Race, Gender and Politics in Star Trek by Sal Creber

Not only is she a woman, she is also black. Uhura may be one of the most significant additions to the crew. George Takei himself had been a victim of racist paranoia and put into an internment camp with his family. The Japanese were a recently defeated enemy in WWII, and the country was just starting to come to terms with how they had treated their Japanese citizens. The Japanese Hikaru Sulu is symbolic, too. At the height of the Cold War, when Russians were viewed as the enemy of the United States, Pavel Chekhov is at the helm of the ship. The makeup of the cast of The Original Series itself was progressive at the time.

The cast of “Star Trek: The Original Series” (Photo: CBS) Roddenberry clearly believed that in the future men and women would be equally represented and equally capable of command. The studio forced him to back down Number One was cut and the crew became one-third women instead. Roddenberry originally intended for half of the Enterprise’s crew to be women as well. Number One is portrayed as cool, levelheaded, and perfectly capable of taking command when Captain Pike is taken captive. This is in the 1960’s, when women didn’t have nearly the same rights and options that women today do. Let’s start at the very beginning, with the original pilot “The Cage.” The first officer in the first episode is a woman. If we look back at Roddenberry’s comments and articulated ideas about the show, we’ll find that he was, in fact, the original SJW. Neither did Gene Roddenberry, and Star Trek is at its heart a progressive and forward-thinking show.

You know what, though? I don’t see wanting social justice as a bad thing.

It’s usually meant in a derogatory sense to put said SJW down. Others push back on this and want to “keep that SJW crap” out of Trek.įor those wondering, that acronym stands for Social Justice Warrior. Some are hoping for the new show to push the limits even farther and include more women, an LGBTQ main character or captain, and in general a more diverse cast. This has become particularly apparent now that the news of a new series starting in 2017 has broken. If you frequent Star Trek fan sites, you’ll know there’s a disagreement between groups of fans.

Race, Gender and Politics in Star Trek by Sal Creber