IDGI...and Yet I Do...(aka, Rant)
This post was previously flocked, but now I'm un-flocking it.
The rules
Remember, Mr Google is your friend.
Don't do these in my space.
Don't do any of these either (including ad hominem attacks because there're more than enough issues at which to direct your rage).
~~~
I'm refusing to write an essay, which means there will probably soon be an essay, but don't quote me on that because I haven't the time to write an essay...unless I make time to write an essay...
...
BUT, as I look up more information about TOS!Uhura, there are all these debates about whether or not Uhura would do this or do that re: Reboot movie and there's particular emphasis on that turbolift/transporter room scenes.
Especially the transporter room scene.
TOS!Uhura would never be so unprofessional as to attack kiss a superior officer fellow crewmember anybody ever while on duty ever like this floozy of a Reboot!Uhura did! Um...girlie ain't twist Spock's arm for him to kiss her. He looked VERY involved in that smooch, and I even think he was the one who started it--she certainly ain't put his hand on her ass! And she was there for a reason, folks, to hook up some com device thing on his person (acc. to p. 236 of the official novelization). Furthermore, Captain Kirk was present and didn't upbraid her for being there; in fact, he walked in with her in tow--so if we want to assume Uhura didn't have a legitimate reason to be in the transporter room and worry about "unprofessional", Lt. Uhura didn't have the monopoly on that. And you know Spock's been calcuating percentages in his mind about his survival for this kamikaze mission--and he's NOT going out like his daddy did in terms of not showing his woman he loved her. He's the one who reassures her, bringing in those pesky emotions he's not supposed to have but does because he's human and Vulcan and has more emotion than anyone in the universe!
And, ladies and gentleman, Reboot!Spock loves Reboot!Uhura. Oh, the travesty!?
But let's go back to how two kisses have suddenly made Reboot!Uhura a "slut", or at the very leat not as classy as TOS!:Uhura. I FLOVE me some TOS!Uhura with a passion. Honestly, I prefer her, and this is probably because of the fact she was my first Uhura and Nichelle Nichols is a goddess on earth in my opinion. And I'll even admit "classy" isn't the first word I think of when I bring Reboot!Uhura to mind--and that's mainly because I think no one in Reboot!ST is classy except for Pike, and Pike kicks ass hard, but Pike is also older and wiser and has earned the class all the reboot characters have not yet reached. But, given all of that, I'm still perplexed by the leap that two kisses makes someone a hussy or unprofessional, especially when she's kissing her boyfriend. Did she leave her post? Yes, but so did Spock; so does Bones (Bones was forever up on the bridge in TOS, as a matter of fact *snuggles Bones*) and Kirk...he wasn't even supposed to be on the ship! Scotty gets on because he beams himself up and they let him stay.
But Uhura catches flak for leaving her post one time (well, twice, but if she hadn't, there would be no movie--yay! Uhura knowing something v. crucial to the plot, yes)...to comfort someone who obviously needed comforting? Did she not give Chapel a hug before the nurse went off to see her long-lost fiancee in TOS: What Are Little Girls Made Of? Didn't she cry when Khan announces (prematurely and erroneously) Kirk was dead (after getting the taste backhanded out her mouth by one of his henchmen) in TOS: Space Seed? Didn't she rush away from her post in concern when McCoy injected himself with cordrazine? Isn't Uhura the only one with the ovaries to touch Spock when he returns to them in Star Trek III (and is with his father no less)? Isn't she the only one with the ovaries to say "I'm frightened" when you know good and damn well everyone (maybe except Spock...maybe...) ain't feeling too great about the situation, either? And she's the one who chastises Spock for not showing enough concern about a fallen crewmember--that could potentially be the captain. Man, I hope if I watched my planet implode, the person I'm with would take a three-minute break to let me know s/he's there for me.
But no, TOS!Uhura would've kept on "opening hailing frequencies", since that was all she did, apparently, not really. Just answer Starfleet's calls and returned them; wrote down "While You Were Off Trying to Get Yourself Killed" messages on her padd for Kirk and Spock...except how many times did she anticipate Kirk's/Spock's orders, or had to be the voice and ears of the ship before Kirk could be, or dismantle/fix her own communications systems or reroute something and have Spock give her props? How many times did she take over as Navigator or did some piloting or figure shit out the other three couldn't. Hell, she even had to create a diversion in the OG alternate universe and told Mirror!Sulu off in the process and tricked an android. And Kirk clearly knows how awesome she is, for every time he thinks they're about to die she's always on the list of those recommended for commendations, never mind that Spock looks like he's about to choke a Nomad when it "wipes" her mind, or that Scotty's first concern after being resurrected from the dead is about Uhura and if she's all right, or that McCoy practically jumps out of his seat in defense when Khan's henchman whacks her across the face, and is impressed and probably a little turned on when she tells Mr. Adventure to get in a closet.
