In the far distant days of my High School experience, I associated
with a diverse group of friends. In fact, our little band of misfits prided
itself on including those who were excluded everywhere else: the uber-nerds, geeks,
theater folk, and the extremely introverted were always welcome additions to
the lunch table or extracurricular excursion. One of these friends was (and
probably still is) one of those curious individuals who are fans of Star Trek, more commonly known as “trekkies.”
She was unusual in many ways, not only because she was the rare female trekkie
among an overwhelming male majority, but also because she was a quiet, highly
intelligent young woman who just happened to know how to speak Klingon and
enjoyed attending science fiction conventions in her spare time.
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| Original 1960s crew |
So when Paramount Pictures et al announced the arrival of a new
series of films based loosely on the original Star Trek television series, I immediately thought of my long-lost
friend and the many geeks, nerds and/or freaks that would no doubt eagerly
await the first release. I, on the other hand, had my reservations.
Despite my
youthful interest in the Next Generation series
that aired up through my High School graduation (I had a thing for Patrick
Stewart, if you can believe that), I had lost interest in the franchise upon
reaching adulthood. So when I finally made an effort to watch the 2009 Star Trek film, it was hesitantly and on
DVD. I was immediately sorry that I had not gone to the theater to see the film
– it was far better than I had anticipated, and although I can’t say that I joined
the ranks of zealous trekkies, I eagerly awaited the release of the next film
in the series, Into Darkness, and over
the summer paid my hard-earned $8.50 to see it on the big screen. It was (and
still is) exceptionally entertaining.
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| Pale faces, then and now |
So when Into Darkness
was released onto DVD this month, I bought it and watched the film again. And
again. And then I noticed something that shocked me right down to my toes. Star Trek has always had more than its
fair share of powerful white men. There was Kirk and his crew back in the 60s
(even the aliens are white, quite an amazing accomplishment); then came Picard
in The Next Generation, and (since I
am unfamiliar with the other Star Trek
spin-off series, I’m skipping ahead), we have come full circle back to Kirk in
the 2009 and 2013 films. And the films, like the original television series, is
entirely organized around powerful white men who either use or abuse that power
as they see fit. This is the case, despite
the diverse cast of supporting characters and the fact that the story is
supposed to take place in a far-distant universe where inter-galactic travel
has promoted a diversity that we cannot currently comprehend.
The 2009 Star Trek features Kirk Sr., Pike, and James T.
Kirk, rising to positions of power as they face off against the bad guys and,
in the end, save Earth from obliteration. In the 2013 film, Kirk and Pike
return, and are joined by Marcus and Kahn, both of whom are far more powerful bad
guys than the opponents defeated in the first film. Both are white. Spock (both
older and younger), the always-ready second-in-command, is also white, despite
the eyebrows and pointy ears. None of these characters are killed off or lost
(excluding Pike, who dies early in the second film and thus provides the
emotional exegesis for Kirk’s quest for revenge); the diverse crew members, on
the other hand, drop like flies with the explosion of every photon missile.
Even Kahn, the baddest (white) bad guy around, doesn’t die. He is returned to his
cryo-tube to await justice in some distant future.
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| Kahn |
Stinging from the slap of this realization, I brooded. I
have long complained about the mini-skirt and gogo-boot wearing female members
of the original Star Trek crew, as
well as the token Asian and black men and women on that show. And now, nearly
fifty years later, what has changed? Unfortunately, not much. The skirts in the
new Star Trek films are just as
short; the men in power just as white. And don’t even get me started on the
lingerie-flashing Dr. Marcus (blonde, white, skinny). These films, my friends, are touted for their
“success.” This only goes to show that this brand of success is measured in
dollar signs, rather than measurable advances in socio-political equality.
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