Are there too many white people in Star Trek?

[Jayson1]

I was thinking about how here in America we are starting to see a bigger increase in the number of latino's and people of color. Seems to me if that increase happens at some point the number of white people in the world will go down. Is it realisitc that over half of the people we see in trek is always white.

Seems to me trek should be more diverse if for no other reason than realism.

Jason

 

[1001001]

Ugh.

This one will be on a very tight leash.

 

[fireproof78]

It's from living in space for too long...or something.

 

[Jayson1]

I got to admit I don't know the science behind the issue. Maybe someone else knows it better. What will humanity look like in 200 years or so. Any chance we might develop any other races in the future?

Jason

 

[fireproof78]

There is no science behind the issue. Simply what casting was available or drawn upon at the time.

I would take more issue with the casting than anything else.

 

[The Wormhole]

What always gets me is that all Klingons are black people, even worse, most of the actors who play them are actually white people in blackface. Then again, I suppose this is better for black people than Planet of the Offensive African Stereotypes from Code of Honor.

 

[fireproof78]

What always gets me is that all Klingons are black people, even worse, most of the actors who play them are actually white people in blackface. Then again, I suppose this is better for black people than Planet of the Offensive African Stereotypes from Code of Honor.

Just when you thought it couldn't get worse...

 

[GabyBee]

TNG "Code Of Honor" was probably Star Trek's lowest moment.

I work in theatre, and have experience in casting. White/caucasian tends to be over-represented in the arts (stage/TV/film) for many reasons, but it often comes down to socio-economics, as with many things. Actors tend to come mostly from the middle class in the U.S., often even the upper middle class. These communities are much more majority white in the U.S., whereas minority communities are more likely to be working class or poor. How and why these statistics are the way they are is a topic for another thread (probably on another forum), but they are a reality in the U.S., and that reality tends to trickle into anything and everything in our culture, whether overtly or more subliminally.

 

[Tesophius]

There have been a few cases of artificial changes in skin pigmentation. Sometime this century and definitely by the 22ND century people's looks are going to be more optional than they are now. Changes to skin color occurred in a relatively short periods of time in our own evolution. I don't think it matters how they portray people, in terms of their looks. But I would like to hear more accents. We can, of course, assume that we're not even getting people's real accents and that they're all speaking different languages through the universal translator, but it would be a nice touch. Picard's exotic accent added depth to his character.

 

[Tesophius]

Actually it would be cool if the homosexual character had a futuristic sci fi spin to it. How homosexuality was a matter of a conscious choice with a simple procedure and a nice technobabble explanation of how we have completely altered our views on sexuality in the distant future.

 

[The Wormhole]

How homosexuality was a matter of a conscious choice

That kind of thinking isn't cool at all.

 

[Armus]

I was thinking about how here in America we are starting to see a bigger increase in the number of latino's and people of color. Seems to me if that increase happens at some point the number of white people in the world will go down. Is it realisitc that over half of the people we see in trek is always white.

Seems to me trek should be more diverse if for no other reason than realism.

Jason

I don't know. Are there too many white people who post on Star Trek forums?

 

[alensatemybuick1]

Just when you thought it couldn't get worse...

If ever a thread begged to be closed, this would be the one.
A better question would be...are there "to" many idiots who watch Star Trek?

 

[Kor]

I was thinking about how here in America we are starting to see a bigger increase in the number of latino's and people of color.

This still does not look at things from a global perspective.

Kor

 

[GabyBee]

How homosexuality was a matter of a conscious choice

Wait... what? How is this even tangentially related to the OP? Besides that it's just... factually incorrect.

 

[The Old Mixer]

Actually it would be cool if the homosexual character had a futuristic sci fi spin to it. How homosexuality was a matter of a conscious choice with a simple procedure and a nice technobabble explanation of how we have completely altered our views on sexuality in the distant future.

That kind of thinking isn't cool at all.

Wait... what? How is this even tangentially related to the OP? Besides that it's just... factually incorrect.

Yeah, my usual policy is that if we're going to give one hot-button issue a chance in a GTD thread, let's not bring more hot-button issues into the discussion.

 

[Jayson1]

That kind of thinking isn't cool at all.

I think it could be a neat idea. What if sexuality was made a choice? I think most people are at least somewhat bi-curious by nature. What if people someday really did only look at a person's personality when finding a mate? Maybe bi-sexuals have become the norm in the future and hetro and gay people have become the minority.

Jason

 

[Tenacity]

Simply what casting was available or drawn upon at the time.

Strangely (or maybe not) TOS sometime did a better job of depicting a multi-racial universe than later productions. Yes the four actors at the top of the totem pole were white, but there were a fair number of guess stars (scientists, admirals) and back ground extras who weren't white.

TNG "Code Of Honor" was probably Star Trek's lowest moment.

Oh, not even close. Personally I feel Code of Honor casting all Black actors was a good idea, instead of yet another all/mostly White alien population.

 

[Jayson1]

This still does not look at things from a global perspective.

Kor

I am intrested in the question from a global scale. I'm not really sure what humanity will look like in the future. I just asumed someone must have done some kind of study to create some possible projection.

Jason

 

[Tenacity]

I've seen future predictions and conjectures that if you look far enough into the future Humanity will have intermarried/interbred to the point that we'll all be "one race."

What if sexuality was made a choice?

Star Trek could set a future series in a Federation male only penal colony.

Many of the inmates could then "choose" to be gay.