But since all TOS!Uhura did was answer intergalactic phone calls, she didn't have time for an onscreen romance...or she was "above" such things.
Bullshit.
A cloud was able to find love before Uhura in TOS. That's such utter crap I can't even fully understand it. Chekov had some romance. Spock, the "unemotional" Vulcan, got down and dirty a few times. McCoy did; Scotty did. Kirk even did it in Uhura's bed...but I'm to believe Uhura never did it in her bed? Or anywhere else, for that matter? That no one would want to with her? Or that she wouldn't want to with someone? Because nothing says "I love you" like being forced to kiss and then being threatened with a bullwhip a minute later. Y, hallo, thar, sketchy racially misogynistic overtones! Again! And again! And poor Sulu--his romance got stolen from him, and then his Mirror coutnerpart gets rejected quite emphatically. But at least Sulu had been considered for such a thing.
But not Uhura.
And I understand the argument that TOS writers didn't treat women in romances very well so be glad Uhura was spared that fate, but why should I be glad she wasn't even considered for a full fleshing out like the other characters were? It doesn't help Nichelle was hired as a day performer for sixty-five episodes whereas everyone else had a contract. Those folks did everything in their power to make her miserable, culling out her lines until she was just "hailing frequencies" or watching the action instead of being a part of it.
Kind of like in the Reboot in a very real sense.
But there seems to be this probelm, not just with Uhura but with all women, that a woman cannot be fierce professionally and sexually--a fact further complicated when said woman has a very high melanin content. This ain't nothing new, but to see it so starkly shown with TOS!/Reboot!Uhura is amazing, and in a very disheartening way. In TOS, we had to see Uhura being awesome, because the writers sure as hell weren't going to tell us she was, never mind let her do so; in Reboot, we're told she's awesome because the writers just didn't have time to show us this amid a long-ass sequence of Kirk running from a crab on an icy tundra or driving a comandeered car and plunging it over a cliff or Kirk tearing up some Orion woman's heart so he can cheat on a test (they easily could've let the viewers see Uhura in the lab translating the Klingon message, then walk to her room where Gaila's all "Who, me?" but the scent doesn't lie and Kirk pops up from under the bed...all without Uhura stripping in the process. Yep, I promise it could've been done.).
And yet, both Uhuras still managed to shine, and for some reason people are threatened by her luminosity. She's named "star" for a reason, folks. She pulls people to her, even Vulcans, even captains who take the time out to apologize for snapping at her or to comfort/encourage her after a long-ass shift. Even aliens and men from the past step back and say "whoa!"
Did I mention Spock quotes Byron to her? On the bridge? He greets three people after melding with Kollos--Kirk, McCoy, and Uhura.
No precedence in TOS my foot...
But I'm a firm advocate of Uhura's harem and I believe she should have them all at her whim--she certainly does in TOS anyway. She's the only one who got Spock to smile at her without the need for spores or drugs or subterfuge or coming back from the dead and she was the only one to play the lute other than he. Chekov willingly goes shopping with her. Scotty and Sulu are very protective of her. And the Three Amigos like to hover around her station.
But Uhura is above love, you know. And if she weren't she's certainly not fierce enough to pull Spock. And somehow, her being in love and loved diminishes her as a character and makes her "less fierce", especially when it's Spock. And no, it wouldn't have been better if Kirk had loved her, and why did they have to make her just a love interest and an "object" of affection even as she actively makes her choice as to with whom she would enter a relationship...and was pretty damn consistent with that choice, and won't allow her choice to keep her from what she's earned (and not by "lying on her back" but by sitting up in class being brilliant and kicking academic ass and taking names...but we're cheated out of seeing that! drats!). But she's "classier" when she's silent in the background and only speaks when she's spoken to. Like a fucking child.
Like grown-ass women. Like grown-ass black women especially.
Yeah, I said it.
But Reboot ruins all that to a point, builds upon the Uhura TOS writers refused to boldy go...and yet somehow managed to trim out the parts that would have rounded her out better, more obviously, as a person on her own terms, limiting the chances for this "solely a love interest" debate that is going around now. The more things don't change...
I rant because I rave about Uhura. I'm critical about her characterization because I care about her representation. She's more than just a hot chick in a short skirt; she's more than just a receptionist.
She was the first black female character on American television that wasn't cleaning up after white people's shit. She was the first black female character in a position of authority, in a "nondegradating" role. I wouldn't go so far as to say nonstereotypical, though.
