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Spoilers Demons of the Punjab grade and discussion thread

How do you rate Demons of the Punjab?


  • Total voters
    86
McCoy wasn't racist. He and Spock love each other. Their insults are just friendly banter. Maybe once in awhile they get angry like what happens with friends and family but the love never goes away.

Jason

He clearly didn’t like Vulcans. He used Spock as a “I can’t be racist, I have a Vulcan friend.”
 
He clearly didn’t like Vulcans. He used Spock as a “I can’t be racist, I have a Vulcan friend.”

I don't know. He tells Data many years later that they are a honorable race. Plus he is nice to every Vulcan he meets such as Spock's dad. I think he might get annoyed with the pure logic stuff but I also think he does most of that just to try and get a rise out of Spock. He doesn't really mean it.

Jason
 
I think its clear McCoy's fairly prejudiced against the Vulcans. And while he respects Spock, I doubt they were friends in at least early on the show. You could argue they bonded post-Amok Time, but that's largely to Spock being a good friend and less about the Vulcans offering an insight that would appeal to McCoy in any way.

That said, yeah, I don't think the majority of the insults he threw at Spock were ever intended as serious insults or to belittle his character. To take a jab at a co-worker doesn't always mean to be mean-spirited or anything of the like.
 
I don't know. He tells Data many years later that they are a honorable race. Plus he is nice to every Vulcan he meets such as Spock's dad. I think he might get annoyed with the pure logic stuff but I also think he does most of that just to try and get a rise out of Spock. He doesn't really mean it.

Jason

Just like Archie Bunker. He doesn’t “really” mean it. Wink wink, say no more, say no more!
 
Look, I love McCoy, but it's very much an issue with the character 50 years later. One that, admittedly, is downplayed as the series went on and is more or less gone by the movies. But, something resurrected for the Kelvin-verse.
 
I actually though Demons of the Punjab was fairly even handed. Yes it laid the blame at the British door for carving the country up arbitrarily but didn’t offer this as any kind of real excuse for the bloodshed that followed. From Partition to Rwanda to even less violent things like Brexit now, people are more than willing to divide themselves into tribes to fight people who’d once been their neighbours. That’s the message I took from this; yeah the white colonialists are bastards, but the rest of us aren’t much better sometimes.
 
I actually though Demons of the Punjab was fairly even handed. Yes it laid the blame at the British door for carving the country up arbitrarily but didn’t offer this as any kind of real excuse for the bloodshed that followed. From Partition to Rwanda to even less violent things like Brexit now, people are more than willing to divide themselves into tribes to fight people who’d once been their neighbours. That’s the message I took from this; yeah the white colonialists are bastards, but the rest of us aren’t much better sometimes.
And don't forget how they carved up the Middle East, which remains a major source (but not the only one) of racial and religious conflict to this day.
 
Look, I love McCoy, but it's very much an issue with the character 50 years later. One that, admittedly, is downplayed as the series went on and is more or less gone by the movies. But, something resurrected for the Kelvin-verse.

I had real trouble with this post until I realised that, due to being over a bottle of Chardonnay in, I forgot you meant Leonard James McCoy and not Sylvester.
 
I liked this one very much.

Is it weird grandma didn’t recognize Yaz? Same name and everything...

:shrug:

“9”
Would you remember someone who was only in your life for a couple of days 60 years ago? Even if it was during a big event wouldn't you think your mind was playing tricks on you when your granddaughter, 40 odd years later with a fairly common name, grew up to look like her?
 
::dalek voice:: Yes.



This is odd, as there will be at least 4 episodes on an alien world/setting this season. Something the first series of the reboot couldn't do. Conversely there are also three historicals, something each season has had one, maybe two of in decades!?

As a general note on Sci-Fi as metaphor or object lessons... While metaphors are good, they do have the possibility of being reductive. You shouldn't have to see Frank Gorshin in half-blackface against another actor with the paint on the other side to understand that racism is wrong. It works, it makes sense, but I'll tell you I've heard some odd reads of that over the years. As well, I know many sci-fi fans of color, the lgbtq+ community, etc. who balk at sci-fi shows still using metaphor over representation. Rather than have a frank conversation about racism (Rosa) or religious intolerance (Demons..., presumably an aspect of the upcoming Witchhunters) in historical context or with actors from those groups, sci-fi gravitates towards simple, sometimes non-controversial, stories about the subject. The Thals and Kaleds are a metaphor for intolerance... until you realize they all look like the same 10 British people. The X-Men are a great metaphor for civil rights, lgbtq+ rights, etc. up until the point that there are practical problems with how we react to someone who could create a nuclear explosion on their own volition and it ceases to work.

I think this is definatly something that Trek suffered from before the end. I think every series had a stab at it from tng onwards and yet while promoting a black lead in the sixties and a disabled character in the eighties we never saw a gay person on the show. Enterprise was talking about Vulcan mind aids while Will and Grace is the highest rated sit come on television.
 
I liked this one very much.

Is it weird grandma didn’t recognize Yaz? Same name and everything...

:shrug:

“9”

Yasmin might be fairly common. And the memory fades with time.

I think, though, we're meant to leave it as ambiguous as to whether Gran DOES remember or doesn't. And she may not WANT to know if her grandaughter and her mysterious friends could time travel, as that opens up "why didn't you save him?!" angst.
 
McCoy wasn't racist. He and Spock love each other. Their insults are just friendly banter. Maybe once in awhile they get angry like what happens with friends and family but the love never goes away.

Jason
McCoy wanted to humanize Spock.

Rip the Vulcan out of him, and put it in the trash.

That's not love.
 
We're supposed to learn from it so it never happens again. But unfortunately, that doesn't happen. Just look at the rise of fascism and racism in the US, UK, Europe and all over the world. We're very much in danger of some of history's worst acts being repeated.
Those are definitely important lessons. I just wish we also had some episodes that had strong antagonists for her to play off. As I mentioned, the Punjab episode was, in fact, my favorite episode of the season so far.
 
Would you remember someone who was only in your life for a couple of days 60 years ago? Even if it was during a big event wouldn't you think your mind was playing tricks on you when your granddaughter, 40 odd years later with a fairly common name, grew up to look like her?
Yes! Particularly when it was such an important time in her life. And, throw in that it wasn't just Yaz but also the whole gang that was there! Believe me, she'd remember the group of strangers that showed up at such an important time in her life and played such an important role.
 
Just so everyone is aware

Well, good... I guess? But we can't actually see the post with the warning - or at least,I can't, where was it? So a bit like saying "hey, you know that guy that was wrongly convicted? No? Bloke with ginger hair, specs and a beard? Scottish accent? Swore a lot? No? Well, anyway, I totally let him off. For what? Does it matter?"
 
Well, good... I guess? But we can't actually see the post with the warning - or at least,I can't, where was it? So a bit like saying "hey, you know that guy that was wrongly convicted? No? Bloke with ginger hair, specs and a beard? Scottish accent? Swore a lot? No? Well, anyway, I totally let him off. For what? Does it matter?"
Not to detract too much from the discussion, but you can click on the arrow next to the poster's name in the quote and you'll be redirected to the original post (for whatever reason, sometimes that doesn't work for me, in which case I open the link in separate tab).
 
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