Friday, May 18, 2007

Battlestar Paper

So I'm writing a paper for the Blackwell volume on Battlestar Galactica and philosophy (my original proposal is here) and the author guidelines really push you to keep to the style of the series. Example: "Contributors should keep to the popular culture topic. Ideally, the topic should be mentioned several times on every page. At a minimum, don’t let a page go by without mentioning the popular culture topic at least once." I am of course glad to do so, but I really want to stick to the fun aspects of the style and avoid the pandering.

So the first decision along these lines has come up. They changed my title from the ponderous "Gaius Baltar and the Image of the Tyrant in Plato and Boethius" to "Being Your Own Worst Enemy: Baltar and the Image of the Tyrant." I'm down with having a catchphrase for the supertitle, but I want a better one than "Being Your Own Worst Enemy." Any suggestions?

Update: The new title is: "What a strange little man": Baltar and the Image of the Tyrant

4 comments:

MT said...

Here are a few fragments you might find useful:

Tyrant as Self-defeatist
Tyranny as Tragedy
(Tyrant as Tragic Figure)
The Ambivalent Tyrant
The Tyrant Who Just Wanted to be Loved.

The Friend of My Enemy is My Friend Too.

Misguided Machiavelli
Idiot Mastermind

Breena Ronan said...

I like the new title. I'm excited to read the finished article.

Anonymous said...

I like the new title. Is it a quote from the show?

Rob Helpy-Chalk said...

It's the line D'Anna Biers gives as Baltar walks away from a really awkward exchange with her.