But I'm waiting for the day when I can.
The rules
Remember, Mr Google is your friend.
Don't do these in my space.
Don't do any of these either (including ad hominem attacks because there're more than enough issues at which to direct your rage).
~~~
I'm refusing to write an essay, which means there will probably soon be an essay, but don't quote me on that because I haven't the time to write an essay...unless I make time to write an essay...
...
BUT, as I look up more information about TOS!Uhura, there are all these debates about whether or not Uhura would do this or do that re: Reboot movie and there's particular emphasis on that turbolift/transporter room scenes.
Especially the transporter room scene.
TOS!Uhura would never be so unprofessional as to attack kiss a superior officer fellow crewmember anybody ever while on duty ever like this floozy of a Reboot!Uhura did! Um...girlie ain't twist Spock's arm for him to kiss her. He looked VERY involved in that smooch, and I even think he was the one who started it--she certainly ain't put his hand on her ass! And she was there for a reason, folks, to hook up some com device thing on his person (acc. to p. 236 of the official novelization). Furthermore, Captain Kirk was present and didn't upbraid her for being there; in fact, he walked in with her in tow--so if we want to assume Uhura didn't have a legitimate reason to be in the transporter room and worry about "unprofessional", Lt. Uhura didn't have the monopoly on that. And you know Spock's been calcuating percentages in his mind about his survival for this kamikaze mission--and he's NOT going out like his daddy did in terms of not showing his woman he loved her. He's the one who reassures her, bringing in those pesky emotions he's not supposed to have but does because he's human and Vulcan and has more emotion than anyone in the universe!
And, ladies and gentleman, Reboot!Spock loves Reboot!Uhura. Oh, the travesty!?
But let's go back to how two kisses have suddenly made Reboot!Uhura a "slut", or at the very leat not as classy as TOS!:Uhura. I FLOVE me some TOS!Uhura with a passion. Honestly, I prefer her, and this is probably because of the fact she was my first Uhura and Nichelle Nichols is a goddess on earth in my opinion. And I'll even admit "classy" isn't the first word I think of when I bring Reboot!Uhura to mind--and that's mainly because I think no one in Reboot!ST is classy except for Pike, and Pike kicks ass hard, but Pike is also older and wiser and has earned the class all the reboot characters have not yet reached. But, given all of that, I'm still perplexed by the leap that two kisses makes someone a hussy or unprofessional, especially when she's kissing her boyfriend. Did she leave her post? Yes, but so did Spock; so does Bones (Bones was forever up on the bridge in TOS, as a matter of fact *snuggles Bones*) and Kirk...he wasn't even supposed to be on the ship! Scotty gets on because he beams himself up and they let him stay.
But Uhura catches flak for leaving her post one time (well, twice, but if she hadn't, there would be no movie--yay! Uhura knowing something v. crucial to the plot, yes)...to comfort someone who obviously needed comforting? Did she not give Chapel a hug before the nurse went off to see her long-lost fiancee in TOS: What Are Little Girls Made Of? Didn't she cry when Khan announces (prematurely and erroneously) Kirk was dead (after getting the taste backhanded out her mouth by one of his henchmen) in TOS: Space Seed? Didn't she rush away from her post in concern when McCoy injected himself with cordrazine? Isn't Uhura the only one with the ovaries to touch Spock when he returns to them in Star Trek III (and is with his father no less)? Isn't she the only one with the ovaries to say "I'm frightened" when you know good and damn well everyone (maybe except Spock...maybe...) ain't feeling too great about the situation, either? And she's the one who chastises Spock for not showing enough concern about a fallen crewmember--that could potentially be the captain. Man, I hope if I watched my planet implode, the person I'm with would take a three-minute break to let me know s/he's there for me.
But no, TOS!Uhura would've kept on "opening hailing frequencies", since that was all she did, apparently, not really. Just answer Starfleet's calls and returned them; wrote down "While You Were Off Trying to Get Yourself Killed" messages on her padd for Kirk and Spock...except how many times did she anticipate Kirk's/Spock's orders, or had to be the voice and ears of the ship before Kirk could be, or dismantle/fix her own communications systems or reroute something and have Spock give her props? How many times did she take over as Navigator or did some piloting or figure shit out the other three couldn't. Hell, she even had to create a diversion in the OG alternate universe and told Mirror!Sulu off in the process and tricked an android. And Kirk clearly knows how awesome she is, for every time he thinks they're about to die she's always on the list of those recommended for commendations, never mind that Spock looks like he's about to choke a Nomad when it "wipes" her mind, or that Scotty's first concern after being resurrected from the dead is about Uhura and if she's all right, or that McCoy practically jumps out of his seat in defense when Khan's henchman whacks her across the face, and is impressed and probably a little turned on when she tells Mr. Adventure to get in a closet.
