Are there too many white people in Star Trek?

Maybe everybody does mind you.

 

I would love that! Out of a cast of say eight characters I'd want to see at the very most only 3 being human, with all the others being of alien origin. Would make it visually more appealing and allow for some for more in-depth story telling taking a non-human look at certain issues (such as Garak's comments about humans and warfare in "Rocks and Shoals").

For me that is what Trek needs (well that and representation of other sexual orientations).

 

I think it's complicated when we get into regulars and speaking guest parts - it's theoritically possible that most of the 'best people for the part' are white. I doubt it, but it's possible (particularly if you consider changing studio politics).

However, the low percentage of non-WASP types (inc Hispanics/Latinos) among the extras and non-speaking roles verges on the ridiculous. For instance, during the filming of Enterprise, according to official stats nearly 45% of the population of LA County population were of Hispanic/Latino origin (which suggests that non-Hispanic/non-Latino whites are outnumbered between 5:1 and 10:1 in the "white" category), and the Black and Asian populations at ~10% and ~12% respectively. But IIRC, something like half of the extras on Enterprise were NHNL White which doesn't seem to reflect the demographics of the area and therefore could be regarded as having "too many white people".

Stats from: http://censusviewer.com/county/CA/Los Angeles

 

If one wanted to get technical perhaps the planets that the humans settle is better suite for lower melanin levels.

 

I should be taking a part in making Star Trek.

 

For an intergalactic space coalition? Yes. For the likely intended audience? No. Star Trek is becoming the purview of geriatric white men, who don't like to be challenged.

 

I wonder if that holds true for the non-Humans on the show as well?

Are Vulcan of Spock's race/coloration very much the minority, while Vulcans of Tuvok race/coloration the vast majority?

 

As much as it's possibly counterintuative, "white" Vulcans appear to be far more common than "black" Vulcans (although the reasons could social rather than ethnic).

 

No, it's not nearly quirky/eccentric or hipster enough.

That could explain why, on the few occasions when we actually heard him speaking French, he did so with an English accent instead of sounding like a native French speaker.

Kor

 

I just found out that the actress that played Ilia in TMP wasn't white, I always thought that she was!

 

"Persis Khambatta" isn't exactly an Anglo name...

Kor

 

Soul Trek.

I'm diggin' it, blood.

 

I was never into memorizing or knowing the names of actors. Never saw the point.

It's just funny how useless our racial categories are that I've seen someone so many times on screen thinking that she was white when she wasn't.

 

There's a wide range of skin tones in the Indian subcontinent and surrounding areas, with some being very light. But when we say "white" in the west, that really means being culturally Western and of European descent, rather than literally just referring to a person's complexion.

Fair complexion (basically what we would consider "white") has long been the standard of beauty in India (and the caste system undoubtedly placed importance on skin color), and that makes things difficult for those with darker complexions.

Kor

 

More likely, the English teacher in Picard's hometown spoke that way, that's why everybody we met there (all of the Picards, plus Louis) had English accents.

Plus, be honest, would you want to hear Patrick Stewart speaking with a French accent?

 

It's that way here too. There's a really great doc I saw a few years back about the pressures in the Black community (especially for women) to lighten their skin. I think it was called Dark Girls. I thought it was really good.

 

No, French is disgusting.

Moving on to a serious note... English is my third language. Galician and Castellano (what most in the U.S. call 'Spanish') are my first and second languages. I speak English with a slight Galician accent.

But I have some personal precedent in-line with the notion that accents can be taught...

I have a pilot's license. My first flight instructor was originally from Texas, and was the one who taught me how to talk to ATC (Air Traffic Control) for the first time. I didn't realize it a the time, but I began to mimic his mannerisms in my communications to ATC, and have ever since spoken in a Texan accent while flying. It took me years to realize this, until my fiancé pointed it out, and it took me even longer to admit that he is right.

So yeah, I think there could be some precedent for Picard being "taught" an English accent. If I can be taught to speak in a Texan accent as an adult - even if only in a very specific circumstance - Picard could certainly have been taught from a young age to speak English with a Yorkshire inflection.

(Though, all of this ignores the fact that in the few utterances we do hear of Picard speaking French, he does so in a horridly English-accented fashion.)