Are the new Klingons supposed to be White Republicans?

[Tribble puncher]

I'm not trying to start some sort of firestorm or finger pointing thing first off....

But given how a lot of shows inject some sort of political message into their fabric nowadays, I couldn't help but wonder while watching the show, with the Klingons feeling like this multi-species Federation was coming to wipe out their culture and identity, and XO Burnham stating that the only way to deal with them was to fire at them because they respect "violence" (aka "The Gun is Good"), plus Star Treks penchant to use Alien races as a metaphor for certain groups of people or ideologies, aaaaannnnnnnddddd....the fact that the writers mentioned in an interview that stories and events in the show would be based on "the current climate"....it just made me wonder. Maybe I'm just grabbing at nothing (happens quite often).

 

[RobertCardassian]

Yeah we discussed this in my "CRINGE" thread

I am a lifelong Democrat who voted for Hillary and I think it is SUPER TACKY that they were "inspired" by the election when they were writing the Klingon arc

 

[Spider]

As long as we don't get lectured at, I don't care. What I DON'T need from a new Star Trek show is more lecturing. I've already heard enough lecturing and techno babble and shit like that to last me a lifetime.

And yeah, I know, it's Star Trek and we're gonna get it anyway.

 

[RobertCardassian]

I would be fine if they drew parallels to the Antifa, Black Lives Matter Movement, White Supremacists etc, but for chrissakes, use some new characters or groups. Don't shoehorn it into canon material

 

[Gojira]

I'm as Liberal as they come and I didn't pick up on that even if it was intended.

 

[RobertCardassian]

^ The writers said explicitly in interviews that they were inspired by the Trump election

 

[Nerys Myk]

I would be fine if they drew parallels to the Antifa, Black Lives Matter Movement, White Supremacists etc, but for chrissakes, use some new characters or groups. Don't shoehorn it into canon material

Come on. Back in the 60s the Klingons and the Romulans were clearly stand ins for the Russians and Chinese.

 

[RobertCardassian]

^ Yeah agreed. Some people were actually disputing that the Klingons represented the USSR during ToS and the ToS movies. See my "CRINGE" thread for the discussion

I think that given this history and that STD takes place right before ToS, their backstories should not be flavored with contemporary news stories.

 

[Nerys Myk]

^ Yeah agreed. Some people were actually disputing that the Klingons represented the USSR during ToS and the ToS movies. See my "CRINGE" thread for the discussion

I think that given this history and that STD takes place right before ToS, their backstories should not be flavored with contemporary news stories.

Having watched TOS in the 60's I can assure them they were.

I don't see why not. That's what TOS did.

 

[RobertCardassian]

There's no comparing the USSR to the white nationalists... or the run of the mill vanilla Trump supporter who hates Obamacare and welfare etc and is not a true racist

None. At. All.

Keep the Klingons as standins for the USSR and nothing more.

 

[Nerys Myk]

There's no comparing the USSR to the white nationalists... or the run of the mill vanilla Trump supporter who hates Obamacare and welfare etc and is not a true racist

None. At. All.

Keep the Klingons as standins for the USSR and nothing more.

There is no USSR. Making them that in the 2010's would be meaningless.

 

[RobertCardassian]

The writers should have thought of that before before they decided to set the show in the ToS era, no?

 

[Nerys Myk]

The writers should have thought of that before before they decided to set the show in the ToS era, no?

Why? The Klingons aren't literally the USSR and it's not set in the mid-20th Century.

 

[{ Emilia }]

The writers should have thought of that before before they decided to set the show in the ToS era, no?

No, that makes no sense. Trek was about making references to contemporary issues. Setting the show in the TOS era doesn't mean the references have to be about the 1960s.

 

[RobertCardassian]

No, that makes no sense. Trek was about making references to contemporary issues. Setting the show in the TOS era doesn't mean the references have to be about the 1960s.

I have a background in political science and history and prefer specificity. I think it's intellectually lazy to compare USSR to the altright. Yes, they are both "other" in different time periods, but the comparisons end there.

To willy nilly retcon the Klingons as Trump supporters is lazy.

 

[Phily B]

I read before that they were supposed to be Trump supporters, but I don't see it at all.

 

[tomalak301]

I'm as Liberal as they come and I didn't pick up on that even if it was intended.

I’m a moderate conservative and I didn’t see that either.

 

[Spider]

I read before that they were supposed to be Trump supporters, but I don't see it at all.

Well, they both sound silly, maybe that's it.

 

[{ Emilia }]

I have a background in political science and history and prefer specificity. I think it's intellectually lazy to compare USSR to the altright. Yes, they are both "other" in different time periods, but the comparisons end there..

I lol'd.
I have a master's degree in political science and a PhD in history.

The intent of TOS was to reference contemporary issues and that is what the following shows did. I don't want to do the whole "Gene's Vision" thing but I doubt Roddenberry thought shows set in Kirk's times should forever reference the political reality of the 1960s. Trek will make references to current political issues, no matter which fictional era it's set in.

 

[Spider]

Screw all yall intellectuals. I barely made it out of high school and still made enough money to retire early. Don't tell me what edukation is.