We could've had the First Asian Female Captain, but no....

[Refuge]

The Cage started it all. It has its place.

 

[Mach5]

The irony that some fans find it strange that a show called Star Trek set into a future where humanity are politically and socially united, where culture diversity is the norm should not reflect that reality. I am glad The Cage was not the standard for Star Trek it was lily white and patriarchal.

As opposed to TOS which was just a tad less white, no less patriarchal, and with an occasional dash of misogyny?

The Cage started it all. It has its place.

I agree. It's also a very good standalone science fiction story.

 

[Mudd]

The irony that some fans find it strange that a show called Star Trek set into a future where humanity are politically and socially united, where culture diversity is the norm should not reflect that reality. I am glad The Cage was not the standard for Star Trek it was lily white and patriarchal.

Well, it now reflects some racial and gender diversity. There's more cultural diversity within two blocks of my front door than in fifty years of Star Trek, Hollywood English spoken with an accent and pins stuck in a map notwithstanding.

 

[Kirk the Jerk]

I find it funny how every single person who says that is a white straight cis male, someone who has seen themselves represented every single day of their lives. Some of us aren’t so lucky so don’t fucking speak for us.

You have no clue what it is like to never see someone like yourself, you take it for granted. I didn’t see a single positive portrayal of someone like me until I was 30 and I’m 33 now. Before that, it was dead bodies, hookers and the punchline to a cruel joke. Do you know how that affects you? Of course you don’t, you got to see yourself as a hero, brave, handsome, charming, etc. I just got to see myself as a dead body, a hooker or the punchline of a cruel joke. It’s hard to imagine a future with that as your only representation of yourself. Media is how we view the world, it influences how people see themselves and each other. If that’s all you ever get to see as yourself, what could be your hope for anything? It’s not much. In fact that one positive performance may have saved my life. I know you don’t care, you just care about getting more and not seeing anything that makes you uncomfortable (meaning makes you actually think and question yourself). But it matters to me and it matters to everyone else who gets the shaft when it comes to representation.

So yes, “I wish they had an Asian/Black/TransGender/Gay/BiPolar lead”. Because we exist and deserve a chance to be represented. I don’t care if you don’t like it, you’ve had enough and they’ll never stop showing white men in lead roles. We just want to see someone else every now and then, because this might be hard to accept but white men aren’t the only people in the world. In fact you’re outnumbered by everyone else. So suck it up and learn to have empathy for others, the rest of us have had to do for years.

Wow! Just wow! You’ve totally missed what I’ve been saying.

So because I don’t see an issue with other races/sexual orientations that’s my white man privelidge is it? You talk shit. You know fuck all about me n the background I come from so don’t talk to me like you do.

why is my acceptance of everyone is equal such a bad thing to you? Because I don’t treat black people any different to white or gay any different to straight. Should I treat them differently? Is that what you’re saying? I think you have a huge problem. I’m aware that under representation happened for years but that simply isn’t the case anymore.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

There are a lot of firsts in DSC already, first singular protagonist (who is also a black woman), first openly gay regular character, first on-screen gay romance, first evil captain (who also pretty much turns out to be the season's main antagonist)...

I don't really see this as a major missed opportunity, tbh. Mirror Giorgiu as an antagonist turned antihero offers a lot more storytelling potential than a goodie two shoes by the book CO.

Oh, and there's something cool about having to wait for season two to see who the captain is going to be. Another first for Star Trek.

(Rooting for a Vulcan woman)

While what you say about Mirror Georgiou may be true, I would've liked to see her be normal Captain for at least 1 season before being killed off plot wise. Then enter Mirror Georgiou.

 

[Kirk the Jerk]

Who said anything about black and Asian people making me uncomfortable? Are you serious? I just care about getting more white people? Have you even read what you’ve said? Because nowhere in anything I’ve ever written or thought implies that. I think you need to get your head out of your ass.

I am truly truly sorry you never found someone to identify with to in 30 years, you’re right I’ve never expirenced that, nor could I imagine what it’d be like to. Of course I can see a visual difference in skin colour, what I’ve been saying is I don’t treat them any differently which you’ve turned in to a bad thing . Whether you like it or not we are all the same on the biological level, we breathe air and we die. Stop saying I don’t understand anything because I’m white. I understand a great deal about the way the British Empire acted and the way the ‘western world’ acts towards black people. Don’t direct your anger at me because I don’t see any issue with race/sex. If Star Trek chose to have an all black cast I’d still watch it if it had compelling stories, if it had an all gay cast it wouldn’t bother me. How is that a bad thing???

 

[Mudd]

Mirror Georgiou needs to be played by a CG zombie Jonathan Harris.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

I’m aware that under representation happened for years but that simply isn’t the case anymore.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-asians-on-television-study-20170913-story.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/29/...-for-visibility-they-will-not-be-ignored.html

We're not even close to implementing "Affirmative Action" quotas in Hollywood, much less have accurate ethnic % representation of the US based on yearly statistical averages.

If it was every Hollywood Movie/TV show that isn't a period piece would have at least 1 of each Ethnicity that is statistically significant.

That means a minimum of 1 Latino, 1 Asian, 1 South-east Asian, 1 European, 1 etc.

 

[BillJ]

Seems like Fuller's version of the show would've been more serious than the comic book we ended up with.

 

[ITDUDE]

I kind like that we have a black female lead character.

But the best performance was still by a British white guy.

 

[Mach5]

But the best performance was still by a British white guy.

