Articles Hierarchy
B7 Classic: Blake - Hero, Villain or Hypocrite? by Henry Eggleton
- 19 Jan 2022
- Blake's 7 Analysis
- 139 Reads
Blake - Hero, Villain or Hypocrite?
by Henry Eggleton
Was Blake a hero, a villain or just a hypocrite?
Let us start with the normal view that he is a hero; he was after all a man who was arrested and mind wiped by the Federation while all of his followers and family were apparently executed.
This all apparently happened due to Blake being a proponent of peaceful resistance to the Federation and a proponent of democracy and self rule for the colonies of Earth. He was then arrested and all those with him killed when he attended a meeting outside the dome. He then went on to fight for the same views he had held prior to his mind wiping when he took possession of the Liberator.
So this is the standard view of Blake as a noble man fighting a corrupt government.
Now let’s look at the reverse of this.
He said he used peaceful methods to oppose the Federation, yet he was apparently captured after he led a raid upon a Federation Conditioning Centre. Do we really think they just opened the doors and allowed Blake and his friends to take the inmates out? Well, knowing how the Federation operated in the series this is unlikely, so Blake was not exactly truthful when he said he was non-violent before his initial arrest.
Alright, you may say this is OK as the Federation is a repressive dictatorship... but was it a dictatorship? Before Servalan took over, it was ruled by a Senate and a President. It might be the franchise was limited, but can we say it was a true dictatorship? If you recall, Senator Rontane said the President couldn’t be seen to throw mud. A dictator wouldn't care about that, but an elected politician does.
But let’s say it WAS a repressive regime... the populace didn’t exactly seem to be rising by the million, did they? At the end of the War 80% of the fleet had been lost, yet the rebels still didn’t have enough support to overthrow Servalan!
And by the time of Star One, was Blake really fighting to free the proletariat? I seem to recall him saying to Cally he was fighting to prove he was right, not to free them. I’m sure that the majority of the populace of the Federation didn’t care about Blake and his crusade as long as they were comfortable and unmolested.
Now as to the hypocrite, anyone who says: Avon I have always trusted you... from the very beginning, when previously he took Jenna with him to stop Avon running while he was on the planet has to be one.
I look forward to hearing what your views on this are. For myself, I think it makes Blake a more rounded character than the old fashioned white hat wearing hero of old.
· Posted by Travisina on 16 January 2014 3369 Reads ·