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wellownedbkupSpace, the vast and final frontier. The voyages of the starship Enterprise continued to be shown in both television and film from the 1960s to our present day. In Gene Roddenberry’s Utopian vision of the 24th century, there’s a marked lack of racism among humans. Men and women serve together in Starfleet—the future’s United Nations equivalent, the astronautical and diplomatic army on missions to discover what there is to see in the universe. The rare few black women to enter into this boys’ world fall into stereotypical roles that have been portrayed in film and television since the days of minstrelsy.
One character that plays a role is Guinan, a mammy-esque figure in Star Trek: The Next Generation. An El-Aurian, Guinan is part of a species of ‘listeners’, aliens with knowledge of the past and future. On the Enterprise, she is the bartender at Ten Forward, listening to the problems of the crew and dispensing wise advice when the situation calls for it. This hearkens to the mammy stereotype of the Jim Crow era. Guinan is a maternal figure, who admits to having many children. However, she rarely mentions them, nor do you meet them in the course of the show. Instead, her focus is on the (majority white) crew of the Enterprise, faithfully keeping them on the path to glory. Although she has proven herself to be capable of surviving on her own, she chooses instead to stay with the crew of the Enterprise, as though no one else could care for them.
Another character that is reminiscent of a Jim Crow Era stereotype is B’Elanna Torres, a tragic mulatto of Human and Klingon descent. Klingons are portrayed as violent and feuding, tradition bound and combative, not unlike the way some view black nationalists. This is at odds with Torres’ human heritage, a much softer and refined culture, so to speak. Throughout her tenure in the Star Trek: Voyager series, she is shown to be the epitome of a tragic mulatto. She despises her Klingon heritage and the forehead ridges that make her unable to “pass” as human. She is not Klingon enough for her Klingon mother, nor is she human enough for the society in which she lives. Unlike Guinan, she is unhappy with her place in society and struggles to be more than what she is over and over, leading to many troubles in her schooling, a stint as a rebel fighter against Cardassian rule, as well as many episodes featuring her two warring natures. Only through a near-death experience and vision of speaking with her Klingon mother does she come to terms with herself.
Currently, in the rebooted movie of the Original Star Trek universe, we have an example of a cross between two stereotypes—the Jezebel and the Sapphire—in Cadet Nyota Uhura. Uhura does not quite fit the angry black promiscuous woman that Pam Grier portrayed in the blaxploitation pictures of the 1970s. However, she is shown throughout the movie as irrationally angry with her fellow cadet, and subsequent superior, James T. Kirk. While she is an intelligent officer in Starfleet’s xenolinguistics field, she seems bitter and ill-at-ease with her role. Add to this her relationship with Spock, both her teacher and her commanding officer, and one can see how she would also portray that over-sexualized and promiscuous Jezebel stereotype.
The only black female character who does not readily fit into any of these stereotypes is the Original Series Commander Uhura. Unlike her modern-day reworking, Uhura of the Original Series breaks the stereotypical roles of black females in American media. She is intelligent and competent in any situation, a ranking member of Starfleet whilst working on the bridge as communications officer. Although she is shown in the micro-dress uniform of Starfleet females (as portrayed in 1960s television), she is not sexual. Her presence was typified by the steady loyalty of a mammy, the intelligence of a mulatto, the beauty of a Jezebel and the occasional sharp tongue of a Sapphire.
Star Trek’s universe has occasionally featured other black females, in roles ranging from captains to masseuses, though they did not reach the level of inclusion as the above characters. One could ask why the pinnacle of black female representation was early in the series—a woman who appeared in over 90% of the episodes, seated just behind the captain. Has American media backpedaled from the promise of a Utopia where there exists no racism? One cannot say. However, it can clearly be seen that the stereotypes that existed at the inception of film and television are still apparent today, with only minor changes.
Works Cited
The Mammy Caricature. October 2000. The Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia at Ferris State University. May 2009 [http://www.ferris.edu/htmls/news/jimcrow/mammies/].
The Tragic Mulatto Myth. October 2000. The Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia at Ferris State University. May 2009 [http://www.ferris.edu/htmls/news/jimcrow/mulatto/].
Jezebel Stereotype. October 2000. The Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia at Ferris State University. May 2009 [http://www.ferris.edu/htmls/news/jimcrow/jezebel/].
Sapphire Caricature. October 2000. The Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia at Ferris State University. May 2009 [http://www.ferris.edu/htmls/news/jimcrow/sapphire/].
“Guinan.” Memory Alpha: The Star Trek Wiki. May 2009. May 2009 [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Guinan].
“B’Elanna Torres.” Memory Alpha: The Star Trek Wiki. May 2009. May 2009 [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/B’Elanna_Torres].
“Nyota Uhura.” Memory Alpha: The Star Trek Wiki. May 2009. May 2009 [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Uhura].
“Nyota Uhura (Alternate Reality).” Memory Alpha: The Star Trek Wiki. May 2009. May 2009 [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Nyota_Uhura_(alternate_reality)].
One character that plays a role is Guinan, a mammy-esque figure in Star Trek: The Next Generation. An El-Aurian, Guinan is part of a species of ‘listeners’, aliens with knowledge of the past and future. On the Enterprise, she is the bartender at Ten Forward, listening to the problems of the crew and dispensing wise advice when the situation calls for it. This hearkens to the mammy stereotype of the Jim Crow era. Guinan is a maternal figure, who admits to having many children. However, she rarely mentions them, nor do you meet them in the course of the show. Instead, her focus is on the (majority white) crew of the Enterprise, faithfully keeping them on the path to glory. Although she has proven herself to be capable of surviving on her own, she chooses instead to stay with the crew of the Enterprise, as though no one else could care for them.
