There is something to be said for that, I suppose.
How Do Social Conservative Star Fans Enjoy Star Trek?
- Thread starter JeffOakland
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Yes, and it was about a future in which our current squabbles were solved a long time ago.
Plus that everything wasn't as political correct as it is today and people weren't so easily offended.
Back then, they could come up with characters who were created to be something in a series, characters with special roles which made them fit into the concept for the series, no matter how they looked and were. No matter if it was five white characters or five black characters as long as we got a good show.
Now it is so restricted. There must be a character who looks like this, a characters who look like that, a character who is this and a character who is that and a character who has this or that opinion, political view, sexual orientation, skin color, heritage, addiction etc.... Otherwise someone might become offended!
The writers are so tangled up in all that PC crap that it actually hampers the storytelling and we get all those episodes where nothing is happening but a deep dive in one of the main characters's messed up private life and people are bored to death in front of the TV.
It's ridiculous!
Just like bl***y Spice Girls if you remember them. "We're gonna have a bunch of attractive singing girls. There will be one blond girl, one red-haired girl, one dark haired girl, one Afro-British girl and one girl who actually can sing. Then we give them some commercial bland songs which they can perform."
No surprise that they disappeared after a few years and no one remember them.
And no surprise that the last series I followed with great interest was NCIS. Now I don't watch any series anymore.
It's also a reason why I'm planning to write a Star Trek story in which all my favorite characters are Iron Maiden fans! That will be my version of political correctness, or at least musical correctness.
Iron Garak perform at Vic Fontaine's club.
"Ruuuun toooo the hiiiiiiiiiiillls!"
A normal uneventful day on Voyager.
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Nothing wrong with that. I think it's perfectly OK to enjoy the stories simply as stories while disregarding (or even without noticing at all) the analogies to our society (or that of the sixties).
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If you don't notice the half-black-half-white people and what their story is saying you have special needs.
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^Possibly; but you're still under no obligation whatsoever to interpret the story in that way when you notice the probable intent.
Is it though?
Or is whining about diversity and inclusion in arts and entertainment the ridiculous thing? It's a big world out there, with lots of different people. Why wouldn't Star Trek reflect that?
You realize that your point depends on everyone who reads this knowing exactly who the Spice Girls are?
Point of order, since the Spice Girls were British, none of them could be considered "Afro-American." "Afro-British" is the term you're looking for.
I used to be more conservative than I am now - markedly so - and enjoyed Trek just fine. Mind you, even as a Republican for the relatively brief time I called myself one I was a lot more socially liberal and tolerant than many modern day American conservatives so the sociopolitical messages of Trek always went down pretty easy for me. I felt the same. I still feel the same.
Not always.
In productions set in modern and future times, it's as should be. It's when it's a historical production that I have to wonder. Such as the series "Cursed" where King Arthur and his family are played by black actors, and little 6th century Welsh villages are populated by black, Asian and Pakistani people ("but it's a fantasy" Yeah, set in 6th century Wales; "Mary Queen of Scots" (2018) where her friends (real historical characters) were played by a black actress and an Asian actress (I adore Gemma Chan, but she doesn't resemble paintings of the real Bess of Hardwick); Enola Homes where LeStrade and Watson are Indian; the recent Netflix doc on Cleopatra which assured us that the lovely pharaoh, who was certainly of Greek/Persian descent, was black ...
I understand the British entertainment industry (not sure about the US) has rules requiring diversity casting in all things, and while I don't begrudge a single soul a job, one still needs to cast appropriately for the role and the historical period in period productions. Suspension of disbelief is firmly smote over the head by such casting.
I'm sure I'll be reviled for my opinion on this, but please believe me, I hold it with no bigotry or disrespect meant toward actors of any ethnicity or nationality or planet of origin; just a particular affection for believably immersive period productions.
There is historical evidence for black people on the British isles due to Roman migration.
Very good point. I had actually wondered about that, and had meant to research. Auxiliary African troopers? Servants? Freed slaves?
Nevertheless, I mean, Arthur, Sir Kay and Morgan Le Fay?
Strains it but if the actors are good I'm down.
Amazing, everything you said is wrong.
.....did you sleep through TOS purposefully including an African woman, a "Pan-Asian" guy, and a Russian guy to showcase diversity? Diversity is pretty much backed into the concept of Star Trek, even if the Berman era didn't always remember that (one of the less good parts about TNG is how freaking white the senior staff is)
Also the Spice Girls faded from pop-cultural memory because they were a soulless casting band aimed at elementary school children. If they had been five white girls nothing would be different (plus...pretty sure the Spice Girls were mostly white, wasn't it just one of them who was non-caucasian?)
There's an old film called The Ten Commandments....don't watch it. It stars white Charlton Heston and a bunch of other white actors.
I never listened to the Spice Girls. I was into grunge and alternative. I did hear one of their songs (I didn't have a choice in the matter) and that was it. Beyond that, I know next-to-nothing about them.
Thus, I don't have anything to add to this tangent.
Thus, I don't have anything to add to this tangent.
You missed nothing, even so, they sang all the way to the bank....
"The Spice Girls have sold 105 million records worldwide,[16][17][18] making them the best-selling girl group of all time,[19][20][21] one of the best selling artists, and the most successful British pop act since the Beatles.[22][23][24] "
Proof that sometimes making money is not about talent but marketing
Let's carry on.....
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