News Rapp: Honored To Play A Gay Man On Trek
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I've never heard of most of the actors who have been cast in Trek shows. Not really a factor for me. Burton and Wheaton were the only one's in TNG that I had heard of. Stewart was "oh I've seen that guy in something". Rene Auberjonois and Ethan Phillips I knew from Benson. And of course Bakula from Quantum Leap. Most of the rest were unknowns.
This group actually has three actors I'm familiar with.
There can be an advantage to being a new face or at least an unfamiliar one. No baggage from a previous character or even from their personal life. This poor character is going to have baggage for me now as I remember how this thread was received. Poor bastard, I will expect him to convince me he is the character he is portraying, male, gay, whatever age, and bloody interesting. I want to be entertained is that too much to ask?
I hate bad acting. The first Next Generation episodes even with Patrick Stewart were awful.
If Rapp feels honored to play the role of Stamets, I say more power to him. I don't see any reason to question his motivations - as long as he's enjoying it, that can only be a good thing.
So....because it was considered "hip" and "ballsy" to put a black woman fourth in command of the Enterprise on TOS it would have been a pat on the back and just blatant pandering for Uhura to appear in a leading position on the bridge of a starship during the Civil Rights Era? How is Rapp's gay character pandering or a cheap gesture? LGBT viewers are just as worthy of being represented as people of any color or ethnic background and since Trek has at best been lukewarm about the whole same-sex thing for decades shouldn't this be something to applaud on inclusivity and progress grounds if nothing else?
Whether or not Rapp's character will be a great, well-written addition to the Trek universe is moot. He could get some pretty terrible dialogue and character development after he's introduced but his mere presence should be something to enjoy, just as Uhura was worth cheering. Or Sisko was worth applauding for being the first black lead in Trek. Or Janeway as the first female captain in a weekly series. Wait until we see how the writers will treat him before we start saying he's just a lazy or dumb addition to the new cast.
Being gay isn't being "needy." It's a subdivision of the human experience that will still exist hundreds of years from now and deserves to be acknowledged. If you or anybody else here said the same about a black or Asian or Hispanic character or a woman they'd be rightfully and very forcefully condemned and who could blame us?
Whether or not Rapp's character will be a great, well-written addition to the Trek universe is moot. He could get some pretty terrible dialogue and character development after he's introduced but his mere presence should be something to enjoy, just as Uhura was worth cheering. Or Sisko was worth applauding for being the first black lead in Trek. Or Janeway as the first female captain in a weekly series. Wait until we see how the writers will treat him before we start saying he's just a lazy or dumb addition to the new cast.
Being gay isn't being "needy." It's a subdivision of the human experience that will still exist hundreds of years from now and deserves to be acknowledged. If you or anybody else here said the same about a black or Asian or Hispanic character or a woman they'd be rightfully and very forcefully condemned and who could blame us?
Dude people say something is an "honor" all the time when it's absolutely not a frakking nobel prize.
Heck folk say "it's an honor to meet you" about some friend's old grandad etc..
You are putting waaaay too much into the word, it's not a heavy word. We aren't Klingons mate.
Heck folk say "it's an honor to meet you" about some friend's old grandad etc..
You are putting waaaay too much into the word, it's not a heavy word. We aren't Klingons mate.
Meeting a friends old granddad would be an honor..
Only when the granddad isn't Hitler, and you never know.
As to the topic... the first gay character in Trek is kind of a big deal so I can see why he feels honored that, of all people, he was chosen to play a role that might be remembered by Trekkies in the future. Just like Uhura is remembered for her role in representing black people on TV.
Sadly Trek is a decade or two late with this but oh well.
Saying "it can be mundane to be heterosexual or homosexual" doesn't really say much in a world where being homosexual still comes with a list of issues you have to deal with in society because true equality isn't yet achieved.
Fair gender or minority representation in media isn't about validating people's existence.
Nice straw man, though. Did you build it yourself?
Yet here you are. Getting all huffy about da gays being in your face, and people being 'intolerant' with you.
Sounds like wanting some form of validation to me.
What are you responding to?
