Racism in Star Trek

Racism in Star Trek

Television series that run in seasons and screen monthly or weekly are able to have more fleshed out narratives, are able to explore more themes and have more intricate character development. This is true in comparison to Hollywood films. The nature of the televised series allows for more development of these elements. Look at Walter White, Skyler and Jessie Pinkman’s development through the Breaking Bad series over the span of 5 seasons and one can understand the time producers and directors have over their characters and narrative development.

The longer durations are not only the only kind of difference that TV series have in relation to Hollywood films. Think of the viewing context – one might see a Hollywood film, sit down for a maximum of 2.5 hours, and then leave. The film might be at the front of their minds and emotions, but after a few weeks it might settle. The film might become what one was – a memory. The television series contrasts this. Weekly scheduled screenings makes the narrative and the event of watching a part of the viewers life. The consistent screenings and the settling of watching at home allows for an immediacy and intimacy that Hollywood blockbusters do not.

So what’s the point of all this. Here is another idea. Think of the science-fiction genre. Science fiction is about the future, but it is always related to how the world is here and now. When discussing what could be the referent to the “could be” state of affairs is always the world we live in. Think of Battlestar Galactica. The c of Caprica gets invaded by Cylons. Caprica was ill prepared and the space warships struggle to retaliate before Caprica succumbs to the invasion. The release of this pilot episode was shortly after the tragic events on the 9/11 terror attacks. Viewers naturally saw the allegory. Science-fiction can address the real world issues through allegory, without explicitly referencing actual real world issues. So science-fiction can be seen as a critique and a way of understanding the world as we live in it.

The point I would like to address here in that the viewing of science-fiction television series are not just spectacles, or objects of entertainment. Especially science-fiction. If science fiction has the ability to show that our world could be otherwise then we hope it does a damn good job, especially if we are watching them weekly, in our own living rooms, for months on end, sometimes at set times – part of our lives, which may be organised around the schedules broadcast screening times.

How might Star Trek handle racism and race relations? Back with the first broadcasted season on Star Trek in the early 60’s it would have, at the time, seemed progressive, futuristic and utopian to have the ship of the Starship Enterprise, or the bridge to be filled with a large handful of races, genders and nationalities.

Producers might have been smiling and giving handshakes amongst themselves for having a black woman answering the telephone and the communication systems of the Enterprise. However when we take the Enterprise away from the picture, we have what I think is a lot of racism.

I believe that the non-human races of star trek can be seen as racial stereotypes for human races. The Klingons are barbarian, warlike and not intelligent. This is EVERY single Klingon. Vulcans are ALL logical, smalrt, emotionless and intelligent. All Cardassians are militaristic. ALL Bajorans are religious and dogmatic.

Every planet in Star Trek that has its own species of Alien life makes an important point about racism in the United States of America. All the alien life has one type of trait and belief. All the races are the same. They are uniform. This is implausible. We seem to be seeing these species from the US Eurocentric vision. All the species are in conflict, and despite forming alliances when they inevitably break down they go back to their own stereotypes and uniformity of the same traits.

Maybe lack of funding, close inspection of Star Trek allowed and facilitated this reading. But there are nudges here. The enterprise going and fixing a an Alien, run by a white man, and seeing the race with one trait. Definitely some allegories with human history here. What are our thoughts on this?