I'm back from DC! I can't believe I didn't think about what a complete circus Reagan National Airport can be at the end of the work week. My bad. It's like several hours of complete madness overtake the place. If I hadn't literally had my copy of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy with me (my official de-stresser), I might've panicked. *grin*
Happy birthday to
bistokidsfan77, and happy early birthday to pewterwolf. May you both enjoy many happy returns of the day!
I'm currently working on my essay "From Amerind to Dorvan: The Future History of Native America in Star Trek." Thus far, it looks like I'll be drawing particular on the following specific examples from Star Trek: "The Paradise Syndrome" (The Original Series), "How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth" (The Animated Series), "Journey's End" (The Next Generation), "Cathexis" and "Tattoo" (among several other episodes from Star Trek: Voyager), Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and Star Trek: Insurrection.
Random trivia I've gathered:
Starfleet personnel of Native descent:
* At least three unnamed crewpeople in Star Trek: The Motion Picture
* Dawson Walking Bear in The Animated Series
* Chakotay in Voyager
* Possibly Captain Hunter from Vonda McIntyre's novel The Entropy Effect (Thanks tomarthawells!)
Starfleet ships named for individuals of Native descent (others are named for various nations):
* USS Crazy Horse (The Next Generation)
* USS Malinche (Deep Space Nine)
* USS Tecumseh (Deep Space Nine)
* Sacajawea (shuttle, Voyager)
Above and beyond the episodes/films thus far, and the uber-helpful "American Indian" entry at Memory Alpha, The Star Trek Wiki, I've put together my working bibliography of secondary sources. Just in case you're interested, I'll list the works below. If you have any recommendations or suggestions, I'd be grateful!
Working Bibliography of Secondary Sources on Native America in Star Trek
Sierra S. Adare, "Indian" Stereotypes in TV Science Fiction: First Nations' Voices Speak Out (University of Texas Press, 2005)
Daniel Bernardi, Star Trek and History : Race-ing Toward a White Future (Rutgers University Press, 1998)
Al Carroll, Medicine Bags and Dog Tags: American Indian Veterans from Colonial Times to the Second Iraq War (University of Nebraska Press, 2008)
(note: very useful section on Chakotay in Voyager)
Steven F. Collins, "'For the Greater Good': Trilateralism and Hegemony in Star Trek: The Next Generation" in Taylor Harrison, Sarah Projansky, Kent A. Ono, and Elyce Rae Helford, eds. Enterprise Zones: Critical Positions on Star Trek (Westview Press, 1996): 137-156.
Lincoln Geraghty, "'Neutralising the Indian': Native American Stereotypes in Star Trek: Voyager," U.S. Studies Online: The BAAS Postgraduate Journal, Issue 4 (Autumn 2004): online here
Lincoln Geraghty, Living with Star Trek : American Culture and the Star Trek Universe (I.B. Taurus, 2007)
Allen Kwan, "Seeking New Civilizations: Race Normaitivity in the Star Trek Franchise," Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society Vol. 27, No 1 (February 2007), 59-70.
Jan Johnson-Smith, American Science Fiction TV: Star Trek, Stargate and Beyond (I.B. Taurus, 2005)
Ted Jojola, "Absurd Reality II: Hollywood Goes to the Indians" in Peter C. Rollins and John E. O'Connor, eds. Hollywood's Indian: The Portrayal of the Native American in Film (University Press of Kentucky, 1998): 12-26.
Darcee L. McLaren and Jennifer E. Porter, "(Re)Covering Sacred Ground: New Age Spirituality in Star Trek: Voyager" in Jennifer E. Porter and Darcee L. McLaren, eds. Star Trek and Sacred Ground : Explorations of Star Trek, Religion, and American Culture (State University of New York, 2000): 101-118.
Jon Wagner and Jan Lundeen, Deep Space and Sacred Time: Star Trek in the American Mythos (Praeger, 1998)
And for the understatement of the day, I present Wesley Crusher...
Lankata: Whether you believe in your spirit or not, we believe in it. You are a sacred person here, Wesley.
Wesley Crusher: I think that's the first time anyone's used that particular word to describe me.
- "Journey's End," Star Trek: The Next Generation
Happy birthday to
bistokidsfan77, and happy early birthday to pewterwolf. May you both enjoy many happy returns of the day!I'm currently working on my essay "From Amerind to Dorvan: The Future History of Native America in Star Trek." Thus far, it looks like I'll be drawing particular on the following specific examples from Star Trek: "The Paradise Syndrome" (The Original Series), "How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth" (The Animated Series), "Journey's End" (The Next Generation), "Cathexis" and "Tattoo" (among several other episodes from Star Trek: Voyager), Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and Star Trek: Insurrection.