Another character that is reminiscent of a Jim Crow Era stereotype is B’Elanna Torres, a tragic mulatto of Human and Klingon descent. Klingons are portrayed as violent and feuding, tradition bound and combative, not unlike the way some view black nationalists. This is at odds with Torres’ human heritage, a much softer and refined culture, so to speak. Throughout her tenure in the Star Trek: Voyager series, she is shown to be the epitome of a tragic mulatto. She despises her Klingon heritage and the forehead ridges that make her unable to “pass” as human. She is not Klingon enough for her Klingon mother, nor is she human enough for the society in which she lives. Unlike Guinan, she is unhappy with her place in society and struggles to be more than what she is over and over, leading to many troubles in her schooling, a stint as a rebel fighter against Cardassian rule, as well as many episodes featuring her two warring natures. Only through a near-death experience and vision of speaking with her Klingon mother does she come to terms with herself.
Currently, in the rebooted movie of the Original Star Trek universe, we have an example of a cross between two stereotypes—the Jezebel and the Sapphire—in Cadet Nyota Uhura. Uhura does not quite fit the angry black promiscuous woman that Pam Grier portrayed in the blaxploitation pictures of the 1970s. However, she is shown throughout the movie as irrationally angry with her fellow cadet, and subsequent superior, James T. Kirk. While she is an intelligent officer in Starfleet’s xenolinguistics field, she seems bitter and ill-at-ease with her role. Add to this her relationship with Spock, both her teacher and her commanding officer, and one can see how she would also portray that over-sexualized and promiscuous Jezebel stereotype.
The only black female character who does not readily fit into any of these stereotypes is the Original Series Commander Uhura. Unlike her modern-day reworking, Uhura of the Original Series breaks the stereotypical roles of black females in American media. She is intelligent and competent in any situation, a ranking member of Starfleet whilst working on the bridge as communications officer. Although she is shown in the micro-dress uniform of Starfleet females (as portrayed in 1960s television), she is not sexual. Her presence was typified by the steady loyalty of a mammy, the intelligence of a mulatto, the beauty of a Jezebel and the occasional sharp tongue of a Sapphire.
Star Trek’s universe has occasionally featured other black females, in roles ranging from captains to masseuses, though they did not reach the level of inclusion as the above characters. One could ask why the pinnacle of black female representation was early in the series—a woman who appeared in over 90% of the episodes, seated just behind the captain. Has American media backpedaled from the promise of a Utopia where there exists no racism? One cannot say. However, it can clearly be seen that the stereotypes that existed at the inception of film and television are still apparent today, with only minor changes.
Works Cited
The Mammy Caricature. October 2000. The Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia at Ferris State University. May 2009 [http://www.ferris.edu/htmls/news/jimcrow/mammies/].
The Tragic Mulatto Myth. October 2000. The Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia at Ferris State University. May 2009 [http://www.ferris.edu/htmls/news/jimcrow/mulatto/].
Jezebel Stereotype. October 2000. The Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia at Ferris State University. May 2009 [http://www.ferris.edu/htmls/news/jimcrow/jezebel/].
Sapphire Caricature. October 2000. The Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia at Ferris State University. May 2009 [http://www.ferris.edu/htmls/news/jimcrow/sapphire/].
“Guinan.” Memory Alpha: The Star Trek Wiki. May 2009. May 2009 [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Guinan].
“B’Elanna Torres.” Memory Alpha: The Star Trek Wiki. May 2009. May 2009 [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/B’Elanna_Torres].
“Nyota Uhura.” Memory Alpha: The Star Trek Wiki. May 2009. May 2009 [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Uhura].
“Nyota Uhura (Alternate Reality).” Memory Alpha: The Star Trek Wiki. May 2009. May 2009 [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Nyota_Uhura_(alternate_reality)].
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no subject
Date: 2009-06-05 05:58 pm (UTC)I rather liked the episode, from the original series, with the person who was literally half black/half white being hunted by someone half white/half black. To me that read as a statement on how ridiculous it is to judge someone purely on their skin color. Granted the show was really obvious about that being the point, I still liked it.
Oh, and for the new movie, there is a showing of how respected Uhura's linguistic skills are when she's told to replace the incompetant white male as the communications officer, even though she's barely out of cadet school.
no subject
Date: 2009-06-05 06:08 pm (UTC)and i know that reboot!Uhura is extremely talented. i just looked at her as not quite as special as TOS!Uhura. TOS had her very competent, not at all a sex kitten. by having such emphasis on the spock/uhura dynamic, i just.... felt this uhura was watered down. and could've been replaced by any actress. one thing about the pam grier-esque jezebel stereotype is that she's not stupid. she's more man-hating and generally bitter, though we're not clear why she is thus.
no subject
Date: 2009-06-05 06:22 pm (UTC)And I do agree, while telling us in greater detail about Uhura's xenolinguistic skills, they did kind of water her down. I'm not sure if this is true of all of Zoe Saldana's roles, but the few I've seen her in, she always seems a bit bitter about something. I do totally understand her annoyance with Kirk though, he's such an arrogant bastard, but it always works out for him! *grins*