Here are five reasons the diversity of Star Trek is great for Native people:
Star Trek was a leader in the world of science fiction. It was also a leader in the world of civil rights.
The cast was incredibly diverse at a time when the American Indian movement was facing opposition from the federal government and civil rights leaders were being attacked by police dogs.
I ask you to take a good look at the world around us. We are not a world that wants to accept diversity or genuinely work on improving our planet.
Star Trek taught us that all types can be empowered.
From the Native side of things, we are still looked upon as a defeated people. We see our likenesses and images used as racist caricatures for sports teams and university mascots. Items that our people deem culturally significant and sacred are used as “hip” props.
Star Trek taught us no matter how seemingly insignificant a creature, they could all be empowered. Take a look at the Tribbles. The crew thought they were just cute little fuzzy animals, but they nearly took over the Enterprise. In numbers, all together, we are strong.
Star Trek taught us that all races could work together.
One step onto the bridge of the Starship Enterprise would convince anyone that many races can work together to overcome any odds.
These are injustices we face as Native Americans today. If you asked our ethnic brothers and sisters who share this land with us, they would likely same the same. We all live in a reality of hatred and racism that shows its ugly face in the form of mass shootings and unchecked violence that is scars the heart of our nation.
It is the same type of social division that the 60’s are best known for, the very same decade that birthed Star Trek are still prominent today.
Star Trek taught us there is hope.
There is always hope when we have people stand up for what is right. There is hope when people who go against the accepted norms and say enough. There is hope when individuals choose what is morally right in the face of persecution. There is hope when we choose decency and recognize diversity for the gift it is. There is hope when people behave like Kirk and Picard say enough, and chose to solve problems instead of making them.
Star Trek is a promise that things can be better.
It is a spirit of evolution that guides us to a wonderful tomorrow, filled the same principle that Gene Roddenberry spoke of when he coined the concept of Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations. Star Trek is a call for us all to be more than we are, becoming ambassadors of hope to a world in need.
In closing I would like to offer both congratulations and my gratitude to all who have contributed in the past 50 years of Star Trek, you have made my life better with your shows, films, books and toys. You helped provide a safe retreat a young S’Klallam growing up on his reservation 30 years ago and continue to inspire me today.
To quote my favorite Vulcan, “May you continue to live long and prosper in the years ahead.”
I’m currently re-watching the original series and I’m constantly amazed at how well they’re doing many things. Much better than many recent shows.
For example there’s never any slut shaming. Sure, those ultra-short uniforms for the female crew members do serve as eye-candy for the presumed male viewer, but within the show nobody ever makes any remark on them, they’re just uniforms.
Giliell:
Yes. Those uniforms, well, it was the ’60s. Even so, as you say, they weren’t used in a pervy way in the show. They did get a lot of stuff right. They also had more than a few cringeworthy moments, but overall, for a show which is now 50 years old, it stands up remarkably well.
Totally, but as you say, considering the time…
I mean, Kirk’s fucking his way through half the Galaxy and he often uses his charms to get information etc, but compared to the outright rape portrayed as hot sex in the Bond movies of that era…
There’s the diversity, and there’s always a strong humanism at their basis. They care.
Giliell:
That’s exactly why it still stands up. 50 years on, anyone can sit and pick the show apart, but for the early 60s, it was a unique and remarkable show. I was 9 years old when Star Trek aired, and was glued to the screen every week. That show had a big influence on me. It not only sparked a deeper interest in science, it gave me a refuge from the near insane level of bigotry in my family, reassuring me that it was possible to think, and to believe that all people were equal and equally valuable. I can’t even say how much I loved that show. It was a lifeline to me at the time.
I first saw Star Trek on late-night reruns. Back then, I didn’t appreciate its intent and impact. Then the Sci-Fi Channel showed it alongside interviews with the cast, and I began to understand and love the show more.
One of my favorite Kirk moments: Discovering that a prisoner is being tortured, he is determined to put a stop to it. He tells the high chancellor of the planet, “The only way you’ll use that machine again is on one of us!” Badass.
Georgewiman @ 6:
Yep. It was good, they showed having the courage of your convictions.