Best Star Trek Movies that aren't actually Star Trek Movies

[Cyke101]

*bold type-face used for my emphasis*
Sounds like 'some members' are very racist indeed. God forbid if she ever fell in love with a 'round eye'... eh?

My younger sister happens to be married to a 3rd generation Irish American, so I am in support of miscegenation by all means.

However, what Asian American males generally find offensive about Asian American actresses like Lucy Liu paired with white actors in Hollywood films "all of the time" is the message that is sent out to the mass media implying that Asian American males are not even desirable to the Asian American women who are from their own community within the United States.

As it stands, Asian American males have no status as leads in Hollywood films (You be the judge why they are generally underemployed in front of the camera in Hollywood films?), and are usually given the roles of waiters and delivery boys, or stereotypical gangsters (The Fast and the Furious, Lethal Weapon 4) or the perpetual-stereotypical martial artist in major Hollywood productions, yet we also have to be humiliated by having Asian American women paired with white men all of the time too even in seminal Asian American novels/films like The Joy Luck Club. I know what Hollywood is doing, and I personally do not like the way they operate.

Not only do Asian American males "not get the girl" in major Hollywood productions, but they also do not get "the Asian/Asian American girl," either as evidenced by Hollywood films such as Enter the Dragon, Snow Falling on Cedars, Charlie's Angels, and The Last Samurai just to name a few.

It was criminal that Aaliyah and Jet Li didn't kiss at the end of ... oh, what the hell, the movie was so bad anyway, I forgot its name. They could've kissed in a grand matrimonial ceremony and it wouldn't have saved the film.

On the upside (a very very brief upside), I'm noticing that on TV shows and commercials, there are a bit more Asian American males being portrayed as powerful and/or who do get the girl, or are used as some sort of representative of male beauty. Hollywood, though, has much catching up to do. I'm of the belief that there are more Asian American male heroes out there, but not as main protagonists or love interests.

 

[Cyke101]

Quoting your younger sister as an exception then spending three paragraphs complaining about mixed pairings tells more about your beliefs than you may be aware. I stand by what I said.
Since this is counter-productive, I will make this my last post on this subject. I do not want to derail a good thread.

His point isn't that Asian Americans should date only Asian Americans on screen. It's more of the depowering of the Asian American male on screen. There's nothing wrong with Asian American women being paired up with non-Asians in TV and movies; but then why is it so rare for Asian American men to be paired with... anyone? Not just Asian American women, but any kind of woman to begin with? That's just part of the overall problem, though: Why are central, positive roles for Asian American men so rare in pop culture today? (I'd bring up shows like "Heroes" and "Lost" as examples that show powerful and very well-written Asian men... but then they're not Asian Americans)

And with that said... I look forward to Cho's Sulu.

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

Hogwash. There's VOYAGER. I never saw Harry Kim with an Asian girl. He was all about the white chicks and alien chicks. He was so empowered...except in rank.

A good example of an empowered Asian male is Otomo, the robot ninja in ROBO-COP 3 (not really, but that's my default answer).

 

[JuanBolio]

Master and Commander

The Horatio Hornblower series from A&E.

Never watched it, and so can't compare.

 

[Good Will Riker]

It was criminal that Aaliyah and Jet Li didn't kiss at the end of ... oh, what the hell, the movie was so bad anyway, I forgot its name. They could've kissed in a grand matrimonial ceremony and it wouldn't have saved the film.

On the upside (a very very brief upside), I'm noticing that on TV shows and commercials, there are a bit more Asian American males being portrayed as powerful and/or who do get the girl, or are used as some sort of representative of male beauty. Hollywood, though, has much catching up to do. I'm of the belief that there are more Asian American male heroes out there, but not as main protagonists or love interests.

His point isn't that Asian Americans should date only Asian Americans on screen. It's more of the depowering of the Asian American male on screen. There's nothing wrong with Asian American women being paired up with non-Asians in TV and movies; but then why is it so rare for Asian American men to be paired with... anyone? Not just Asian American women, but any kind of woman to begin with? That's just part of the overall problem, though: Why are central, positive roles for Asian American men so rare in pop culture today? (I'd bring up shows like "Heroes" and "Lost" as examples that show powerful and very well-written Asian men... but then they're not Asian Americans)

And with that said... I look forward to Cho's Sulu.

