-Smith's "snakeheads" was meant as a racial epithet.

Re: Commentary & Questions about Season 1 episode

That was a very weird post

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Not at all. The first paragraph was about why the Humans weren't in on the Mutai from the start, the second the political and social tensions between the humans and the aliens, and the aliens' air of cultural superiority. None of which necessarily has anything to do with "racism" properly defined and understood. I think excluding the Humans from the Mutai would be more akin to excluding the U.S.from World Cup play on politico-social groundsthan excluding blacks from Major League Baseball in the U.S. on racial ones.

Regards,

Joe

Re: Commentary & Questions about Season 1 episode

Perhaps humans have a lower tolerance for cheese.

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No!!! Don't say that!!!!

Interesting ideas. Now let me throw out a new idea: this story is not a non-arc story, but rather a part and parcel of the story of humans getting respect amongst the LNAW.
Later, the allegience of the LNAW to the "earth rebels" is critical. They are preconditioned to support earth rebels by Walker Smith.