![]() In an episode of Star Trek titled "Plato’s Stepchildren," Nichols and Shatner exchanged the first kiss between a Black person and a white person on American network television. Nichelle Nichols as Lieutenant Uhura and William Shatner as Captain Kirk. ![]() In the story, Kirk and Uhura are forced to kiss by hedonist telekinetic “gods.” Any way you slice it, a Black woman being forced to kiss a white man isn’t exactly progress. Pundits and historians love to talk about how Nichols and William Shatner participated in the first kiss between a Black person and a white person on American network television in the episode “Plato’s Stepchildren.” But as much as this episode is celebrated, you really have to wonder if people have watched it recently. Sulu, but Nichols insisted that “Uhuru” be Uhura. In Swahili, the word “Uhuru”means “freedom.” Once it was settled that Nichols would play the new communications officer, Roddenberry suggested taking the name Sulu away from Mr. During her audition, Nichols had a book tucked under her arm: the 1962 novel Uhuru, by Robert Ruark-a fictionalized account of the Mau Mau uprisings against landowners in Kenya during the 1950s. More than any character in the entire Star Trek pantheon, Uhura is unique because everything was created by the actress, including the character’s name. And, among Trek icons, Nichols’ journey was unique not just in its symbolism, but because of her frustrations with a role that never truly lived up to its potential. