Spoilers Lower Decks General Discussion Thread

[eschaton]

This is a bit of an aside, but I don't think Ensign Rutherford is supposed to be black.

• His eyes are more oval and less round than the other characters - perhaps suggesting he's supposed to be Asian.
• The hair on top is doing a weird "flippy" thing which makes me think he doesn't have kinky hair.
• His voice actor - Eugene Cordero - is Asian-American (Filipino).

 

[Michael]

This is a bit of an aside, but I don't think Ensign Rutherford is supposed to be black.

• His eyes are more oval and less round than the other characters - perhaps suggesting he's supposed to be Asian.
• The hair on top is doing a weird "flippy" thing which makes me think he doesn't have kinky hair.
• His voice actor - Eugene Cordero - is Asian-American (Filipino).

Who said he was supposed to be black?

I would be really surprised if Rutherford wasn't supposed to be of Filipino descent, just like the actor playing him. Hollywood really seems to have come around to mostly casting actors of the ethnicity their characters are supposed to represent.

 

[137th Gebirg]

Honestly, does it matter?

 

[Rhodan]

This is a bit of an aside, but I don't think Ensign Rutherford is supposed to be black.

• His eyes are more oval and less round than the other characters - perhaps suggesting he's supposed to be Asian.
• The hair on top is doing a weird "flippy" thing which makes me think he doesn't have kinky hair.
• His voice actor - Eugene Cordero - is Asian-American (Filipino).

OK, but he is so much admitted Geordi-look alike anyway... Anyway, yeah, his skin color seems to be distinct from Mariner.

 

[fireproof78]

Honestly, does it matter?

No, not really.

 

[Michael]

Honestly, does it matter?

What exactly? The fact that a new Trek show features a diverse cast featuring PoC in prominent roles? Or which ethnicities the characters are representing and if the actors playing them are cast appropriately?

I you ask me, then yes, yes and yes, it does matter.

 

[eschaton]

Honestly, does it matter?

Not saying it does, just saying I just noticed.

Often in a lot of comic series I have a hard time telling what race the individual characters are supposed to be, depending upon the artistic style.

 

[137th Gebirg]

I care not for any character's ethnicity, only that they are written and acted well.

It's Trek, FFS! One of the characters is GREEN! What Earth ethnicity is she supposed to represent?

Please, lets not politicize this thread like every other Goddamn thing in the universe these days.

 

[Michael]

I care not for any character's ethnicity, only that they are written and acted well.

I care about these things as well. But to me representation is an important factor, too. It just matters to all kinds of people whether they are visible in fictional universes. I don't think that's a difficult concept. And it doesn't need to have anything to do with politicizing anything. Do you think celebrating characters like Uhura, Sisko and Burnham is synonymous with “politicizing”?

 

[137th Gebirg]

Not at all. However, constantly harping on it over and over again, ad nasium, ad infinitum, is not “celebrating” by any definition, especially when people start wondering if a cartoon character is supposed to be black or Asian if the color of the skin doesn’t match the eye shape! That’s honestly some pretty racially stereotypical bullshit, actually, very politicized, and I expect better of you, Michael, to perpetuate such a conversation as a moderator.

I return to my original question - does any of it really matter, so long as the stories and characterizations are well-written?

Still wondering who the green person is supposed to represent on earth. Actually, no I’m not, because I really don’t care. She’s an Orion and I know that she’s not supposed to represent anyone on Earth. I won’t even bother to ask about the Caitian.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I don't know why there aren't more less humanoid characters in the cast. They can put any weird creature they want in the show and it won't cost a dime more than the human characters. Put a centaur person, a snake person, a dolphin person! Not a bunch of humans and one green humanoid.

 

[fireproof78]

I will not feel represented until there is a Horta crewmember on the show!

 

[Tim Thomason]

I don't know why there aren't more less humanoid characters in the cast. They can put any weird creature they want in the show and it won't cost a dime more than the human characters. Put a centaur person, a snake person, a dolphin person! Not a bunch of humans and one green humanoid.

There probably will be some, but the more you introduce, the more questions we have on why this Jelly species or these flying snails aren't even alluded to in the other Berman era shows. Having it look like the 24th century we know helps cement its authenticity to a degree.

I'm willing to bet that they'll play around with non-humanoid entities, but our core cast and much of the crew will be humanoids (with a healthy sampling of humans) just so we can relate better to their characters and character arcs.

 

[Michael]

Not at all. However, constantly harping on it over and over again, ad nasium, ad infinitum, is not “celebrating” by any definition, especially when people start wondering if a cartoon character is supposed to be black or Asian if the color of the skin doesn’t match the eye shape! That’s honestly some pretty racially stereotypical bullshit, actually, very politicized, and I expect better of you, Michael, to perpetuate such a conversation as a moderator.

Frankly, I'm not sure who you are talking about. No-one here is harping on anything over and over again. And no-one is saying a character's color of skin or eye shape has to match anything. This was about whether a character is portrayed by an actor with the same ethnicity. And about whether representation matters. You were the one asking if it does. I gave you my personal opinion. But thanks for the insinuation that I was somehow racially motivated in speaking out in favor of representation of people of color.

But yeah, maybe this is not a topic that can be talked about without getting in a heated discussion eventually. So let's agree to disagree and leave it at that.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

There probably will be some, but the more you introduce, the more questions we have on why this Jelly species or these flying snails aren't even alluded to in the other Berman era shows. Having it look like the 24th century we know helps cement its authenticity to a degree.

I'm willing to bet that they'll play around with non-humanoid entities, but our core cast and much of the crew will be humanoids (with a healthy sampling of humans) just so we can relate better to their characters and character arcs.

I would argue, the audience can relate to anything with a human like face and human like values, no matter what the rest of their body looks like.

I don’t think having to explain the absence of them in other shows is a problem. It wasn’t for Denobulans or Kelpians. Just say “Most of us don’t leave our homeland”.

Think of the comedy possibilities of a centaur trying to work around chairs, or something like that.

 

[fireproof78]

Think of the comedy possibilities of a centaur trying to work around chairs, or something like that.

Hiii... larious....

 

[The Wormhole]

Please, lets not politicize this thread like every other Goddamn thing in the universe these days.

So, I guess now is a bad time for me to voice my complaints that the Caitian character is not actually voiced by a cat? Okay, I won't kick that hornet's nest at the moment.

 

[Tuskin38]

Imagine being this entitled Jesus

https://twitter.com/burnettrm/status/1283635522703745026?s=21

 

[BillJ]

Imagine being this entitled Jesus

https://twitter.com/burnettrm/status/1283635522703745026?s=21

What gutter did he roll out of?

 

[fireproof78]

What gutter did he roll out of?

The elitist one.