Friday, May 22, 2009

My Weekend Crush

As a lifelong Star Wars fan, I have to say the new Star Trek movie was pretty wow. Action-packed yet still engaging, it was a fitting addition to the canon unlike certain Star Wars movies (die, “Phantom Menace,” die!) that come to mind. Still, one of the things I always liked about Star Trek was its purposely diverse cast. Call it what you will, but that Star Trek was populated by black and Asian crew members, as well as aliens and Scotty, always seemed cool to me. Way to represent, final frontier. Sure, I’d like more; I always want more. But we are thankful for what we get. And I’ve also always been particularly thankful for Uhura. First of all, kickass name (Swahili for “freedom”). Kickass crazy earpiece-thingamajiger. And in general just a kickass character.

From the lovely Nichelle Nichols to the also lovely Zoë Saldana, Uhura has been portrayed with strength and integrity throughout the series. I mean, how can you not love a woman who, when told by a swashbuckling Sulu (in the original series), “I’ll protect you fair maiden!” responds with a categorical, “Sorry, neither.” Fuck yeah, Uhura. And in the film, she is no less fascinating. Confident, capable and crazy in love with someone supposedly incapable of showing emotion. Oh, girl, I feel you. Representation is one of those things we don’t always like to talk about. It can make for uncomfortable dinnertime conversation with one side yelling whitewash and the other screaming quota. But its impact on the at-long-last represented parties is immeasurable. So thanks for boldly going where no man or woman or space creature has gone before, Uhura. Live long and prosper, and happy weekend, all.

13 comments:

  1. I completely agree with ya. Uhura has always had her head up, holding her own in a group of crazy men. Her character was one half of the first interracial kiss broadcast on TV. (she and Kirk in the original series)
    Uhura Rocks!

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  2. I had to chance to watch this movie before it came out and it blew me away too! Even if it hadn't been great, Uhura would have been a good enough reason to watch iti

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  3. Dorothy,hat tip u will like .
    Check "After sex", the story with Zoë Saldana and Mila kunis.The first one being who accepts her homosexuality and the second one who thinks of herself as a straight bitch with lesbian oral sex until the smell of...life! ;)

    Good weekend.

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  4. Oh dang...I guess I might have to fork out the dough and go see this one. Love Star Trek, but never a big fan of the movies as much as the shows. But since it's supposed to be rainy ALL weekend here, I guess I should go...

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  5. Me & My girlfriend went to go see this a few days ago and loved it. Neither of us is really a sci-fi person, but we found it very entertaining. Zoë Saldana is very beautiful in it to. Had to love the whole short slirt outfit she was wearing.

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  6. I loooove Zoe Saldana. If you haven't seen it, see After Sex the movie. She is great in it, as well as Mila Kunis. It is a good movie.

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  7. Anonymous2:46 PM

    OMG. Thanks to everyone who recommended seeing After Sex.. I watched the snippet on youtube and now I need to find this movie. Is it on DVD? Zoe Saldana as a lesbian. nuff said.

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  8. Anonymous10:49 AM

    dude, what happened to tamilyn tomita!!??

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  9. I totally just watched 'The Naked Time' (the episode with the "Sorry, neither" quote) yesterday. Uhura ftw. Man, original series is great. Ridiculous, but great. ^_^

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  10. Anonymous12:26 PM

    I checked out that After Sex clip on Youtube, and I am officially in love with Zoe Saldana now.

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  11. Grace3:51 PM

    Here's the thing. Star Trek has never had a gay character, and yet they're all supposed to happen several hundred years in the future. We're not gonna be extinct or anything (knock on wood, just in case). The closest they got was an episode of TNG that dealt with non-gendered aliens, and an episode of Enterprise that dealt with a third, androgynous sex that was enslaved but required for sexual reproduction. WTF

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  12. Anonymous7:12 PM

    Interesting and informative, thanks =]

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