Michael Dorn's performance

[Atomic_Monkey]

I recently reintroduced myself to TNG. I'd watched it when it originally aired, but it had been mostly out of mind over the intervening decades. Which means I went into my rewatch with vague memories, impressions and expectations. For example, I expected to dislike Klingon-centric episodes. I remembered their characters as archetypical alpha males, which was not only one note but also unrelatable and unattractive. And I remembered their politics boring me silly as a teen.

However, much to my surprise, I enjoyed most of the Klingon episodes during my rewatch. I still think the criticisms from my youth are valid. The Klingon machoism (I suppose what might be characterized in modern terms as "toxic masculinity") is cartoonish and off-putting. But I was able to look past that and enjoy the stories. That's at least partly, if not greatly, due to Michael Dorn's performance. He has a ton of charisma and is hard to not love, even when his character is behaving brutishly in the early seasons.

I also assumed I'd not like Alexander since he suffers from the double negatives of being both a Klingon and a kid (call me heartless, but I dislike child characters). However, I enjoyed all of his stories, save the one where he takes a mud bath with Lwaxana ("Cost of Living"). My opinion of her character did not improve with time.

 

[Ragitsu]

It is an alien culture and, therefore, should not be judged by the standards of human societies.

 

[HIjol]

Michael Dorn did a superb job in the role he was given and with the material he was provided. The cast around him helped, with the way they played on and off of him.

Worf was the Klingon (Man)!!!

 

[Atomic_Monkey]

It is an alien culture and, therefore, should not be judged by the standards of human societies.

Sure, I don't disagree. I'm the least judgmental person you'll ever meet. In fact, I'm often faulted for being insufficiently outraged by real world differences of opinion. Also, one of the things I admired most about Picard was they way he'd remind his crew that different cultures have different perspectives. (For example, when Riker was apoplectic about Worf's desire to commit suicide after being paralyzed, Picard lectured Riker on respecting the points of views of other cultures.)

But I'm not talking about whether I could understand and defend Klingon machoism in a real world setting. I'm talking about its entertainment value. That's what I find lacking. In other words, I can intellectually respect an alien culture, but at the same time find it one note and not fun to watch. Those two ideas aren't mutually exclusive.

 

[Jellico]

I’ve always liked Micheal Dorm’s Worf. He had a great run, joining DS9 and staying until the end. His character, though, was much sterner and stoic compared to most of the other Klingons that we encountered in 90’s Trek. Worf didn’t laugh and brag or pound his chest the way that Gowron did. He was raised by humans on Earth, so he was, perhaps, not as secure as a Klingon in the earlier days of TNG.

 

[Atomic_Monkey]

I’ve always liked Micheal Dorm’s Worf. He had a great run, joining DS9 and staying until the end. His character, though, was much sterner and stoic compared to most of the other Klingons that we encountered in 90’s Trek. Worf didn’t laugh and brag or pound his chest the way that Gowron did. He was raised by humans on Earth, so he was, perhaps, not as secure as a Klingon in the earlier days of TNG.

I asked a friend (who's a hardcore fan) how Worf knew so much about Klingon culture and why it was so important to him, being that he was raised human. My friend's response was similar to yours. According to his head cannon, the fact that Worf was raised by humans made him insecure about being a Klingon, so he over-compensated by emphasizing its importance to him.

And if much of Worf's knowledge of Klingon culture came from books, rather than experience, he might inadvertently subscribe to cliches. For example, when Worf proclaimed that Klingons don't laugh (a cliche) Guinan corrected him that Klingons do in fact laugh.

 

[DonIago]

I loved Ezri calling Worf out on this toward the end of DS9.

 

[Jellico]

Those Klingons sure did laugh. I don’t think I ever saw a Romulan or Jem’Hadar so much as smile.

 

[Ray Hardgrit]

I pretty much took Michael Dorn's performance for granted when I first saw TNG. I thought he was fine, but he was just the grumpy Klingon guy who didn't say much. I really didn't give him enough credit for how much he disappears into such an iconic role and makes it look effortless.

 

[Tosk]

Those Klingons sure did laugh. I don’t think I ever saw a Romulan or Jem’Hadar so much as smile.

 

[Ragitsu]

Friendly reminder that baring one's teeth is oftentimes considered a display of aggression.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Friendly reminder that baring one's teeth is oftentimes considered a display of aggression.

We're talking human's in makeup trying to connect to humans watching a TV show. It's rarely deeper than that.

