The producers of Star Trek Discovery (STD) really, really, REALLY want you to know that they will prominently feature a gay character in their cast. This is totally important, you guys.
“There’s a kid out there who’s going to turn on his TV, and they’re gonna see two men love each other and support each other and support each other’s genius, and it’s not going to be an issue,” he said of his on-screen relationship with Lt. Stamets (Anthony Rapp). “It’s just going to be what it is.”
No, it isn’t because you keep banging us over the head with it. You just admitted that the only reason for this character’s existence is to promote a positive image of gay people. And why are you so adamant that the target audience has to be a kid? That’s just plain creepy.
Back in the days of the original series (TOS), were they constantly making a big deal about Lt. Uhuru. Was it a non-stop barrage of, “Hey, Look, we have a Black Woman on our show. And she’s sort of treated as an equal … kind of.” Maybe that generation cared more about doing things and less about making sure other people noticed that you were doing things.
I am also put in mind that every Trek series since the reboot has featured a non-human character learning What It Means To Be Human. Data. Odo. Holodoc/7ofD-Cups. T’Pol. And basically, “what it means to be human” always boils down to having emotions, because Hollywood is stupid. But it almost seems like they are sort of doing that with The Gay Character. (Does he even need a name?). Because this character will also be defined solely by his symbolism.
I feel like when the day comes when a show has a gay character and doesn’t make a giant deal out of it… then, that will be real progress.
I find it difficult to watch “national socialist military governance in space” TV these days.
“Star Fleet is mother. The Federation is father.”
Lieutenant Uhura was supposedly a breakthrough character, but she was really a switchboard operator. And she was a commissioned officer, but was doing a job that probably would have been assigned to a junior enlisted person in the Air Force or Navy IRL.
The premise of aliens learning humanity (i.e.,learning to appreciate emotions) was part of Trek from TOS through the sequels, spin-offs, and reboots up to the present. Kirk would solve problems using intuition and gut instinct, often rejecting Spock’ s logical advice. “Trust your heart, not your head” was a recurring theme.
I was going to make the same point about Spock as the non-human character learning what it means to be human in TOS.
“There’s a kid out there who’s going to turn on his TV, and they’re gonna see two men love each other…”
Hrmmm. Most of OldTrek aired before I was born, though staying up late to watch the reruns was way, way, way too big a part of my teenage years (I’ve finally forgotten most of the Stardates).
Now that I think of it, it never even once inspired me to want to go and kiss an African-American woman. It was fine for people to do it on TV, and certainly in real life, just not something that ever seemed important to me.
“I feel like when the day comes when a show has a gay character and doesn’t make a giant deal out of it… then, that will be real progress.”
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Cthulhu, 2007. The protagonist thinks his dad doesn’t like him because he’s gay. Turns out his dad doesn’t like him because he refuses to take over the family business of summoning the Elder gods to come rule the world and enslave humanity (spoiler).
#4: I liked that film.
Also, IMHO if you didn’t see gay subtext in Star Trek DS9 between Garak and Bashir, you really weren’t watching.
The focus of any of the series has never been on ANY romantic relationship, except in passing, in a way that is sterile; i.e., Tom Paris & B’elanna Torres. Limited smooches. If they make a significant part of this about gay, gay, gay then it’s going to be a disaster. I hope that they remember a significant segment of their fans are part of a demographic that has a difficult time with straight relationships, let alone SJW gay liberal mafia BS.
If I cringe just once, then it’s a no-go ejection seat at 20,000 feet for me. I suffered through idiot Scott Bakula’s tobacco free series, through the first moronic, naval gazing partial skin exhibition episode to the last totally impromptu the series has been cut finish it out scene. My Sci-Fi criteria credentials don’t require that I even like the whole Star Trek thing. I’m getting mad already, I just feel it.
“There’s a Venezuelan kid out there who’s going to turn on his TV, and they’re gonna see Bernie Hippie-Commune-Kickedout Sanders and Michal Sack-of-BS Moore love each other and support each other’s praise of Chavismo and support each other’s Do-Gooding genius, and it’s not going to be an issue for that kid to stay on their forced diet” tweeted the Social Justice Warrior of the (North) West from his iPad about the latest news on the (neverending) Bolivarian Revolution a la sauce Maduro, after the late Chavez spices.
“It’s just going to be what we’ve decided it ought to be.”
*Michael Moore
I’m waiting for the day when they have a regular character in a show, that acts like a regular guy, but then it is discovered that he is gay. It would be like:
“Wait…you’re gay? You don’t act gay.”
“Most gays don’t act gay.”
“Why didn’t you tell us before?”
“Because it’s none of your damn business, that’s why!”
And then the matter is dropped. That’s what I want to see.
I’d like to see an unabashed Libertarian trying to upend the establishment at Starfleet more than another sissy like Takei.
@9 “And then the matter is dropped. That’s what I want to see.”
In a world that is now only inches away from having people receiving their official Victim Card in the mail (or, for others, a contrario, their ineligibility thereof, until further notice from our dear U.N. do-gooding elites) say, after, every other G20 summit with Noam Chomsky, Barack Obama, Al Gore, or Melissa Click-on-me-if-you-dare as special (paid) guest advisors on societal issues…
…well, yeah, in this world, I would not venture to hold my breath on that one.
Roger Scruton has an important advice (although, quite unsurprising to anyone with 2 milligrams of selfesteem, by now) to give, if we were still in doubts, at mark 5min30secs:
https://youtu.be/5O1U5Z1roy0
See also: 3 stages of Postmodernism, by Stephen Hicks, or Jordan B Peterson’s take.
That seemed to be Chris Pine’s JTKirk 2.0 reaction at the party at the end of Star Trek Beyond, but apparently the-powers-that-be are insistant in nuking the Trek 2.0 timeline. [/sad]
…But then JTKirk 2.0 is actually his older brother George Samuel in the original TOS timeline.
Sesame Street. Bert and Ernie. They lived together and shared a bed. As a kid in the late 60’s, I didn’t think anything of it, probably because people weren’t constantly flogging their agenda.
@ Tom:
Lt. Uhura did get several opportunities to shine, notably in ‘The Naked Time’ and ‘Plato’s Stepchildren’. My favorite Uhura line came in ‘The Naked Time’ when an addled Sulu grabs her and exclaims “Ah, fair maiden.” “Sorry, neither.”
One of the gay characters is in only 5 of the 15 episodes. How is that fair? /sarc