Hogwash. There's VOYAGER. I never saw Harry Kim with an Asian girl. He was all about the white chicks and alien chicks. He was so empowered...except in rank.

A good example of an empowered Asian male is Otomo, the robot ninja in ROBO-COP 3 (not really, but that's my default answer).

Hollywood needs more Asian Americans who are viewed as being "post-racial" and "transcendal" in front of and behind the camera like the way with Senator Barack Obama and American national politics.

To think that if it weren't for Hollywood racial politics, such an Asian American actor like Russell Wong would have been embraced by the American mainstream public as a "leadning man in American studio films" years ago...

 

[siskokid888]

"The Hunt for Red October" is absolutely Trek. A rogue Romulan commander takes the latest warbird with the new cloaking device to defect to the Federation to prevent a war. Kirk and the E are the ship that tracks it in the neutral zone, and Kirk has to out think the Romulans chasing the ship to destroy it before it falls into Federation hands. It writes itself, as they say.

 

[Shawnster]

Master and Commander

The Horatio Hornblower series from A&E.

Never watched it, and so can't compare.

Well, since Roddenberry said he based Star Trek/Kirk off of Horatio Hornblower, it was kinda an easy one for me to suggest, LOL.

They were good min-series. You might want to check them out. Quit similar to Master and Commander. Same feel. They could easily remake the Hornblower series as Kirk adventures during the academy/pre-captain days.

 

[Elder Knight]

The Day the Earth Stood Still

 

[Brolan]

Master and Commander

The Horatio Hornblower series from A&E.

TOS was originally pitched as "Hornblower in space".

 

[Cyke101]

Hogwash. There's VOYAGER. I never saw Harry Kim with an Asian girl. He was all about the white chicks and alien chicks. He was so empowered...except in rank.

A good example of an empowered Asian male is Otomo, the robot ninja in ROBO-COP 3 (not really, but that's my default answer).

That's just one example, though, out of thousands of TV and film properties with Asians in subservient, asexual roles. If Dr. Bashir had an American accent, though, I'd probably cite him as a stronger Asian example than Harry Kim (for that matter, in Trek nobody beats Hikaru Sulu). Citing Kim is a good start, but that's like finding a needle in a haystack and then saying "See? The haystack isn't so bad."

To think that if it weren't for Hollywood racial politics, such an Asian American actor like Russell Wong would have been embraced by the American mainstream public as a "leadning man in American studio films" years ago...

Russell Wong roxxors my soxxors. Except for bad Jet Li/Aaliyah movies, but dammit, he tried this best!

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Guys (especially Good Will Riker) get back on topic. You can start a thread in Misc for the other topic, because it actually is worth discussing.

 

[Cyke101]

Guys (especially Good Will Riker) get back on topic. You can start a thread in Misc for the other topic, because it actually is worth discussing.

In a blatant and shameless attempt to suck up, might I say that, because of time travel, Army of Darkness could be a Trek movie. Just substitute the magic incantations with technobabble and voila!

 

[Alidar Jarok]

lol, you don't need to suck up.

Honestly, any movie can be a Trek movie because Trek is very diverse.

 

[Good Will Riker]

lol, you don't need to suck up.

Honestly, any movie can be a Trek movie because Trek is very diverse.

I don't know about that.

I mean, how would you go about making Lindasy Lohan's Mean Girls into a viable Star Trek film, let alone a television episode, for example?

 

[Cyke101]

lol, you don't need to suck up.

Honestly, any movie can be a Trek movie because Trek is very diverse.

I don't know about that.

I mean, how would you go about making Lindasy Lohan's Mean Girls into a viable Star Trek film, let alone a television episode, for example?

Mean Girls could be a Ferengi coming of age story...

Anyway, back to for realsies, I'd have to mention The Abyss. In fact, in some ways, due to its mysterious and exploratory mission (as well as some military aspects thrust into the story), it's more Trek than some Trek films. Heck, for that matter, the movie even has an anomaly!

And, on top of all that, it has a pretty uncertain yet uplifting and positive ending.

 

[xoEJox]

I see someone already mentioned my idea, but I'll list it anyway: I always thought Contact fit into the Trek universe. It's message is in line with Trek's, and could even be thought of as a prequel of sorts.

