The entire K/S thing was invented by fandom. It simply isn't there -- no hint, at all, ever, of anything beyond a deep friendship or brotherhood.
And Spock had several *explicit* "girlfriends" in the original series (and I always thought Uhura had a crush on him from the original series). Certainly she is one of the rare people he explicitly compliments directly in the original series.
The Spock/Uhura thing in the movie seems honestly motivated; a bit of a "hot for teacher" thing perhaps, but one where he responds to her skills as much as to her looks and personality. That foundation -- deep respect -- was there in the original.
So yeah, it's always about Kirk and Spock, and then Bones, and then the others. But they *matter*, they contribute significantly. For this story, I agree they aren't as important as Kirk or Spock -- but that's the source material. If you're going to do a story where Kirk is the captain, that's where the focus is going to be. Seems foolish to complain about it.
Looking at Uhura as a character -- since she is the main female character in this cast -- examine HER role. Yes, her function is to attract Kirk but turn out to be involved with Spock. But how is that played? Kirk *never* has a chance with her and she is always in full control of that dynamic. Her professional skills are supported from the moment she's introduced -- she is clearly not just a pretty face, and we find out that she's earned top marks. She's got a good ear and good instincts, which provides key info at a crucial moment. And when Spock takes pains to avoid playing favorites, she calls him on it because she has earned that berth on her own merits (and Spock knows it too -- even though the scene is played for a laugh and is also another "destiny calling" moment). She comforts Spock, or tries to, when he needs it -- and then she goes back to doing her job VERY well.
Oh, and she is a woman of color in an interracial, interspecies relationship -- though that is never pointed to because it's the future and we should be better than that. It is simply never an issue -- there's no need, since we've already seen Spock dealing with his own racial issues. And it was never really an issue in the older series either.
Who else do we see? Sulu. The character of course has never been gay, but the original actor was. Sulu isn't a focal character, but he gets plenty to do and again -- it's stuff that matters. We see a hint of ambition and humor, a reminder of his inexperience, all in that first scene where he moves quickly past a rather elementary blunder. It's actually a pretty telling scene. Later, Sulu's taste for adventure puts him and Kirk on the sky dive, so we see his swashbuckling side as well. He uses his brains to get out of the jam and his sword to fight the baddies, and then emerges with a mutual life-debt with Kirk. Then he shows off mad piloting skills to help save the day AGAIN. So while we don't learn much about Sulu as a man, we do learn more than we think, despite limited screen time.
So our two examples among the bridge crew are actually portrayed pretty well -- and aside from the main lead female being an object of attraction, she is not *treated* as an object by any of the folks involved. Kirk hits on her, but he hits on *everyone*, and I'd argue he doesn't patronize her in the slightest; more the other way round!
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2009-05-13 01:45 am (UTC)And Spock had several *explicit* "girlfriends" in the original series (and I always thought Uhura had a crush on him from the original series). Certainly she is one of the rare people he explicitly compliments directly in the original series.
The Spock/Uhura thing in the movie seems honestly motivated; a bit of a "hot for teacher" thing perhaps, but one where he responds to her skills as much as to her looks and personality. That foundation -- deep respect -- was there in the original.
So yeah, it's always about Kirk and Spock, and then Bones, and then the others. But they *matter*, they contribute significantly. For this story, I agree they aren't as important as Kirk or Spock -- but that's the source material. If you're going to do a story where Kirk is the captain, that's where the focus is going to be. Seems foolish to complain about it.
Looking at Uhura as a character -- since she is the main female character in this cast -- examine HER role. Yes, her function is to attract Kirk but turn out to be involved with Spock. But how is that played? Kirk *never* has a chance with her and she is always in full control of that dynamic. Her professional skills are supported from the moment she's introduced -- she is clearly not just a pretty face, and we find out that she's earned top marks. She's got a good ear and good instincts, which provides key info at a crucial moment. And when Spock takes pains to avoid playing favorites, she calls him on it because she has earned that berth on her own merits (and Spock knows it too -- even though the scene is played for a laugh and is also another "destiny calling" moment). She comforts Spock, or tries to, when he needs it -- and then she goes back to doing her job VERY well.
Oh, and she is a woman of color in an interracial, interspecies relationship -- though that is never pointed to because it's the future and we should be better than that. It is simply never an issue -- there's no need, since we've already seen Spock dealing with his own racial issues. And it was never really an issue in the older series either.
Who else do we see? Sulu. The character of course has never been gay, but the original actor was. Sulu isn't a focal character, but he gets plenty to do and again -- it's stuff that matters. We see a hint of ambition and humor, a reminder of his inexperience, all in that first scene where he moves quickly past a rather elementary blunder. It's actually a pretty telling scene. Later, Sulu's taste for adventure puts him and Kirk on the sky dive, so we see his swashbuckling side as well. He uses his brains to get out of the jam and his sword to fight the baddies, and then emerges with a mutual life-debt with Kirk. Then he shows off mad piloting skills to help save the day AGAIN. So while we don't learn much about Sulu as a man, we do learn more than we think, despite limited screen time.
So our two examples among the bridge crew are actually portrayed pretty well -- and aside from the main lead female being an object of attraction, she is not *treated* as an object by any of the folks involved. Kirk hits on her, but he hits on *everyone*, and I'd argue he doesn't patronize her in the slightest; more the other way round!