wishing for a queerer Star Trek
May. 12th, 2009 09:18 pm![[personal profile]](http://s.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowscastHey look, I'm posting again! And it's about Star Trek, again!
Don't worry, it's not going to be All Star Trek, All The Time around here now; it's only that I just saw the new Star Trek movie, so it's fresh in my mind.
And here's a thing I've been thinking: I want the new Sulu to be gay.
I don't mean "I want to see slash stories featuring the new Sulu" (though I'm certainly not saying that I don't!). I mean, this is my wish: I want the actual writers of the next movie to put some stuff in the script to indicate clearly that Sulu is gay. Maybe with some smooching!
I'm not saying that I'm guessing that this will happen, or that I've seen any subtexty hints that it might. I'm just saying, hey, I think it would be awesome. I think it should happen. Here's why!
When the original Star Trek aired in the 1960's, it was pretty radical to have a main cast/bridge crew that included a black woman, an Asian guy, and a Russian guy. When Kirk and Uhura kissed in "Plato's Stepchildren," it was the first onscreen inter-ratial kiss on American TV. Holy controversial, Batman! Star Trek was out there, taking risks, going where no American TV show had gone before. Star Trek was doing something very important that science fiction often shies away from: imagining social change along with technological development. Star Trek was being the change.
But these days? Star Trek plays it safe. I mean, I grew up watching TNG and Deep Space Nine, and they were a lot of fun and they had some great episodes, which were sometimes just wonderful stories and sometimes edged into allegory and political commentary, sure. They got into complex situations and dealt with shades of grey that went way beyond anything the original series handled. There's a lot of good stuff in there. But nothing that I would describe as brave. Nothing that pushes for the better world that we want to live in while scaring the bejeebus out of their advertisers and kicking off angry letter-writing campaigns in the heartland.
So, here's my idea: the rebooted Star Trek could recapture that spirit of fiery social relevance by letting one of the main characters be gay!
And why Sulu in particular? Well, I just think it would be a nice shout-out to George Takei, the original Sulu, who came out himself a few years back.
It would be great!
Don't worry, it's not going to be All Star Trek, All The Time around here now; it's only that I just saw the new Star Trek movie, so it's fresh in my mind.
And here's a thing I've been thinking: I want the new Sulu to be gay.
I don't mean "I want to see slash stories featuring the new Sulu" (though I'm certainly not saying that I don't!). I mean, this is my wish: I want the actual writers of the next movie to put some stuff in the script to indicate clearly that Sulu is gay. Maybe with some smooching!
I'm not saying that I'm guessing that this will happen, or that I've seen any subtexty hints that it might. I'm just saying, hey, I think it would be awesome. I think it should happen. Here's why!
When the original Star Trek aired in the 1960's, it was pretty radical to have a main cast/bridge crew that included a black woman, an Asian guy, and a Russian guy. When Kirk and Uhura kissed in "Plato's Stepchildren," it was the first onscreen inter-ratial kiss on American TV. Holy controversial, Batman! Star Trek was out there, taking risks, going where no American TV show had gone before. Star Trek was doing something very important that science fiction often shies away from: imagining social change along with technological development. Star Trek was being the change.
But these days? Star Trek plays it safe. I mean, I grew up watching TNG and Deep Space Nine, and they were a lot of fun and they had some great episodes, which were sometimes just wonderful stories and sometimes edged into allegory and political commentary, sure. They got into complex situations and dealt with shades of grey that went way beyond anything the original series handled. There's a lot of good stuff in there. But nothing that I would describe as brave. Nothing that pushes for the better world that we want to live in while scaring the bejeebus out of their advertisers and kicking off angry letter-writing campaigns in the heartland.
So, here's my idea: the rebooted Star Trek could recapture that spirit of fiery social relevance by letting one of the main characters be gay!
And why Sulu in particular? Well, I just think it would be a nice shout-out to George Takei, the original Sulu, who came out himself a few years back.
It would be great!
So, yeah. I'd give BSG, hm, maybe a "C" on this topic. Nice try, but plenty of room for improvement.
(if Starbuck were still a boy, my icon would be more appropriate here!)
Er- who is Hoshi?
Hoshi is one of the guys who's generally in the background in the CIC. He becomes a little more prominent right at the end of the series.
Actually, I've long thought that the DS9 episode "Rejoined," in which Dax has a brief affair with her former wife, was basically an explanation to us all about why there aren't gay people on Star Trek. See, Dax and Lenara realize that they still love each other, but they decide not to be together because they aren't ready to live with the consequences of breaking the taboo in question (against getting back together with the lover of a former host). I figured that Dax and Lenara's decision to never see each other again was basically a metaphor for Star Trek's decision to never show another same-sex relationship!
Historical/personal anecdote: that episode marked my own first foray into political activism (at the age of 18). My local broadcaster actually cut the kiss out of the show. When I found out, I was so incensed that I wrote my very first protest letter!
This is what I thought the movie fell down on. There was just NO message there at all about anything (we just saw it this afternoon and I was saving your post!) To me Trek wasn't just sci-fi with some good characters. It had a unique philosophy which still hasn't been equaled by any other scifi franchise. Even BSG, as awesome as it was, couldn't be said to be clearly anything -- although perhaps a philosophy of survival at all costs was the point. Quite a different setup, obviously.
Sadly, I think having a black male commander for DS9 with a religiously oriented female second was brave, because scifi fans are not really as accepting as one would expect, and everyone wants the young white male demo. I think DS9 did more different stuff than the other three series, but definitely not anything that could be called radical. Funny how it took a fan film to finally put out David Gerrold's gay storyline.
It would be a nice shoutout to Takei (and I loved Sulu's role in this film). I think it very, very unlikely to happen though. In fact I suspect the main reason we have Spock/Uhura is to dash all the slash talk.
Hm, you could be right.
DS9 is my personal pick for "best Star Trek series" btw, though TNG has a special place in my heart since it was my first Star Trek (the one I watched when I was a kid).
Funny how it took a fan film to finally put out David Gerrold's gay storyline.
I actually don't know what you're talking about! And a quick googling did not enlighten me. Whose what now?
In fact I suspect the main reason we have Spock/Uhura is to dash all the slash talk.
I hope that's not the case! Because actually I thought Spock/Uhura were pretty hot together, and but if the pairing really was written in as a deliberate sally against the slashers, I'd have to dislike it on principle. (Anyway, that would be a silly plan. It wouldn't work, except perhaps to give the Kirk/McCoy shippers a bit of a leg up over the Kirk/Spock shippers. :P )
Heh, for me that was TOS, but apparently Joss agrees with both of us re: DS9.
There are fan films being made set in the Trek verse, including one that is adding new adventures to TOS. David Gerrold, writer of Trouble With Tribbles, and staff writer on TNG is gay and had written a script with a gay character and an AIDS storyline. It was rejected and he was told the show would never have a gay character. His script was never used until recently for a fan film.
I hope that's not the case! Because actually I thought Spock/Uhura were pretty hot together, and but if the pairing really was written in as a deliberate sally against the slashers, I'd have to dislike it on principle. (Anyway, that would be a silly plan. It wouldn't work, except perhaps to give the Kirk/McCoy shippers a bit of a leg up over the Kirk/Spock shippers. :P )
LOL, well WE know that but apparently other people can be quite silly about what will actually deter fanfic writing. But considering how many news stories about the new film actually do mentioned K/S, I wouldn't be too sure.