 

[3D Master]

That's just one example, though, out of thousands of TV and film properties with Asians in subservient, asexual roles. If Dr. Bashir had an American accent, though, I'd probably cite him as a stronger Asian example than Harry Kim (for that matter, in Trek nobody beats Hikaru Sulu). Citing Kim is a good start, but that's like finding a needle in a haystack and then saying "See? The haystack isn't so bad."

Except that Alexander Siddig is of Middle-Eastern descent, and Bashir is Indian, not Asian.


I can't see Contact as Trek at all. First of, there isn't much of a message if there is even a message at all in Contact. Contact is pretty much religious propaganda; which is pretty much diametrically opposed to Star Trek. Furter Star Trek is all about venturing to the stars, Contact pretty much tells us we'll never venture to the stars, apart from that one wormhole that only produces a meeting with someone, and then dumps you back on the same planet with not a single shred brought back.

Star Trek movies that are not Star Trek: Stargate. (Series too, but only superficially. The series degenerated into a blaster fest instead of good story telling.)

 

[The Grim Ghost]

Frye had an obsession with Lucy Liu as well.

Phillip J. Fry displayed one of those loser Asian girl fetishes that had nothing to do with admiration or respect for the Asian/Asian American race/community and cultural traditions/heritage. He just wanted to bang her.

Besides, that whole episode was all about schmoozing up to Lucy Liu who also starred in another popular Fox TV show at the time: "Ally McBeal."[/quote]

Huh? I don't remember him ever mentioning anything about her being Asian. He just thought she was hot. What on earth is wrong with that? It seems like you are reading a lot into it.

 

[Sector 7]

Anyway, back to for realsies, I'd have to mention The Abyss. In fact, in some ways, due to its mysterious and exploratory mission (as well as some military aspects thrust into the story), it's more Trek than some Trek films. Heck, for that matter, the movie even has an anomaly!

And, on top of all that, it has a pretty uncertain yet uplifting and positive ending.

I should have thought of The Abyss... I was there for some of the filming. The tank for underwater scenes was at Cherokee Nuclear Station where I lived.

 

[Cyke101]

That's just one example, though, out of thousands of TV and film properties with Asians in subservient, asexual roles. If Dr. Bashir had an American accent, though, I'd probably cite him as a stronger Asian example than Harry Kim (for that matter, in Trek nobody beats Hikaru Sulu). Citing Kim is a good start, but that's like finding a needle in a haystack and then saying "See? The haystack isn't so bad."

Except that Alexander Siddig is of Middle-Eastern descent, and Bashir is Indian, not Asian.

At the risk of going off topic, I have to clarify:

What's traditionally known as the Mid-East is also known as Southwest Asia according to the United Nations (as does Canada). But the US Census considers the Middle East as part of Europe, not Asia. So that's a topic of preference, but for the sake of this argument, I'd list Middle Eastern countries as Southwest Asian.

India is very much an Asian country, with its people being among the South Asian population (along with Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Iran, Afghanistan, and Nepal, among others). Indian special-interest and niche organizations in primarily caucasian countries (USA, UK, etc) are usually lumped with other Asian organizations. Additionally, the US Census Bureau considers Indian Americans the third largest Asian American group.

So, ultimately, both the Middle East and India are considered part of the global Asian community.

But anyway, Alexander Siddig is Sudanese-English, so he's more African than anything else (and therefore not Middle-Eastern). Bashir, however, is a name of Asian origin (the same way Picard is French while Patrick Stewart is English).

And to get back on topic: John Carpenter's The Thing is basically the Borg without cybernetic parts. And a lot more death.

Anyway, back to for realsies, I'd have to mention The Abyss. In fact, in some ways, due to its mysterious and exploratory mission (as well as some military aspects thrust into the story), it's more Trek than some Trek films. Heck, for that matter, the movie even has an anomaly!

And, on top of all that, it has a pretty uncertain yet uplifting and positive ending.

I should have thought of The Abyss... I was there for some of the filming. The tank for underwater scenes was at Cherokee Nuclear Station where I lived.

Thankfully it was on the other day. It just got to me: the scene where our heroes' base is disabled by the hurricane (anomaly), the base's operations center explodes in sparks, just like EVERY post-TOS bridge we've ever seen! I swear, when you can get a nuance like that down, you've got a Trek film.