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"Spirit Folk" comments? pforooghi@compusmart.ab.ca Okay, where do I begin? I’m afraid I have so much to say about Spirit Folk, that this review will turn into more of a rant than an objective commentary on the episode. That said, I think it would be best if I began by venting a little about the episode in general. In several of my reviews, I have submitted the idea that Janeway is being portrayed as frazzled and jaded this year due to the extended loneliness and isolation she has been subjected to all of these years her ship has been lost in the Delta Quadrant. I have used this line of reasoning to explain some of her more peculiar actions this season. Well, I’m starting to think that not only is Janeway a woman teetering on the edge, but that the writers have effectively shoved her over it, causing her to drop silently into the abyss of utter insanity. At least, they sure the heck tried to do so in this episode. I’m not entirely comfortable with the writers’ depiction of Janeway as mentally imbalanced this year, but I could live with it if she weren’t shown as being totally off her rocker. Alas, this is how Janeway appeared in this episode. The proof is in her ability to utter the sentence "I have a boyfriend who is malfunctioning" as if it were the most natural thing in the world. What’s more, I can’t see how her crew could possibly respect her as their captain after this. I mean, how can one respect a superior who is so blatantly lacking in good judgment and reason, to the point of getting herself entangled in a romance with a hologram, even when said hologram and his friends begin to wreak havoc on the ship? This must diminish Janeway in her crew’s eyes, at least it has in mine. Janeway used to be so strong and sensible, now, she is just too irrational to be an effective leader. I think the crew are slowly beginning to realize this, which will undoubtedly cause major problems between them and her in the future. Both B'Elanna and Seven could be seen with a look of condescension in their eyes when they were discussing Michael and the program in general. This, above all else, is the worst assault the writers have carried out on the Janeway character- demeaning her in her crew’s eyes, making her seem unfit for and unworthy of command, and ultimately, destroying the character’s dignity and integrity, not to mention her respect amongst her subordinates. What are the writers thinking? Alas, therein lies the problem. They have all taken a collective leave of absence from their brains! Now that I’ve gotten all that out of my system, I’m thinking that perhaps there is one way to look at this episode in order to make it more palatable. Or at the very least, somehow bearable. To do this, I turn to the infamous Dr. Sigmund Freud, and his theory of sublimation. Think what you might of Freud, but I believe he was on the right track in certain instances. In any case, his theories were certainly never dull. Anyhow, back to sublimation, and what this has to do with Janeway. By definition, sublimation involves channeling forbidden drives/desires into an acceptable medium, like art, poetry, etc.... In fact, Freud believed that Leonardo da Vinci (one of Janeway’s favorite artists. Coincidence? Who knows.) was sublimating some of his verboten desires into his artwork. I think this is how we might be able to explain why Janeway "created" Michael, and subsequently decided to pursue a romance with him. Subconsciously, or perhaps consciously, Janeway desires Seven, yet believes this to be wrong, for various reasons, mainly having to do with the fact that Seven is her crewmember. Forget the fact that technically, Seven isn’t her subordinate. Janeway believes she is, and to be involved with a subordinate is strictly against her ethical and moral code. So, what does Janeway do to alleviate the tension and inner-turmoil of wanting Seven? Channel her impulses into something else, something very safe and somewhat more acceptable. She literally creates Michael in the Fair Haven episode to her own specifications. Of course, we all know that she creates him in Seven’s exact image (personality wise, I mean. She certainly failed to replicate Seven’s stunning beauty). Perhaps Janeway is aware of this herself? I think its quite possible she knew exactly what she was doing, at least on some level. Otherwise, it may have all been subconscious. So presto, Janeway has sublimated her desire for Seven into this hologram. One might wonder why she decided to create a male hologram instead of a female one. For one thing, a female would be too obvious to Janeway (not to mention a big no-no for the homophobic audience/executives), for another, perhaps internalized homophobia hasn’t been cured in the 24th century? Could Janeway be suffering from a mild case of it? Who knows. At any rate, Michael is a very safe alternative to Seven, no matter how you look at it. In fact, he is a safer choice in more ways than one. Emotionally, he is of course much easier to deal with. Janeway can, after all, make him go away by ordering the computer to "end program" any time he starts to aggravate her. She certainly couldn’t do this with Seven, or anyone else for that matter. And there you have it, a plausible explanation for why Janeway has gotten herself entangled in this ridiculous, degrading "relationship". It certainly is more palatable for me to think of Michael as really being Seven in some twisted, Freudian way. If this is the case, then Janeway is really saying she loves Seven, not Michael per se. This may require a giant leap in reasoning, but its better than thinking our Captain has actually fallen for a non-entity. In the final analysis, no matter how you look at it, this episode was abhorrent for what it did to our beloved Captain. The character assassination by the writers, not to mention the utter lack of a decent storyline, was unforgivable to this fan, which is why I can’t bring myself to waste even a single comm badge on this travesty. I award it a blood-curdling scream, if such a rating exists, that is! Cheers, Pooneh! |