The racist legacy of Star Trek

Discussion in 'General Trek Discussion' started by Afrika Bambaata, Jun 4, 2014.

  1. AustNerevar

    AustNerevar Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    I'm new. To what are you referring? Or is that a question that is against the rules?
     
  2. BigJake

    BigJake Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Drat, that's kind of too bad about the MLK story. But whatevs.
     
  3. Jedi_Master

    Jedi_Master Admiral Admiral

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    What it the person who was wearing the Redshirt was black, female or Asian? Was does that mean? :lol:
     
  4. Alrik

    Alrik Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    It's okay to ask. Bob outlined what went down a page back. If you want to read through them, here are the links he provided.


    I don't doubt that there was some kind of communication between Nichelle and MLK regarding her staying with the show. Its just that over the years, every time she tells it, it changes a little. The way she tells it now is very different from the first time I heard her tell it back in the 70's. That's why some are starting to question it.
     
  5. Ethros

    Ethros Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Not saying it is. Not really talking about the world today, merely that I saw that opening post and had to laugh at it. Especially the one on Admiral Cartwright being outed as a "villain" at the end of Trek VI (only one of many saboteurs btw) implies the franchise is racist, simply because he's portrayed by an actor who happens to be African-American :lol:
     
  6. Hound of UIster

    Hound of UIster Vice Admiral Admiral

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    So it's just coincidence or just natural biological superiority that 4 out of 5 of the Commanders in Star Trek were Caucasians?

    You really can't separate race from Trek given how paramount a subject it is in America and Trek is very much a cultural artifact of America. If there was honest color blindness in Star Trek, there wouldn't be four white guys as Captains in the first place!
     
    Last edited: Jun 4, 2014
  7. Enterprise1701

    Enterprise1701 Commodore Commodore

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    Way back in The Original Series episode "Court Martial", Commodore Stone appears as a human of African descent who outranks Kirk.
     
  8. JirinPanthosa

    JirinPanthosa Admiral Admiral

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    There has certainly been a legacy in television in general to usually feature white actors in more prominent, commanding roles than non-white actors. I especially liked 30 Rock's commentary on that in their live episode. Star Trek is not innocent of playing into that trend.

    But when you start calling it racist every time a white character gets a promotion or a black character possesses any kind of character flaw, you hard a hard time maintaining credibility. Not every casting decision is a political statement. Race shouldn't be considered in either direction with casting decisions.

    And I have a hard time seeing Geordi as a negative stereotype. He's no more subservient in his role than O'Brien in the same position in DS9 but you would never say O'Brien portrays Irishmen as subservient people. Geordi is shown as an extremely competent technical nerd lacking in social skills. If a white character were shown with the exact same personality he would just be seen as a run of the mill nerd.
     
  9. Grant

    Grant Commodore Commodore

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    Disgusting thread. And it is at 5 pages. :confused:
     
  10. Avon

    Avon Commodore Commodore

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    darth vader is rascist against asians and others, because they're left out of the white actor/black dubbed voice combination.


    that random statement should fit in here nicely.
    hoho
     
  11. AustNerevar

    AustNerevar Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    It's racist symbolism for how all non-Whites are no more than canon fodder.
     
  12. Jedi_Master

    Jedi_Master Admiral Admiral

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    Well that's a nice neat circle of crazy. :)
     
  13. AustNerevar

    AustNerevar Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    Crazy is better in circles. That way it stays in one spot.
     
  14. feek61

    feek61 Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    STOP THE MADNESS!!!

    Crying racist these days in many circumstances is akin to the boy who cried wolf; it is just not the case. Consider the time in which TOS was made; racist, hardly. Race is an important issue but when it is used every time someone farts; it loses all relevance and the argument becomes a joke . . . like this thread.
     
  15. Shat Happens

    Shat Happens Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    too long took a fart joke to appear, yes.
     
  16. MacLeod

    MacLeod Admiral Admiral

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    By the time of TNG it would appear that Starfleet vessels number in the thousands, along with hundreds of starbases and no doubt other facilities. So just because we may not always see them doesn't mean they don't exist. It's just like saying that 4 of the 5 Captain's are from the USA, what about the other 200 nations or so on Earth, or the 150 or so other races in the Federation.

    At the end of the day it's a TV programme, make believe, fantasy etc.. If they cast a show with a majoirty of other ethniticty other than white I would still watch it so long as I was being entertained. If I don't find a show entertaining, I'll find another one that does entertain me.
     
    Last edited: Jun 4, 2014
  17. AustNerevar

    AustNerevar Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    The only people who are taking any of this seriously are the one who missed the fact that the original post is satire.
     
  18. Gov Kodos

    Gov Kodos Admiral Admiral

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    Your explanation sounds fine. Thanks for the summary.
     
  19. feek61

    feek61 Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Well honestly if that's the case; it was done in very poor taste.
     
  20. Melakon

    Melakon Admiral In Memoriam

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    I was at a small convention in Sacramento in the early 90s, Michael Dorn and DeForest Kelley were the only big names. Dorn told a story about Patrick Stewart. When they first started the series, Patrick would talk about his 15 years with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Each time Patrick would mention it as the series went on, his tenure with the RSC somehow expanded, up to 25 years with them.