I haven't seen the movie yet and I'm really excited about seeing it (Pegg! As Scotty! Okay, five minutes of screen time, but I'm easy...), but honestly I think I can cut out the middleman and say I agree with you. Strange to say, but in all of this, I never even expected Uhura to get more than what you describe....and that bothers me. WHY didn't I expect more? Wasn't this the moment when Uhura, a pivotal character, gets to shine? Why am I just sighing and accepting this
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In answer to your questions as best I can do (I am seeing it again on a non-queasy-making screen tomorrow and will be able to catch more detail then):
Everyone had "that special moment" wherein they got to shine as a minor character. I simply found that Uhura's amounted to little more than her role in the original. Yes, there was one scene in which her input was valuable, but only to support Kirk's claim. Her role as a lovely female character was more important than her role as an officer aboard the ship, imo.
I think we all have learned to just accept and not notice a lot of crap, honey. Otherwise we would go nuts. I do believe that. The days my eyes are open and looking at everything hard hurt me. But I still speak up when I feel the need to.
I have several reasons why I'm hesitant to see this film. Oddly what you're talking about here didn't even cross mind, though it's not surprising. Do you think that means I've just come to expect it?
Really well rounded female characters are very hard to find, but the ones that are done well are done pretty brillantly. It's all fine and good to have that comforting, wise, psuedo mother figure, but that isn't all she has to be. It's possible to still do that with a character and still make her conflicted and complicated and even wrong on occasion. That's what makes characters "human" and relatable.
Its really quite frustrating, especially sense it is so heavily accepted as the norm and as "real women"
I don't know if it's so much that you've come to expect it as maybe it's what is "normal" to your daily pop culture experience. We are also conditioned, I think. As long as our female characters aren't Donna Reed or attempting to Rock the Love Bus, we are relieved. Oh look, a lawyer! Wonderful! And we are trained to not look beyond the surface, be happy with what we're given, and are called names for insisting our female characters be as complex as the male characters they are complementing.
My personal mantra (which you've probably read before): Just because it is normal doesn't make it right.
I am curious as to why you're reluctant to see Trek, though.
I can understand your point there as far as remakes go. They are crap and generally little more than a bid to make money. And when one is made that shouldn't be (ala The Women), and it fails for multiple reasons, that is used to excuse other studio decisions - such as why there are so few movies with female lead protagonists or roles for older female actors in big movies.
But Star Trek has been reimagined multiple times over the past 40 years. If it hadn't been, our pop cultural reference points for Sci-Fi would be much thinner (Season 1 Buffy finale - Xander refers to Giles as "Locutus of Borg"). As iconic as Shatner and Nimoy are to me, some of those movies were pure crap (though 5 is awesome in its badness and has one of the slashiest moments in film history). I try to see the new movie not as a remake, but an attempt to keep one of the longest running fandoms alive and thriving by bringing new blood into it
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Everyone had "that special moment" wherein they got to shine as a minor character. I simply found that Uhura's amounted to little more than her role in the original. Yes, there was one scene in which her input was valuable, but only to support Kirk's claim. Her role as a lovely female character was more important than her role as an officer aboard the ship, imo.
I think we all have learned to just accept and not notice a lot of crap, honey. Otherwise we would go nuts. I do believe that. The days my eyes are open and looking at everything hard hurt me. But I still speak up when I feel the need to.
I was very sad to read about French.
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Really well rounded female characters are very hard to find, but the ones that are done well are done pretty brillantly. It's all fine and good to have that comforting, wise, psuedo mother figure, but that isn't all she has to be. It's possible to still do that with a character and still make her conflicted and complicated and even wrong on occasion. That's what makes characters "human" and relatable.
Its really quite frustrating, especially sense it is so heavily accepted as the norm and as "real women"
sorry I'm kinda rambling...
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My personal mantra (which you've probably read before): Just because it is normal doesn't make it right.
I am curious as to why you're reluctant to see Trek, though.
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But Star Trek has been reimagined multiple times over the past 40 years. If it hadn't been, our pop cultural reference points for Sci-Fi would be much thinner (Season 1 Buffy finale - Xander refers to Giles as "Locutus of Borg"). As iconic as Shatner and Nimoy are to me, some of those movies were pure crap (though 5 is awesome in its badness and has one of the slashiest moments in film history). I try to see the new movie not as a remake, but an attempt to keep one of the longest running fandoms alive and thriving by bringing new blood into it ( ... )
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