Do you think LGBT characters will feature more prominently?

[Guy Gardener]

"Hi, you're gay? Cool. Spit in this cup, and we'll have a baby for you in 9 months."

 

[JeffinOakland]

While I agree with that ST's progressive reputation is overrated, exact ethnic casting has never been spot on in Trek and in Hollywood in general.
In TOS you had:
A Jewish-Canadian playing an American WASP
A Jewish-American playing Human-Vulcan who's human mother seemed a bit WASPy.
A Canadian playing a Scot
A Japanese-American playing a Pan-Asian
An African-American playing an East African.
Kelley and Koenig play close to their own backgrounds. Though Koenig's background is Jewish not Slavic.

And I hope you realize that Latinas come in all colors.

Yeah TOS was all over the place. Pre PC casting to the hilt.

 

[jamestyler]

While I agree with that ST's progressive reputation is overrated, exact ethnic casting has never been spot on in Trek and in Hollywood in general.
In TOS you had:
A Jewish-Canadian playing an American WASP
A Jewish-American playing Human-Vulcan who's human mother seemed a bit WASPy.
A Canadian playing a Scot
A Japanese-American playing a Pan-Asian
An African-American playing an East African.
Kelley and Koenig play close to their own backgrounds. Though Koenig's background is Jewish not Slavic.

And I hope you realize that Latinas come in all colors.

I think it's a little unfair to critisize on a lot of fronts. I imagine the job of casting someone in 1965/6 who can do an accent (or close enough) was far more cost efficient than limiting yourself to a select number of Scottish actors in Hollywood, or going through the expense of international casting then sorting out all the costs and expenses of moving an actor from Scotland to the US - all just to say "Scotty was actually Scottish!"

 

[Crazyewok]

That's actually sort of the opposite of many of the hypothesis' that have been put forth to explain homosexuality.
There was even one that considered the idea that having a gay person in a generation increases fertility(something to do with epigenetics if I remember correctly).
After all a trait is only continued if it survives selection(ie helps or doesn't impede).

Basically the idea that somehow the trait of homosexuality is 'illogical' is simply just not logical itself and doesn't take into account evolutionary processes.

I think its a fallacy to think sexuality will be the same in all races.

Some cultures like the deltan will be more or less all bisexual and polygamous so it stands to reason other races will be solely heterosexual and monogamous. Humans fitting that space between. Hell some races dont even have normal genders!

 

[locutus101]

I think its a fallacy to think sexuality will be the same in all races.

Some cultures like the deltan will be more or less all bisexual and polygamous so it stands to reason other races will be solely heterosexual and monogamous. Humans fitting that space between. Hell some races dont even have normal genders!

Why assume that we are something "in between"? For all we know, we could be an extreme of one sort or another, and lacking perspective we can't know about it.

 

[Guy Gardener]

How much porn do I have to watch until I have the full perspective?

 

[Serin117]

I think its a fallacy to think sexuality will be the same in all races.

Some cultures like the deltan will be more or less all bisexual and polygamous so it stands to reason other races will be solely heterosexual and monogamous. Humans fitting that space between. Hell some races dont even have normal genders!

Wasn't claiming that - just speaking to evolutionary processes. And given that apparently the evolution of many of the galaxies races were essentially sparked by the Preservers one can perhaps assume similar evolution by natural selection systems exist among them.

 

[Kemaiku]

Vulcans are capable of love, they just don't like to openly say so. That's not a rational or logical proces, but they embrace it and marry for their much longer lifespan. There are times when their society conceeds to illogical practises that bring them what happiness they can gain from it.

 

[flandry84]

I am the whitest palest Irish guy on the planet and I remember distinctly seeing my first episode of DS9(a depressingly long time ago).
The first time we saw Sisko(whom IMO,has the most detailed backstory of any Trek character on any Trek pilot),nobody was saying "look,finally a black guy in charge",all I can remember thinking was how cool and contained he was,that voice and authority,how very different from Picard.
My hand to God,colour was and remains irrevelant....as does gender and orientation.
See,some of us try to live the Trek way(if that doesn't sound too knobby).

 

[Awesome Possum]

Vulcans are capable of love, they just don't like to openly say so. That's not a rational or logical proces, but they embrace it and marry for their much longer lifespan. There are times when their society conceeds to illogical practises that bring them what happiness they can gain from it.

Sarek married a human. Given how many Vulcans treated Spock in both the Prime and Kelvin timelines, most would consider that illogical. But he did so anyway. The heart wants what the heart wants and that applies to every species.

