io9’s Meredith Woerner has a fantastic report from the floor of last night’s Battlestar Galactica retrospective at the United Nations. Ronald D. Moore, Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell and David Eick were on hand to talk about the human rights and other issues that BSG has addressed over its four seasons. I really hope there’s video, particularly after Woerner wrote this:
At one point the discussion lit a fire under the Admiral, and the talk of human rights turned personal for Edward James Olmos. The “Old Man” launched into a passionate speech about casting off the idea of race as a cultural determinant, and said we were one race, the human race. His voice echoed throughout the chamber growing louder until – I kid you not – he was yelling, “So Say We All,” and the crowd answered right back.
That proved a bit controversial to some of io9’s commentators… But in short, sounds like a rousing night and a real example of how science fiction can address and open up dialogue on real-life issues.