Up the Long Ladder, Fair Haven, Spirit Folk...
Trek stereotypes
- Thread starter Laura Cynthia Chambers
- Start date
Up the Long Ladder, Fair Haven, Spirit Folk...
And Kevin Riley, of course.
Riley and Finnegan, unlike the others you mentioned, are 23rd century flesh and blood people whose daily life is more contemporary than the Up the Long Ladder folks.
Riley and Finnegan, unlike the others you mentioned, are 23rd century flesh and blood people whose daily life is more contemporary than the Up the Long Ladder folks.
Not everything is a stereotype, though. Picard is arrogant. Pretty consistently. And a number of characters from Q to Beverly take him down a peg for his arrogance at various times throughout the series.
Is he? He likes pecan pie. And McCoy liked mint julips. Always came across as an intelligent well versed engineer to me. Not exactly Gomer Pyle in Space.
Stereotypes doesn't necessarily equal untrue.
Stereotypes are, by definition, generalizations about groups rather than individuals.
Kor
Remember the one from DS9 that was a part of one of O'Briens favorite fairy tales? Geez, writers, again? I heard Meany hated it.I frequently find myself comparing Bones McCoy to Trip Tucker, as portrayals of Southern Americans. McCoy was clearly and unapologetically Southern, but not in any stereotypical way. I never doubted his intelligence or competency, and he's easily a contender to Spock for the smartest character of the main cast of TOS. Trip Tucker on the other hand is such an over-the-top stereotype of a Southerner that it can be difficult to take him seriously, especially regarding his intelligence (though the show’s writing in the early seasons doesn't help matters).
Then there's the infamous handling of Chakotay's character. I'm a bit surprised that in the 20 years since "Voyager" ended, "Star Trek" hasn't attempted any Native American representation to try and make up for it. It shouldn't have been hard to just have Sam Rutherford, Hugh Culber or someone drop some casual references to being Chippewa or Navajo or something. All I can think of is maybe they're hyper-paranoid that the actor's ethnicity must match the character's to a T.
If we must also bring up the infamous "Code of Honor," all I can say is that the stereotypes are so jaw-droppingly offensive that it comes off as unintentional comedy. (Helped of course by the all-around poor quality of the entire episode.) Just when you thought they'd hit every African American stereotype under the sun, the queen's Disco jumpsuit comes out.
On a final note, in a franchise somewhat notorious for ethnic stereotypes, my all-time favorite is Finnegan and his Leprechaun music from the TOS episode "Shore Leave."
As for someone with NA heritage the outdated garb and rituals aren't as big a deal for me as long as they aren't portrayed as savages. At least Checkotay wore his hair short and wore a uniform. He just came out of the holodeck just looking like coming from lighting a joint. Remember that episode from TNG where the NAs inhabited their own planet. I like to laugh at the idea of them having to move along AGAIN but it was the Cardassians. They could have teamed up with the Bejorans. But that line to Picard about what his ancestors did now THAT...
With AA you can do worse than Donna Summer.
Another topic: I think the ugly aliens were more to do with the fact that at the time of TOS (which absolutely garnered no hostility anywhere in the US - we need proof as the idea is prosperous back then)...there were people of color on the ship like Uhura and Sulu. So, they were standing next to white people as equals was driven home. Hence them being "uglier/weirder " looking. And yes, it's true aliens like the, Betazoids, Bajorans, Trill and the Vulcans, the Turkanans were always good. And even when SF and the Klingons formed an alliance, they were still conniving barbarians at times. And one of the first new aliens introduced in TNG were the Ferengi. And we know how they were portrayed. The Cardassians were basically acting like Imperialists to the Bajoarans. Most of the Changelings were bad too. The Borg had to be taught by the humans to be good and independent. The only unrepentant human looking aliens seemed to be the Romulans. So, as a society and more progressed they should have cut back on that in TNG. To play the devil's advocate, no one in ST that were human and more human looking cared about their looks. This is our viewpoint. I don't find many of those aliens particularly ugly but different, anyway, but I can still see what people are saying. Actually, as a 21st century human viewpoint that last part may not be realistic.
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Do you prefer the term "Native American" or "Indigenous American"?
Or is the term a wash?
What's a wash?
Never heard of Indigenous American but Native American is fine. I really don't even care about Indians even if the people in India are the real ones. It's just more funny than anything. Someone's else's mistake. So, I will say I prefer NA because I am used to it, I guess. And since I used it, I guess I don't mind? If you aren't being derogatory I am fine.
Merriam Webster definition for "It's a Wash"
Merriam Webster definition for "Indigenous"
The reason I bring it up is because "Native" as a term + <Locale> could have alot of different meanings based on context.
Where as Indigenous is a bit more specific & targets historical context.
I could technically be "Native" to two different countries based on context, but it's clear that I'm not "Indigenous" to either countries.
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