Random trivia I've gathered:
Starfleet personnel of Native descent:
* At least three unnamed crewpeople in Star Trek: The Motion Picture
* Dawson Walking Bear in The Animated Series
* Chakotay in Voyager
* Possibly Captain Hunter from Vonda McIntyre's novel The Entropy Effect (Thanks to
marthawells!)Starfleet ships named for individuals of Native descent (others are named for various nations):
* USS Crazy Horse (The Next Generation)
* USS Malinche (Deep Space Nine)
* USS Tecumseh (Deep Space Nine)
* Sacajawea (shuttle, Voyager)
Above and beyond the episodes/films thus far, and the uber-helpful "American Indian" entry at Memory Alpha, The Star Trek Wiki, I've put together my working bibliography of secondary sources. Just in case you're interested, I'll list the works below. If you have any recommendations or suggestions, I'd be grateful!
Working Bibliography of Secondary Sources on Native America in Star Trek
Sierra S. Adare, "Indian" Stereotypes in TV Science Fiction: First Nations' Voices Speak Out (University of Texas Press, 2005)
Daniel Bernardi, Star Trek and History : Race-ing Toward a White Future (Rutgers University Press, 1998)
Al Carroll, Medicine Bags and Dog Tags: American Indian Veterans from Colonial Times to the Second Iraq War (University of Nebraska Press, 2008)
(note: very useful section on Chakotay in Voyager)
Steven F. Collins, "'For the Greater Good': Trilateralism and Hegemony in Star Trek: The Next Generation" in Taylor Harrison, Sarah Projansky, Kent A. Ono, and Elyce Rae Helford, eds. Enterprise Zones: Critical Positions on Star Trek (Westview Press, 1996): 137-156.
Lincoln Geraghty, "'Neutralising the Indian': Native American Stereotypes in Star Trek: Voyager," U.S. Studies Online: The BAAS Postgraduate Journal, Issue 4 (Autumn 2004): online here
Lincoln Geraghty, Living with Star Trek : American Culture and the Star Trek Universe (I.B. Taurus, 2007)
Allen Kwan, "Seeking New Civilizations: Race Normaitivity in the Star Trek Franchise," Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society Vol. 27, No 1 (February 2007), 59-70.
Jan Johnson-Smith, American Science Fiction TV: Star Trek, Stargate and Beyond (I.B. Taurus, 2005)
Ted Jojola, "Absurd Reality II: Hollywood Goes to the Indians" in Peter C. Rollins and John E. O'Connor, eds. Hollywood's Indian: The Portrayal of the Native American in Film (University Press of Kentucky, 1998): 12-26.
Darcee L. McLaren and Jennifer E. Porter, "(Re)Covering Sacred Ground: New Age Spirituality in Star Trek: Voyager" in Jennifer E. Porter and Darcee L. McLaren, eds. Star Trek and Sacred Ground : Explorations of Star Trek, Religion, and American Culture (State University of New York, 2000): 101-118.
Jon Wagner and Jan Lundeen, Deep Space and Sacred Time: Star Trek in the American Mythos (Praeger, 1998)
And for the understatement of the day, I present Wesley Crusher...
Lankata: Whether you believe in your spirit or not, we believe in it. You are a sacred person here, Wesley.
Wesley Crusher: I think that's the first time anyone's used that particular word to describe me.
- "Journey's End," Star Trek: The Next Generation
- Current Music:"Time," Tom Waits
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Comments
(My iPod, Slartibartfast, also has those words engraved on his back. Very comforting. Now if I only knew where my towel was...)
It's wonderful how Star Trek created and brought together characters with so many different ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds ad tackled the difficult issues. They could sometimes be a little heavy handed and obvious, but their hearts were always in the right place. :-)
It is wonderful; there are so many other series, even futuristic ones, that never even tried. Roddenberry deserves real credit for that. And for all Trek's many missteps and faults (many not of Roddenberry's making, to be sure), it's also heartening to see that in some cases it really did get better and more sophisticated at doing this over time.
And Peter disappearing and the subsequent comments about that! OMG!
Kidding aside, btw, I have liked Joshua Jackson since seeing him on Dawson's Creek. With the right role, he's really good. He's easy on the eyes, of course, but he also has a mature demeanor and voice that works well, IMO. Fringe is a good vehicle for him and the reason I tuned in intially, Then finding Noble and Torv there (and the others, too) doing such good work - and the scripts - was just a wonderful thing.
YES! If I'm not mistaken, no one from our side knows about the baby. Now that's going to be a big revelation.