Question: why is being gay or black or whatever being "needy" or require some sort of counterproductive agenda? Gay is gay. It's sexual orientation and identity, not the sum total of who somebody is. It doesn't make them a good nor an evil person. If Rapp's character is openly gay and the writers make mention of it and build plots or subplots around his orientation then how does that affect you? We've had openly psychotic and dangerous characters in Trek that have become somewhat popular and developed fan followings. Lon Suder, anybody? An avowed killer who ended up saving the day and his entire crew at the cost of his own life. A deranged murderer is a far more pressing concern than a gay man.
Did you have problems with Lon Suder? Did the writers have a "homicidal" agenda making somebody who took innocent life and was quarantined aboard ship for their behavior and crime a character we could feel sympathy for? I doubt it. What matters most is good writing and compelling storytelling no matter what a character's background or whom they sleep and fall in love with. The only people who care about sexual orientation between consenting adults above their actual character traits and possession or lack thereof of basic human decency aren't constructively concerned with any character or group being "needy" and wearing their status and shoving it in people's faces. They're prejudiced.
Did you have problems with Lon Suder? Did the writers have a "homicidal" agenda making somebody who took innocent life and was quarantined aboard ship for their behavior and crime a character we could feel sympathy for? I doubt it. What matters most is good writing and compelling storytelling no matter what a character's background or whom they sleep and fall in love with. The only people who care about sexual orientation between consenting adults above their actual character traits and possession or lack thereof of basic human decency aren't constructively concerned with any character or group being "needy" and wearing their status and shoving it in people's faces. They're prejudiced.
Are you addressing me?
I grew to like Suder and thought him heroic in the end. The actor was brilliant. Unsympathetic one would think but his tortured self awareness was compelling.
If you are not asking me directly about your earlier question, someone else can answer I'm sure. Though I don't mind.
I grew to like Suder and thought him heroic in the end. The actor was brilliant. Unsympathetic one would think but his tortured self awareness was compelling.
If you are not asking me directly about your earlier question, someone else can answer I'm sure. Though I don't mind.
Yes, it was directed at you. If gay characters are a symptom of being "needy" and having an agenda, would a deranged, homicidal character be evidence of the producers and interest groups pushing an agenda? An Asian character? A Latina woman? Somebody with a learning disability that prevented them from functioning at an adult capacity but were still incorporated into the ship's crew? How is gay different and demanding of being called out as being part of an agenda to shove a way of living in people's faces?
I actually agree with half of your first paragraph from the earlier post.. to quote: "Gay is gay. It's sexual orientation and identity, not the sum total of who somebody is. It doesn't make them a good nor an evil person." (Well not the first half of the paragraph, more like a sentence).
My reaction springboards from the actor. He's like so honored, yes lets devalue the word honor and reduce it to a Klingon joke.. but it made him sound needy. He's comparing playing a pretend role with honor. He has a job and it's a good one and there he is all cute and giddy about what? Playing someone who is an historical figure of note? Er how about the saver of the Universe?
I don't think deranged homicidal characters have an interest group. Sociopaths tend to not group together, something about having no social conscience.
If an actor from a specific race was proud to be playing a defined race like it was an honor I think I might blink. Sorry it sounds needy too. Not that it matters but my favorite character does happen to be a race that is not mine. He's a Vulcan called Tuvok.
However if a handicapped character with a mental handicap achieved a role.. well call me a hypocrite. I would not think it needy. I would think it a bloody miracle someone cared to hire him.
My reaction springboards from the actor. He's like so honored, yes lets devalue the word honor and reduce it to a Klingon joke.. but it made him sound needy. He's comparing playing a pretend role with honor. He has a job and it's a good one and there he is all cute and giddy about what? Playing someone who is an historical figure of note? Er how about the saver of the Universe?
I don't think deranged homicidal characters have an interest group. Sociopaths tend to not group together, something about having no social conscience.
If an actor from a specific race was proud to be playing a defined race like it was an honor I think I might blink. Sorry it sounds needy too. Not that it matters but my favorite character does happen to be a race that is not mine. He's a Vulcan called Tuvok.
However if a handicapped character with a mental handicap achieved a role.. well call me a hypocrite. I would not think it needy. I would think it a bloody miracle someone cared to hire him.
Exactly what is Rapp being needy about here?
It's a very odd interpretation of an actor's enthusiasm for his role and the project he's working on.
I think you are confusing "being honoured" with "being honourable".
