Emanations (VOY)

[Crowley]

http://sfdebris.com/videos/startrek/v809.php

As someone with actual anthropology studies under his belt (admittedly only a minor), I thought I'd give a shot at what might reasonably be deduced from the deposit of dead bodies they come across. To simplify things I'll ignore the part about this being in an asteroid and pretend it's on a life-bearing planet instead.

This appears to be a remote, not easily accessible location. This would seem to indicate that the culture does not venerate the dead by visiting where the body is placed. On the other hand, it might still be a site of pilgrimage, but if that were the case, I would expect to see some kind of ornamental structure present for rituals. Actually, the roughness of the place overall is striking. The bodies do not seem to be arranged in any kind of order short of being placed lying down in identical poses. There does not even seem to be any markings to identify the bodies. To me this means a strong possibility that the culture in question does not consider what happens to the bodies of the dead all that important, at least after the initial sendoff. One analogue to Earth cultures that came to my mind was entombing Pharaohs and such with servants, which could result in a mass tomb similar to this, but in this case there is no indication of such a superior also being entombed here. Another possibility that came to mind is that this could be the site of a ritualistic mass suicide, perhaps as a sacrifice, which could explain the remote location and why the bodies are both arranged randomly yet all in the same pose. That would also explain why the bodies are not in drastically different stages of decomposition or mummification.

If Braga wanted to make Chakotay sound smart with his insights, why didn't he consult an actual anthropologist?

[ScreamingDoom]

If Braga wanted to make Chakotay sound smart with his insights, why didn't he consult an actual anthropologist?

Thing is... I'm sure Braga did, and then promptly ignored everything the anthropologist said. Wasn't late Trek famous for having "science consultants" who were completely ignored in favor of ludicrous technobabble?

[Dînadan]

If Braga wanted to make Chakotay sound smart with his insights, why didn't he consult an actual anthropologist?

Thing is... I'm sure Braga did, and then promptly ignored everything the anthropologist said. Wasn't late Trek famous for having "science consultants" who were completely ignored in favor of ludicrous technobabble?

Also, remember Chakotay was a character based on the bullshitting of a con man with regards to Chakotay's cultural background. Maybe they did consult an anthropologist, but he too was a swindler and fed the writers crap?

[FakeGeekGirl]

Also one thing I've noticed that happens sometimes is the science consultants aren't given very much context about the intended show, and a lot of times they just have to blindly write something that sounds smart and hope it fits.

Like for instance in The 4400, a scientist character gives an explanation for certain characters' superpowers that sounds fine in a vacuum, but is made ludicrous by the context of the show.

So ... Mr. Crowley, if you took just a transcript of what Chakotay says without any visuals, what would you guess was the conext given the anthopology consultant (assuming there was one), if any?

[Dindu]

Humans who can make huge quantities of silk with their bodies...

The question's not what Chakotay was babbling about, it's why do none of them mention their Queen, Arachnia?

[Fixer]

Also one thing I've noticed that happens sometimes is the science consultants aren't given very much context about the intended show, and a lot of times they just have to blindly write something that sounds smart and hope it fits.

Like for instance in The 4400, a scientist character gives an explanation for certain characters' superpowers that sounds fine in a vacuum, but is made ludicrous by the context of the show.

So ... Mr. Crowley, if you took just a transcript of what Chakotay says without any visuals, what would you guess was the conext given the anthopology consultant (assuming there was one), if any?

Voyager's Indian consultant turned out to be a complete fraud which obviously didn't help matters any.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamake_Highwater

[Crowley]

Also one thing I've noticed that happens sometimes is the science consultants aren't given very much context about the intended show, and a lot of times they just have to blindly write something that sounds smart and hope it fits.

Like for instance in The 4400, a scientist character gives an explanation for certain characters' superpowers that sounds fine in a vacuum, but is made ludicrous by the context of the show.

So ... Mr. Crowley, if you took just a transcript of what Chakotay says without any visuals, what would you guess was the conext given the anthopology consultant (assuming there was one), if any?

Hmm, interesting angle. I looked up a transcript of the episode:

CHAKOTAY: All right. The only sensors you have left are your eyes. Concentrate on details. We're going to have to do a thorough report when we get back.
KIM: Commander, thanks for letting me voice my opinion to the Captain.
CHAKOTAY: I remember the first time I went on a tomb excavation on Ktaria Seven. I wanted to keep a memento of the experience, so I picked up a rock from the burial site. Only I found out later it wasn't just a rock.
KIM: What was it?
CHAKOTAY: It was a sacred stone. The Ktarians lay thousands of them in the tomb. Each one represents a special prayer. Without realising it, I had desecrated that man's grave.
TORRES: Well, I think I've found out about all I can with my eyes.
CHAKOTAY: Really? What have you learned about this culture so far?
TORRES: They like to bury their dead on asteroids. That's about all I can tell without a tricorder. No artefacts, no inscriptions, just some naked dead people.
CHAKOTAY: You're looking but you're not seeing. The fact that they're naked says a lot. It means this race doesn't believe in dressing the deceased. And the lack of artefacts could indicate they don't believe any worldly goods can be taken into the afterlife.
KIM: What makes you think they believe in an afterlife at all?
CHAKOTAY: Look at the position of the arms and hands. The bodies have been arranged in poses of serenity, and they appear to be wrapped in the same biopolymer residue we found out in the passageway, all indications that this culture has a great deal of ritual associated with disposing of the dead. That normally indicates some belief in the afterlife.

Just reading this, I would say Chakotay is contradicting himself: He says they do not dress the deceased yet he doesn't consider the wrappings as a form of dressing. The point about the stone is a warning not to make presumptions yet he is making them just a few lines later. How does he know whether or not the wrappings are considered the bodies being dressed up in this culture? How does he know the things he sees are not artefacts?

[Dindu]

Pffff.

CHAKOTAY: All right. The only sensors you have left are your eyes. Concentrate on details. We're going to have to do a thorough report when we get back.
KIM: Okay, these people developed the transporter before they invented the rocket. Also they leak.
CHAKOTAY: But WHY?
KIM: Why do they leak?
CHAKOTAY: No, why do they have the transporter before the rocket?
TORRES: Because the writ - sorry, because the universe doesn't understand the basic progression of technology from the simple to the complex. It's almost a perfect window into the mind of someone without any intelligent thought, who wants to say something profound, but lacks any cultural experience with the sublime.
CHAKOTAY: But look, there's all manner of things here that are culturally relevant to us, and we can infer from that, that since everyone is a white middle class American, some shit, I reckon, because even though I have no idea about their biology, culture, customs or history, I have some lines in the script and if I don't say them, I don't get paid.
TORRES: Harry once fucked a spider-bat.
KIM: Her name was Dolores.