tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6730657139931062421.post1578999285735663367..comments2023-05-14T03:03:09.451-05:00Comments on Female Impersonator: Star Trek, Uhura and Structures of AuthorityAmeliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884754298018500343noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6730657139931062421.post-73094042033926746922009-05-24T12:46:52.578-05:002009-05-24T12:46:52.578-05:00Hi,
I watched the new Star Trek film and I liked ...Hi,<br /><br />I watched the new Star Trek film and I liked it very much because it did a full circle back to the original series and relied on the character development rather than the special effects and explosions.<br /><br />There are two things happening with this film because it's a prequel. <br /><br />Firstly working in its favour are the fact that the majority of people who came to see it would already know the characters and would expect to see those main characters, so perhaps they didn't need to do too much work on the character development as people would fill in the gaps from their own knowledge. We might have expected to see more female characters, but they would always seem like minor characters because they were not from the original series, so in the end this actually worked against the film makers modernising the character list to add more women.<br /><br />Secondly because it's a prequel they are limited to the original characterisation. The addition of a woman, and what's more a black woman, into the 60s series was very forward thinking at the time. She was a well developed character, but she's really the only female character anyone remembers from the series, although some more women appeared in the ensuing films. So they were not really able to make the star fleet prior to the original series into a hive of female acceptance, if it didn't tie into the events which were supposed to happen after it in the original series. Plus they were not going to be able to make Uhura more developed in her youth than she was in her 30s/40s. I think their choices were fairly restricted really.<br /><br />However I totally agree that she could have had some more of a hero's part in the film, she didn't actually have to be romantically involved with anyone but at least she went for the brains. I also agree she could have had a longer skirt and still been a valid character!Prudencehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03857546622091578812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6730657139931062421.post-8477253684646358592009-05-16T18:21:00.000-05:002009-05-16T18:21:00.000-05:00Anonymous so-and-so had two comments rejected. Sor...Anonymous so-and-so had two comments rejected. Sorry!Ameliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10884754298018500343noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6730657139931062421.post-37066560480032004702009-05-16T13:30:00.000-05:002009-05-16T13:30:00.000-05:00This was mostly noisy mindless entertainment for t...This was mostly noisy mindless entertainment for the 12-24 year old boy in all of us. But I did love the new Spock's nose, slight form, and those soft tender lips. Umm Umm. The old Spock, well...<br />More seriously, what this film does is confine actual women to a few stereotypes: the hot smart and snappy black girl, the woman giving birth in emergency circumstances, the loving mom telling her boy how much she loves him, the odd (in this case, green) girl who never is more than a quick lay, and so on. The men are the ones who display all the more subtle feminine characteristics of charm, humor, friendship, romance, and so on. It's kind of like white guys playing Indians in those old western movies. <br />After a hard day of brainwork, my friend and I enjoyed this film, letting the noise and chaos wash over us, cheering the boys on with their derring do and enjoying the interludes of "human interest."<br />This was a functional piece of work with mass appeal.Hattiehttp://hattie.typepad.com/hatties_web/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6730657139931062421.post-34837079099786733882009-05-15T12:09:00.000-05:002009-05-15T12:09:00.000-05:00@Sarah
If I remember correctly, Uhura does confir...@Sarah<br /><br />If I remember correctly, Uhura does confirm her intercepted transmission early in the film, tipping off the crew that it's a set-up. However, it's also first brought up by Kirk and confirmed as valid by Spock. One could say that it needed to be verified by Spock because Uhura was a new crew member, but I don't remember anyone doing that to Sulu or Chekov. <br /><br />@wondering<br /><br />Yes, even moreso.lindsayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13285797515594923013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6730657139931062421.post-32470672505450569252009-05-15T10:58:00.000-05:002009-05-15T10:58:00.000-05:00Not just erasing women, but PoC.Not just erasing women, but PoC.wonderingnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6730657139931062421.post-14829294061423970712009-05-14T14:05:00.000-05:002009-05-14T14:05:00.000-05:00I think your commentary is spot-on. I noticed that...I think your commentary is spot-on. I noticed that Sulu, Chekov, and Scotty all got some moment where they were able to use their talents to save the day, even though they were not lead characters. And yet, the brilliant Uhura basically just talked about her accomplishments, and then provided an emotional anchor for Spock. That's pretty much it.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16010740125071866268noreply@blogger.com