It's not a contest. Jason Isaacs is a veteran of British theatre, which gives him the same kind of edge Patrick Stewart had over the rest of the TNG cast. But just as my favorite acting performance in TNG was actually that of Brent Spiner's, the best one in Discovery for me was Anthony Rapp's.

Similar can be said for Black Panther, where I think the finest, most memorable performance was given by Andy Serkis (followed by Michael B. Jordan), but at the same time, the film's shittiest, blandest performance was by the movie's other white dude (Martin Freeman).

 

[{ Emilia }]

I think you have a huge problem.

Drop the personal comments.

Another suggestion would be to calm down. Just sayin'. Comments to PM.

 

[Jedi_Master]

Similar can be said for Black Panther, where I think the finest, most memorable performance was given by Andy Serkis (followed by Michael B. Jordan), but at the same time, the film's shittiest, blandest performance was by the movie's other white dude (Martin Freeman).

Brief aside: I think it is fair to point out that Martin Freeman's character was hamstrung by the unnecessary American accent and the "support and exposition" role he had in the script.

 

[Kirk the Jerk]

Drop the personal comments.

Another suggestion would be to calm down. Just sayin'. Comments to PM.

So Awesome Possum can directly swear at me but if I imply I think someone has a problem that’s wrong, right? Ok.

 

[Spot261]

So because I don’t see an issue with other races/sexual orientations that’s my white man privelidge is it

Nope, how you see people is irrelevant, the issue isn't about you at all, that's the point. It's about the people who are being underrepresented, not the people in the 20% who still have 80% of the screen time, hence the luxury to pretend the problem doesn't exist. Take @Awesome Possum's comments about trans people, do you really feel we are seeing proportionate and positive representation there? Do three Asian characters in fifty years prior to DSC really do justice to one of the largest aggregate ethnic groups on the planet?

why is my acceptance of everyone is equal such a bad thing to you? Because I don’t treat black people any different to white or gay any different to straight. Should I treat them differently? Is that what you’re saying? I think you have a huge problem. I’m aware that under representation happened for years but that simply isn’t the case anymore.

When colour is the issue being colour blind is being blind to that issue.

Again, how you treat people in your personal life has absolutely nothing to do with this. What matters is being "colour blind" is an easy, passive form of virtue signalling when it simply involves not paying attention to actual problems. Straight white males make an absurdly disproportionate proportion of the leads and main cast across mainstream TV as a medium and the fact you don't recognise how that reflects on our society is pretty telling of exactly the problem under discussion.

 

[Mach5]

Brief aside: I think it is fair to point out that Martin Freeman's character was hamstrung by the unnecessary American accent and the "support and exposition" role he had in the script.

The latter is a good point, but the fake accent didn't seem to affect his acting in Fargo.

I do strongly feel that the character of Gabriel Lorca would've made an even deeper impression if they'd let Isaacs speak in his native accent, though. Same goes for Ash Tyler. I don't see how the character benefited from Latif's fake accent at all.

 

[Nyotarules]

Seinfeld got ribbed for showing so few black people in New York City but I think Jerry once said that he deserved the criticism for not having more black characters in the series. The pilot was filmed in 1989 and the series ran from 1990-98 during a time when the predominant sitcom paradigm was white leads with an increasing number of strong female characters but not so many mixed race casts and even fewer openly gay and lesbian leads or supporting roles. Were he to make his show now he'd probably have a more ethnically-diverse cast.

Friends was the same. I have visited NY four times in 1989, 1993, 2013, 2016. It is a racially diverse city but it does not have racially diverse neighbourhoods so no suprise birds of a feather (humans) do not flock together. Maybe in the Star Trek universe aliens in North American cities live in one sector and human beings in another.

 

[Kirk the Jerk]

Nope, how you see people is irrelevant, the issue isn't about you at all, that's the point. It's about the people who are being underrepresented, not the people in the 20% who still have 80% of the screen time, hence the luxury to pretend the problem doesn't exist. Take @Awesome Possum's comments about trans people, do you really feel we are seeing proportionate and positive representation there? Do three Asian characters in fifty years prior to DSC really do justice to one of the largest aggregate ethnic groups on the planet?



When colour is the issue being colour blind is being bind to that issue.

Again, how you treat people in your personal life has absolutely nothing to do with this. What matters is being "colour blind" is an easy, passive form of virtue signalling when it simply involves not paying attention to actual problems. Straight white males make an absurdly disproportionate proportion of the leads and main cast across mainstream TV as a medium and the fact you don't recognise how that reflects on our society is pretty telling of exactly the problem under discussion.

I’m not colour blind, I am aware there are issues around the world. I just choose not to treat or view anyone as different whether they’re White, Black, Asian, Gay or Trans gender.

Rightly or wrongly I’m bringing my kids up not to view or treat any one differently, of course to respect other cultures but to treat them exactly the same as they would anyone else, because if I was in the same position I wouldn’t want people to view me differently, but what do I know, I’m white and straight so I can’t possibly comment on anything.

I’m not going to bother commenting any more on the subject because it’s pointless! Wasted words!

 

[Nyotarules]

As opposed to TOS which was just a tad less white, no less patriarchal, and with an occasional dash of misogyny?

I give them kudos for making an effort

 

[mos6507]

Who said anything about black and Asian people making me uncomfortable?

This is the problem with how people consume entertainment these days.

Hollywood knows it's a hell of a lot easier to make a diverse casting decision than it is to actually make a quality piece of storytelling. As long as people seem content to praise mediocrity (female Ghostbusters being the worst offender) purely based on casting then it will encourage more of the same.