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So, about that...
Aug. 2nd, 2009 04:51 pmAfter reading the thoroughly depressing thread developing from a demand that Uhura should be put in her place (don't you just love that phrasing? Comes complete with terms like "pushy bitch" and "uppity" in various replies), I was very relieved to find a link to a discussion of Star Trek and race that doesn't make me claw my eyes out. Avery Brooks (that's Captain Benjamin Sisko for you, non-DS9-watching folk) and Samuel R. Delany were guests at a panel about race and Star Trek, a subject about which they, being POCs and sci fi legends, had plenty to say.
On that note: if you want to see Star Trek deal with racism in a non-metaphorical way that does not involve aliens, or for that matter pats on the back about how far we've come, watch the DS9 episode Far Beyond the Stars. That even works if you've never seen another DS9 episode before, as it's that rarity, an episode which works as very arc relevant and as a standalone not requiring in depth knowledge of the characters to be understood. Sisko - as Sisko - is just around a few minutes; the core of the episode is the story of a black Sci Fi writer in the 50s, Benny Russel (also played by Avery Brooks; the entire DS9 cast is there but in different roles). Among many other things, this episode does what fannish discussions about discrimination in its many flavours rarely accomplishes; it shows various -isms without equating them or assuming that experiencing one makes you the same as someone experiencing the other. For example, one of Benny Russel's collegues is female sci fi writer K.C. Hunter. (A homage to Star Trek script writer D.C. - Dorothy - Fontana.) Who just like Russel isn't wanted on staff photos because the fans are assumed to object to a female writer as well as a black one. (Hence the use of initials.) But the episode also makes it clear that Kay (played by Nana Visitor, otherwise the embodiment of Kira Nerys on the show), even with that sexism against her, is still in a position of privilege when compared to Benny Russel and the every day racism he lives with.
Moving on from my oldest to one of my newest fandoms: halcyon-shift has written another superb Sarah Connor Chronicles post season 2 finale story, Widows of the Ashes, centred on Sarah, Savannah... and Jesse. The interaction between Sarah and Savannah, and Sarah and Jesse feels just right in its mixture of awkwardness and rawness; rarely have I seen Sarah so well written, full stop. Just a great story.
On that note: if you want to see Star Trek deal with racism in a non-metaphorical way that does not involve aliens, or for that matter pats on the back about how far we've come, watch the DS9 episode Far Beyond the Stars. That even works if you've never seen another DS9 episode before, as it's that rarity, an episode which works as very arc relevant and as a standalone not requiring in depth knowledge of the characters to be understood. Sisko - as Sisko - is just around a few minutes; the core of the episode is the story of a black Sci Fi writer in the 50s, Benny Russel (also played by Avery Brooks; the entire DS9 cast is there but in different roles). Among many other things, this episode does what fannish discussions about discrimination in its many flavours rarely accomplishes; it shows various -isms without equating them or assuming that experiencing one makes you the same as someone experiencing the other. For example, one of Benny Russel's collegues is female sci fi writer K.C. Hunter. (A homage to Star Trek script writer D.C. - Dorothy - Fontana.) Who just like Russel isn't wanted on staff photos because the fans are assumed to object to a female writer as well as a black one. (Hence the use of initials.) But the episode also makes it clear that Kay (played by Nana Visitor, otherwise the embodiment of Kira Nerys on the show), even with that sexism against her, is still in a position of privilege when compared to Benny Russel and the every day racism he lives with.
Moving on from my oldest to one of my newest fandoms: halcyon-shift has written another superb Sarah Connor Chronicles post season 2 finale story, Widows of the Ashes, centred on Sarah, Savannah... and Jesse. The interaction between Sarah and Savannah, and Sarah and Jesse feels just right in its mixture of awkwardness and rawness; rarely have I seen Sarah so well written, full stop. Just a great story.
