My gripes with Asian casting and character naming in Paramount+ Trek

Is there a joke here? I am not sure I catch it if we have established that Michelle Yeoh is indubitably Malaysian.

 

No joke, just that her time in the Captain's chair was AWFULLY short and used as a spring board for SMG (Sonequa Martin Green) to take the lead, eventually make it to Captain.

Sadly, we can't seem to get the PtB (Power's that Be) to have a proper Asian Captain.

I was REALLY expecting Michelle Yeoh to be that person, but my hopes were dashed.

 

She is evidently going to be the lead of the Section 31 series they have in development, though probably not with captain's rank.

 

When that happens, great for her.
But that's not what I wanted.

I wanted a traditional Captain's slot/seat for the first Asian StarFleet Captain to headline a TV Series.

No earning the seat/rank like Sisko/Burnham, just being the Captain for the entire series run just like Kirk / Picard / Janeway / Archer.

Michelle Yeoh was "Sooo Close" to that, then we all know what happened to her character.

 

For all we know, Georgiou will be captain of a Section 31 ship. It doesn't make any sense for a secret conspiracy to have its own dedicated starships, but that's an established canonical fact, unfortunately, so they may continue in that vein. Alternatively, she may be portrayed as the head of the agency, or maybe the head of a black-ops spy team, sort of an Ethan Hunt role. I don't see how it matters if the lead character is specifically a starship captain as long as they're the lead.

I mean, it seems odd to be attached to tradition while simultaneously advocating change. The traditional way of doing things in TV is to cast white people in the lead roles. So what's so great about tradition? Star Trek should innovate. I'd love to see more Trek shows focused on characters other than starship captains and crews, although I wish they were doing it with something other than Section 31.

 

well, even with DS9, they still used a starship to get around if needed. I still remember the kurfufle of Sisko only being a Commander when the show started..
I'm still rooting for an alien captain.

 

+1 for Yeoh staying captain. Burnham/Georgiou is the DIS I wanted to see.

 

Yeah, demoting Georgio would not make sense. It was easier for Starfleet to pretend Mirror Georgiou was the same person as Prime, originally. Hell she could be commodore or flaptain by the time she comes back. She might be in charge of Sec31.

 

We'll see once they turn it into a real show and not just talk about it.

Some traditions I like. Prime Example, is a Captain of a StarShip going on adventures with their crew.
The things I wanted to change is who is Captaining said StarShip.
If she had her own "Section 31" ship, that could be pretty cool.
NGL, if she had her own Impossible Mission Forces like team and was running Black Ops, that could be neat.

 

It was pretty obvious all along that Michelle Yeoh was not going to be that person. One of the earliest things we knew about Disco was that it wasn't going to follow the traditional Trek cast formula of the main cast consisting exclusively of the starship's senior staff and that the lead wasn't going to be the Captain. Indeed, when Michelle Yeoh's casting was announced, they made it clear she was only going to be a recurring character, and Sonnequa Martin Green had already been announced as the show's lead a couple months prior.

 

Here's my preference, that will like not happen. Yes, she is running Black Ops teams. But, slowly, with her new view on life thanks to the Guardian, she becomes more and more good, working closer towards Starfleet's actual goals, and less S31's but still keeping that distance since being good still feels wrong to her.

 

In theory that's right but the vast majority of white Star Trek characters have names of european origin, so a lot of asian characters also having european sounding names sticks out.

 

Michelle Yeoh's star power just went through the roof being nominated for an Oscar. I seriously doubt she'll play any part in a Star Trek show much less lead.

Maybe a cameo to kick it off. Maybe.

 

How dare she? Doesn't she know that's beneath her?

 

Her ignorance on this matter enrages me so much I'm preparing a 90 minute YouTube video to express my true feelings on this matter.

( )

 

Before the Oscar nod or after?

Fair point on Whoopi but that's a different case. She was very much influenced by the presence of Nichelle Nichols on tv growing up here in America. She's a Trekkie so to speak. Uhura affected Whoopi for the better.

I would also say Whoopi was a guest star, not a main character.

It doesn't mean Yeoh wouldn't want to do tv or anything like that. It's just that it is now a bit more difficult to get her in there when there might be better more lucrative offers coming her way. Committing to a tv show could narrow her choices.

 

What of Michelle likes it? It's awfully dismissive just because of a Oscar.