 

[D Man]

His scene with Guinan at the beginning of "Yesterday's Enterprise" is one of his best moments to shine as Worf. "Warrior's drink!" and the huge laugh..."then I will never know." Then comes The Anomaly and he sadly doesn't get to be in my favorite episode after that, but at least he has that great scene first! I remember wishing it was his voice telling Picard to surrender during the battle at the end, but that's probably a little "small universe syndrome." Anyways I always thought Dorn did a great job with the character, but I think his best work was when they let him loosen up a little every so often.

 

[TheAdmiralty]

I think it took him a bit to grow into the role, could be a bit stiff the first year or two, but he was solid in the role eventually.

 

[AntonyF]

The Klingon machoism (I suppose what might be characterized in modern terms as "toxic masculinity") is cartoonish and off-putting.

I had never really thought of Klingons this way, and not sure it's justified. I think you're equating strength and aggression as largey male characteristics and going that way. But as a society while we saw men more when we did see women it never felt like they were inferior, quite the contrary. And Worf never really voiced things that would be considered toxic masculinity. The closest he got was about non-Klingon women being too frail for Klingons, and that was more a race not a gender observation. Then went on to bed non-Klingon women anyway.

Toxic Klingoninity maybe... at times.

It is an alien culture and, therefore, should not be judged by the standards of human societies.

You do when it's in a human TV series being shown to humans. It doesn't mean you get a free ride to portray whatever you want and normalise it through the lens of fictional characters. I will judge the shit out of Kamala being a trafficked sex slave for example. I will judge the shit out of the J'naii chemically castrating its populace.

According to his head cannon, the fact that Worf was raised by humans made him insecure about being a Klingon, so he over-compensated by emphasizing its importance to him.

There's probably a whole topic to unpick here. I notice increasingly people cling to heritage as a way to find identity for themselves. In Drag Race I think if a contestant had an espresso macchiato once they'll go around with an Italian accent claiming it's their heritage. Americans often get teased online for their need to say they're Irish or Italian even though they're third generation Americans etc.

But with Worf that was his direct parents, and he was brought up by them, and was then transplanted to an entirely different race and planet. There could be an entire thread about the ethics of that.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

I asked a friend (who's a hardcore fan) how Worf knew so much about Klingon culture and why it was so important to him, being that he was raised human. My friend's response was similar to yours. According to his head cannon, the fact that Worf was raised by humans made him insecure about being a Klingon, so he over-compensated by emphasizing its importance to him.

And if much of Worf's knowledge of Klingon culture came from books, rather than experience, he might inadvertently subscribe to cliches. For example, when Worf proclaimed that Klingons don't laugh (a cliche) Guinan corrected him that Klingons do in fact laugh.

It plays out similarly to Spock. Both have an idealised vision of their cultures and overcompensate in trying to live up to it due to somehow feeling othered.

 

[Atomic_Monkey]

I had never really thought of Klingons this way, and not sure it's justified. I think you're equating strength and aggression as largey male characteristics and going that way. But as a society while we saw men more when we did see women it never felt like they were inferior, quite the contrary. And Worf never really voiced things that would be considered toxic masculinity. The closest he got was about non-Klingon women being too frail for Klingons, and that was more a race not a gender observation. Then went on to bed non-Klingon women anyway.

You're mistakenly conflating machoism with misogyny. Machoism is not a belief that women are in inferior. Rather, machoism an exaggerated sense of strength and aggression.

While machoism can certainly manifest in misogyny (due to the desire to dominate), they aren't the same -- and one doesn't automatically lead to the other. It's entirely possible to be macho and at the same time consider women the equal of men. They aren't mutually exclusive.

So my characterization of Klingons as macho is valid (due to their exaggerated emphasis on aggression). Characterizing them as macho says nothing about their view of women.

 

[drt]

I think it took him a bit to grow into the role, could be a bit stiff the first year or two, but he was solid in the role eventually.

That was probably also related to how the character was a last second addition, so the writers didn't really know what do with him. It also didn't help that for the first season he didn't have a defined job, so didn't even have that as a writing hook for his character.

 

[BillJ]

Dorn in TNG? Very, very good. The rest? The Klingons have worn out their welcome for me and that includes Dorn.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

I thought he got better through DS9. More varied characters pushed Worf out of his comfort zone a little. It was good to see him take a walk on the wild side. *

* Do, dodo, dodo, dododo, do, dodo, dodo, dododo...