 

[Go-Captain]

While I agree with that ST's progressive reputation is overrated, exact ethnic casting has never been spot on in Trek and in Hollywood in general.
In TOS you had:
A Jewish-Canadian playing an American WASP
A Jewish-American playing Human-Vulcan who's human mother seemed a bit WASPy.
A Canadian playing a Scot
A Japanese-American playing a Pan-Asian
An African-American playing an East African.
Kelley and Koenig play close to their own backgrounds. Though Koenig's background is Jewish not Slavic.

And I hope you realize that Latinas come in all colors.

It's acting, it's all pretend. Actors have never had to actually be the thing they are portraying, especially when the writing and acting do them justice. It is sufficient for the representation to exist of past and current enemies working together as respected colleagues and friends.

I am the whitest palest Irish guy on the planet and I remember distinctly seeing my first episode of DS9(a depressingly long time ago).
The first time we saw Sisko(whom IMO,has the most detailed backstory of any Trek character on any Trek pilot),nobody was saying "look,finally a black guy in charge",all I can remember thinking was how cool and contained he was,that voice and authority,how very different from Picard.
My hand to God,colour was and remains irrevelant....as does gender and orientation.
See,some of us try to live the Trek way(if that doesn't sound too knobby).

I have to say, thinking back, him being black never occurred to me as anything important. He is so natural for the setting and role. I hope that kind of result can be replicated for the character traits the producers seem to want to introduce.

It would be a shame if they introduced a gay character only for them to be the gay character, and not officer So-en-so, and, oh yeah, he misses his husband terribly. The poor mope.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Deep Space Nine's pilot seems a lot more "urban" if you consider the battle of Wolf 359 to be a "drive by" which really, do you think that the Borg called what happened at Wolf 359 a "battle" because they literally drove by.

 

[ancient]

I think it's a little unfair to critisize on a lot of fronts. I imagine the job of casting someone in 1965/6 who can do an accent (or close enough) was far more cost efficient than limiting yourself to a select number of Scottish actors in Hollywood, or going through the expense of international casting then sorting out all the costs and expenses of moving an actor from Scotland to the US - all just to say "Scotty was actually Scottish!"

Yeah, there is literally no point in precisely matching nationalities. It's called acting, they aren't literally UN reps.

 

[JeffinOakland]

Yeah, there is literally no point in precisely matching nationalities. It's called acting, they aren't literally UN reps.

Where do you draw the line? Olivier playing Othello? Damon playing Asian?

 

[ancient]

Where do you draw the line? Olivier playing Othello? Damon playing Asian?

I draw "the line" in the obvious place: if the actor can convincingly portray it. That's also where the line is for the producers who do the hiring, so it works out perfectly.

 

[JeffinOakland]

I draw "the line" in the obvious place: if the actor can convincingly portray it. That's also where the line is for the producers who do the hiring, so it works out perfectly.

Blackface doesn't bother you?

 

[Nerys Myk]

t's acting, it's all pretend. Actors have never had to actually be the thing they are portraying, especially when the writing and acting do them justice. It is sufficient for the representation to exist of past and current enemies working together as respected colleagues and friends.

Of course it's pretend. To be clear I wasn't saying that the casting choices in TOS were wrong. But there is a difference between playing an Asian character and playing a doctor. You don't need a medical degree to play a doctor. I think you do need to be Asian to play an Asian. Maybe not exactly the same ethnic or national background as the character, but something in the same "neighborhood".

 

[Crazyewok]

Blackface doesn't bother you?

To be fair why should it? People dye their hair why not there skin?

 

[Guy Gardener]

History?

 

[jamestyler]

Yeah, I think we can avoid the Breakfast At Tiffany's casting directive.

Of course it's pretend. To be clear I wasn't saying that the casting choices in TOS were wrong. But there is a difference between playing an Asian character and playing a doctor. You don't need a medical degree to play a doctor. I think you do need to be Asian to play an Asian. Maybe not exactly the same ethnic or national background as the character, but something in the same "neighborhood".

I'm a tad confused. I saw the original post as a complaint/critique (likely incorrectly?), but that's pretty much what happened with primary casting and I haven't seen Trek do any major mis-steps in that department since. Outwith maybe Chakotay?

On the whole I think casting to character would be adaptive anyway. If they want a Japanese character, but have a Korean actor who's perfect - I can't see race being an important enough deal in this era or as story dependant to not get out the tip ex and change one or two words in a bio.

....I was going to make that paragraph more clear then got very confused as to what the topic was at this stage