Sonequa Martin-Green Answers Critics of ST:D's diversity
Jun 22, 2017 17:40:19 GMT -5
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Post by Ripley on Jun 22, 2017 17:40:19 GMT -5
EW
"...There’s been a rather ugly strain of criticism of Star Trek: Discovery online and it goes like this: The upcoming CBS All Access show’s cast is too diverse for some of the franchise’s longtime fans. The term “white genocide” has been bandied about. Original series star George Takei has even gotten involved to defend the new show. But the Discovery cast themselves haven’t commented on the matter — until now....
...Indeed, The Original Series, in particular, was considered ultra progressive, especially for 1966 — the show’s bridge crew included a Russian character (ensign Chekov played by Walter Koenig), a Japanese man (Lt. Sulu played by Takei), a black woman (Lt. Uhura played by Nichelle Nichols) and a rotation of others, all working together with mutual respect. The show featured TV’s first interracial kiss and frequently tackled issues of social justice in allegorical ways. Over the decades since then, the franchise has continued to present Gene Roddenberry’s utopian multicultural vision of humans and other species overcoming their differences to solve problems. It’s kind of the whole idea behind the show.
“And it’s hard to understand and appreciate Star Trek if you don’t understand and appreciate that,” Martin-Green continued. “It’s one of the foundational principles of Star Trek and I feel if you miss that then you miss the legacy itself. I’m incredibly proud to be the lead of this show and be at the forefront of an iteration of Star Trek that’s from the eyes of a black woman that’s never been done before, though obviously there’s been other forms of diversity that have been innovated by Trek. I feel like we’re taking another step forward, which I think all stories should do. We should go boldly where nobody has gone before and stay true to that.”
On the show, Martin-Green plays First Officer Michael Burnham, the focus of the story. Her commanding officer is Captain Philippa Georgiou, played by another woman of color, Michelle Yeoh. The cast also includes the TV franchise’s first openly gay character, a science officer played by Anthony Rapp..."
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"...There’s been a rather ugly strain of criticism of Star Trek: Discovery online and it goes like this: The upcoming CBS All Access show’s cast is too diverse for some of the franchise’s longtime fans. The term “white genocide” has been bandied about. Original series star George Takei has even gotten involved to defend the new show. But the Discovery cast themselves haven’t commented on the matter — until now....
...Indeed, The Original Series, in particular, was considered ultra progressive, especially for 1966 — the show’s bridge crew included a Russian character (ensign Chekov played by Walter Koenig), a Japanese man (Lt. Sulu played by Takei), a black woman (Lt. Uhura played by Nichelle Nichols) and a rotation of others, all working together with mutual respect. The show featured TV’s first interracial kiss and frequently tackled issues of social justice in allegorical ways. Over the decades since then, the franchise has continued to present Gene Roddenberry’s utopian multicultural vision of humans and other species overcoming their differences to solve problems. It’s kind of the whole idea behind the show.
“And it’s hard to understand and appreciate Star Trek if you don’t understand and appreciate that,” Martin-Green continued. “It’s one of the foundational principles of Star Trek and I feel if you miss that then you miss the legacy itself. I’m incredibly proud to be the lead of this show and be at the forefront of an iteration of Star Trek that’s from the eyes of a black woman that’s never been done before, though obviously there’s been other forms of diversity that have been innovated by Trek. I feel like we’re taking another step forward, which I think all stories should do. We should go boldly where nobody has gone before and stay true to that.”
On the show, Martin-Green plays First Officer Michael Burnham, the focus of the story. Her commanding officer is Captain Philippa Georgiou, played by another woman of color, Michelle Yeoh. The cast also includes the TV franchise’s first openly gay character, a science officer played by Anthony Rapp..."
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