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The smooch heard round the world: TVs first interracial kiss!/caption
We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things not because they are easy but because they are hard." ― John F. Kennedy at Rice University September 12 1962
Immortalized as classic TV Star Trek (1966 - 69) and its optimistic opening phrase Space: the final frontier..." was a veiled reference to JFKs New Frontier ideals of a fair and inclusive society. It was the definitive sci-fi program (stylistically years ahead of the tastes of its meager original audience). Under the guise of fictional 22nd century space explorers the show dealt directly (albeit subtly) with highly-charged social issues. Recall that the 1960s was the Civil Rights era. As an example the program made commentary on evolving race relations with Let That Be Your Last Battlefield." In season three episode 70 a pair of two-toned hate-filled humanoid characters are the last survivors of their kind. One is black/white face right/left the other is the samecolors reversed. For 50000 years one has relentlessly chased the other. In the story their mutual journey ends in isolationand certain death on their nuked home planet. (Produced today might the two space aliens" be portrayed with black and blue color schemes representing Black Lives Matter and the recently slain 5 Dallas police officers?)
As Star Trek traveled the cosmos (the creative landscape of the writers imaginations) Jack Kennedy made the real-life determination that Americans would be the first to journey to the moon. This one great leap for mankind was accomplished during the Apollo 11 mission when the Eagle lunar module touched desolate terra firma on June 20 1969. However Star Trek did not fare so well. Its five year mission" was cut short after only three seasons (canceled by NBC for low ratings). Synchronistically Star Treks TV life span mirrored the brief three years of Camelot" the nickname of Mr. Kennedys presidency (due to his assassination in Dallas on November 22 1963).
Today finding universal acceptance of biological differences like skin color and sexual orientation seems more difficult than JFKs realized dream of moon walking. Star Trek in its own way was similarly groundbreaking. Specifically the first interracial kiss on TV occurred between Lt. Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) and humanitarian lothario Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) modeled on JFK. Lets just say that Captain Kirk seemed to have a comely scantily dressed new female at every port of call. And related to this smooch heard round the world" Mr. Shatner rakishly insisted on a script change so the glory would be his rather than Spocks (Leonard Nimoy). Thus he boldly went (on TV anyway) where no man had gone before.
Warp speed to America of 2016. With interracial marriage commonplaceand gay marriage newly legalizedwhats the big deal that one of the signature characters will be openly gay? In the appropriately named Star Trek: Beyond" the third installment of the movie franchise (re-imagined with a new cast) doesnt such a thematic change rightfully pay homage to the spirit of creator Gene Roddenberrys original showand inclusive sensibilities? Isnt this just a simple substitution: sexual orientation for race? Surprisingly not everyone is creatively on board. Ironically the person opposed is now openly gay actor George Takei who played navigator Hikaru Sulu in the original series.
Mr. Takei came boldly out of the celluloid closet in real-life in 2005. Why cant todays fictional version of Hikaru Sulu do the same? Played by John Cho his take: This movie is going to be coming out on the 50th anniversary of Star Trek the 50th anniversary of paying tribute to Gene Roddenberry the man whose vision it was that carried us through half a century. Honor him and create a new character. I urged them. He director Justin Lin left me feeling that was going to happen." Well precisely. How is it that Mr. Takei has gotten everything so entirely backwards when saying Unfortunately its a twist of Gene Roddenberrys creation to which he put in so much thought. I think its really unfortunate." Sorry Georgie! As a Hollywood veteran he knows very well there are no creative sacred cowsfor better or worse. An example of better was the superior reboot (read: story acting special effects) of the brilliant Battlestar Galactica" (2004-09). In this update Lt. Kara Starbuck" Thrace featured a thematically complex female (Katee Sackoff) in place of the unremarkable male version (Dirk Benedict) in the original. On the other hand inevitably there is worse. Does anyone seriously believe that an all-female team of Ghostbusters" is really a good idea?
The original Star Trek portrayed a fictional Kennedy-style Utopian society aspired to. Todays Star Trek feature films reflect todays reality of a widely tolerant America that hasin great measurearrived. On screen as in real-life the journey to universal acceptance of difference steadily continues. Notable tragedies like Orlando and Dallas are manipulated and spun by the propagandist MSM as generalized American intolerance." Similarly anarchist movements like Black Lives Matter are wrongly highlighted for a polarizing political effect beneficial to progressives who lead by social division. Yet to any clearly thinking person the violence and the killing remain exceptions to the rule. Optimists see the truth: the normalcy of open minds everyday courtesyand shared grief in the loss of innocent lives. Ultimately love overcomes fear in the same way that light overcomes darkness. And as Star Trek aficionados well know resistance to certain thingslike reaching for the stars or accepting diversityis indeed futile.
David L. Hunter is an Associate Editor at Capitol Hill Outsider. Hes on Twitter and blogs at davidlhunter.blogspot.com. He is published in The Washington Post The Washington Times FrontPage Mag and extensively in Patriot Post Canada Free Press and American Thinker.
