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\n6 Things We Need the New Star Trek TV Series to Do With Its Characters<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nView on Google+<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Given that so little info was given from the CBS announcement (aside from the zany "streaming video only" aspect of its distribution, it's not surprising that everyone's jumping on what the show should be about and, more importantly, what the characters should be like.<\/p>\n
A lot of that has been (on a number of sites) about inclusiveness, which the attached article focuses on, specifically looking for the next show to have:<\/p>\n
– A female captain
– Openly gay character(s)
– Multi-racial characters
– Committed relationships
– Openly trans character(s) (played by trans actors)
– A non-human captain<\/p>\n
Part of this, it seems to me (from my own ethnic \/ racial \/ gender \/ orientation privileged perspective) searching for a couple of different things:<\/p>\n
A. An interesting cast of characters that will lend itself to interesting stories.<\/p>\n
B. A desire for representation, either in the abstract (the future should look like X), the professional (more Y people should be employed in Hollywood), or the personal (I want a Z character that I can better identify with).<\/p>\n
Those are all laudable goals — and, honestly, there's a lot of overlap there (especially with a good writing team). The problem, creatively, is making sure that (A) comes first. If there's a perception that (B) is given priority, that there is box-checking for maximum diversity for the sake of maximum diversity, that bodes poorly, especially if it further has the sense of Kumbaya<\/i> \/ "the future is pleasant and progressive and diverse and everyone lives in harmony" about it that so hampered S.1 of TNG.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, if there's a perception that the producers are playing it safe and going for a mostly-white \/ male \/ straight \/ cis cast for fear of alienating audience members and\/or sponsors, that's sacrificing (A) as well.<\/p>\n
Some other issues to consider are:<\/p>\n
– Core vs recurring characters and crew
– Under-representing vs over-representing
– Inclusion vs tokenism <\/p>\n
One question that comes up is how to fit in diversity without making the show about diversity that, in the Star Trek<\/i> future, is presumably not even seen as a diversity issue, the same way that nobody comments on the eye color of that new ensign that just beamed on board. Is it enough, for example, to have a chief engineer who is gay (and, presumably, has same-gender romantic involvements), or does that character's gayness need to be the centerpiece of some stories (imprisoned on the planet of Throwback Puritans or whatever)? <\/p>\n
I'd add into the mix as well consideration about some other minorities and how they fit into the world of the 2Nth Century. Body form \/ weight \/ attractiveness. Age. Religion. Disability. There's some representation there which could make for some interesting plot hooks (or even just be part of the background for the characters, the way Picard's Frenchness was, with a couple of notable exceptions, part of his background, not foreground).<\/p>\n
I think the last item the writer suggests — the idea of increase alien<\/i> representation — is potentially the most exciting as hooks for plots and interesting characters within them. Some of the best Star Trek characters (especially in terms of how they then reflect upon humanity) have been (primarily) non-human (Spock, Data, Dax, Odo, arguably Seven of Nine, the EMH). Humans (or humanoids) with a non-mainstream-Earth cultural backgrounds (the Bajorans, the Maquis) also carried a lot of interesting ideas (both realized and not) that have potential. Greater representation there, including some aliens that are not just nose\/forehead\/ear-appliance aliens, makes a lot of sense for a Star Trek<\/i> series. The question then becomes how to make sure that your core crew that has one human and five non-humans don't (a) turn into a bunch of "really are just humans who have different makeup demands" but (b) remain relateable to an audience that is, in fact, mostly human.<\/p>\n
But, then, writing about the human condition is what good drama, and good Star Trek<\/i> is all about, whatever alien or Earthly demographic we're talking about.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n \n View on Google+<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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\n6 Things We Need the New Star Trek TV Series to Do With Its Characters<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