But since all TOS!Uhura did was answer intergalactic phone calls, she didn't have time for an onscreen romance...or she was "above" such things.
Bullshit.
A cloud was able to find love before Uhura in TOS. That's such utter crap I can't even fully understand it. Chekov had some romance. Spock, the "unemotional" Vulcan, got down and dirty a few times. McCoy did; Scotty did. Kirk even did it in Uhura's bed...but I'm to believe Uhura never did it in her bed? Or anywhere else, for that matter? That no one would want to with her? Or that she wouldn't want to with someone? Because nothing says "I love you" like being forced to kiss and then being threatened with a bullwhip a minute later. Y, hallo, thar, sketchy racially misogynistic overtones! Again! And again! And poor Sulu--his romance got stolen from him, and then his Mirror coutnerpart gets rejected quite emphatically. But at least Sulu had been considered for such a thing.
But not Uhura.
And I understand the argument that TOS writers didn't treat women in romances very well so be glad Uhura was spared that fate, but why should I be glad she wasn't even considered for a full fleshing out like the other characters were? It doesn't help Nichelle was hired as a day performer for sixty-five episodes whereas everyone else had a contract. Those folks did everything in their power to make her miserable, culling out her lines until she was just "hailing frequencies" or watching the action instead of being a part of it.
Kind of like in the Reboot in a very real sense.
But there seems to be this probelm, not just with Uhura but with all women, that a woman cannot be fierce professionally and sexually--a fact further complicated when said woman has a very high melanin content. This ain't nothing new, but to see it so starkly shown with TOS!/Reboot!Uhura is amazing, and in a very disheartening way. In TOS, we had to see Uhura being awesome, because the writers sure as hell weren't going to tell us she was, never mind let her do so; in Reboot, we're told she's awesome because the writers just didn't have time to show us this amid a long-ass sequence of Kirk running from a crab on an icy tundra or driving a comandeered car and plunging it over a cliff or Kirk tearing up some Orion woman's heart so he can cheat on a test (they easily could've let the viewers see Uhura in the lab translating the Klingon message, then walk to her room where Gaila's all "Who, me?" but the scent doesn't lie and Kirk pops up from under the bed...all without Uhura stripping in the process. Yep, I promise it could've been done.).
And yet, both Uhuras still managed to shine, and for some reason people are threatened by her luminosity. She's named "star" for a reason, folks. She pulls people to her, even Vulcans, even captains who take the time out to apologize for snapping at her or to comfort/encourage her after a long-ass shift. Even aliens and men from the past step back and say "whoa!"
Did I mention Spock quotes Byron to her? On the bridge? He greets three people after melding with Kollos--Kirk, McCoy, and Uhura.
No precedence in TOS my foot...
But I'm a firm advocate of Uhura's harem and I believe she should have them all at her whim--she certainly does in TOS anyway. She's the only one who got Spock to smile at her without the need for spores or drugs or subterfuge or coming back from the dead and she was the only one to play the lute other than he. Chekov willingly goes shopping with her. Scotty and Sulu are very protective of her. And the Three Amigos like to hover around her station.
But Uhura is above love, you know. And if she weren't she's certainly not fierce enough to pull Spock. And somehow, her being in love and loved diminishes her as a character and makes her "less fierce", especially when it's Spock. And no, it wouldn't have been better if Kirk had loved her, and why did they have to make her just a love interest and an "object" of affection even as she actively makes her choice as to with whom she would enter a relationship...and was pretty damn consistent with that choice, and won't allow her choice to keep her from what she's earned (and not by "lying on her back" but by sitting up in class being brilliant and kicking academic ass and taking names...but we're cheated out of seeing that! drats!). But she's "classier" when she's silent in the background and only speaks when she's spoken to. Like a fucking child.
Like grown-ass women. Like grown-ass black women especially.
Yeah, I said it.
But Reboot ruins all that to a point, builds upon the Uhura TOS writers refused to boldy go...and yet somehow managed to trim out the parts that would have rounded her out better, more obviously, as a person on her own terms, limiting the chances for this "solely a love interest" debate that is going around now. The more things don't change...
I rant because I rave about Uhura. I'm critical about her characterization because I care about her representation. She's more than just a hot chick in a short skirt; she's more than just a receptionist.
She was the first black female character on American television that wasn't cleaning up after white people's shit. She was the first black female character in a position of authority, in a "nondegradating" role. I wouldn't go so far as to say nonstereotypical, though.
But I'm waiting for the day when I can.