Maybe everybody does mind you.Also due to other circumstances. There are Australian aboriginals who identify strongly with their spiritual ancestors and practice ancient belief systems, but who are as white as any European (due to their precursors being slaughtered in their thousands; some of the today's tribes feature no 'full blood' Aboriginals.) White skin most definitely does not always equate to Caucasian/European.
On some level it feels like by Star Trek's time there has been some serious intermingling anyway. It's part of the reason I never really had an issue with Picard being a Frenchman with an English accent. I always figured perhaps he simply reflects a mixed heritage?
Are there too many white people in Star Trek?
- Thread starter Jayson1
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I would love that! Out of a cast of say eight characters I'd want to see at the very most only 3 being human, with all the others being of alien origin. Would make it visually more appealing and allow for some for more in-depth story telling taking a non-human look at certain issues (such as Garak's comments about humans and warfare in "Rocks and Shoals").
For me that is what Trek needs (well that and representation of other sexual orientations).
I think it's complicated when we get into regulars and speaking guest parts - it's theoritically possible that most of the 'best people for the part' are white. I doubt it, but it's possible (particularly if you consider changing studio politics).
However, the low percentage of non-WASP types (inc Hispanics/Latinos) among the extras and non-speaking roles verges on the ridiculous. For instance, during the filming of Enterprise, according to official stats nearly 45% of the population of LA County population were of Hispanic/Latino origin (which suggests that non-Hispanic/non-Latino whites are outnumbered between 5:1 and 10:1 in the "white" category), and the Black and Asian populations at ~10% and ~12% respectively. But IIRC, something like half of the extras on Enterprise were NHNL White which doesn't seem to reflect the demographics of the area and therefore could be regarded as having "too many white people".
Stats from: http://censusviewer.com/county/CA/Los Angeles
However, the low percentage of non-WASP types (inc Hispanics/Latinos) among the extras and non-speaking roles verges on the ridiculous. For instance, during the filming of Enterprise, according to official stats nearly 45% of the population of LA County population were of Hispanic/Latino origin (which suggests that non-Hispanic/non-Latino whites are outnumbered between 5:1 and 10:1 in the "white" category), and the Black and Asian populations at ~10% and ~12% respectively. But IIRC, something like half of the extras on Enterprise were NHNL White which doesn't seem to reflect the demographics of the area and therefore could be regarded as having "too many white people".
Stats from: http://censusviewer.com/county/CA/Los Angeles
Star Trek was created by White American writers and producers, it was set up in their image...Hollywood just being Hollywood. Caucasians have always been the minority ethnic group on this planet from the beginning, global numbers are already 'down'.
Is it realism that over half of Trek is White? No, but Trek is not about 'realism' its about entertaining its target audience, mainly folks from the USA.
Will Discovery break this false image? Well, we shall see.
However, it would be interesting if in a ST reboot McCoy had a black grandmother or grandfather, and its presented as no big deal (as it should be). There are no mixed race, human characters in the franchise and that is very unrealistic for a future image of humans.
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I should be taking a part in making Star Trek.
Geriatric? I'll grant that I'm an old fart, but "geriatric" is pushing it!
He/She is not only old, they also fart!
I wonder if that holds true for the non-Humans on the show as well?
Are Vulcan of Spock's race/coloration very much the minority, while Vulcans of Tuvok race/coloration the vast majority?
As much as it's possibly counterintuative, "white" Vulcans appear to be far more common than "black" Vulcans (although the reasons could social rather than ethnic).
No, it's not nearly quirky/eccentric or hipster enough.
On some level it feels like by Star Trek's time there has been some serious intermingling anyway. It's part of the reason I never really had an issue with Picard being a Frenchman with an English accent. I always figured perhaps he simply reflects a mixed heritage?
That could explain why, on the few occasions when we actually heard him speaking French, he did so with an English accent instead of sounding like a native French speaker.
Kor
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There's a wide range of skin tones in the Indian subcontinent and surrounding areas, with some being very light. But when we say "white" in the west, that really means being culturally Western and of European descent, rather than literally just referring to a person's complexion.
Fair complexion (basically what we would consider "white") has long been the standard of beauty in India (and the caste system undoubtedly placed importance on skin color), and that makes things difficult for those with darker complexions.
Kor
I never really had an issue with Picard being a Frenchman with an English accent. I always figured perhaps he simply reflects a mixed heritage?
More likely, the English teacher in Picard's hometown spoke that way, that's why everybody we met there (all of the Picards, plus Louis) had English accents.
Plus, be honest, would you want to hear Patrick Stewart speaking with a French accent?
It's that way here too. There's a really great doc I saw a few years back about the pressures in the Black community (especially for women) to lighten their skin. I think it was called Dark Girls. I thought it was really good.
No, French is disgusting.
Moving on to a serious note... English is my third language. Galician and Castellano (what most in the U.S. call 'Spanish') are my first and second languages. I speak English with a slight Galician accent.
But I have some personal precedent in-line with the notion that accents can be taught...
I have a pilot's license. My first flight instructor was originally from Texas, and was the one who taught me how to talk to ATC (Air Traffic Control) for the first time. I didn't realize it a the time, but I began to mimic his mannerisms in my communications to ATC, and have ever since spoken in a Texan accent while flying. It took me years to realize this, until my fiancé pointed it out, and it took me even longer to admit that he is right.
So yeah, I think there could be some precedent for Picard being "taught" an English accent. If I can be taught to speak in a Texan accent as an adult - even if only in a very specific circumstance - Picard could certainly have been taught from a young age to speak English with a Yorkshire inflection.
(Though, all of this ignores the fact that in the few utterances we do hear of Picard speaking French, he does so in a horridly English-accented fashion.)
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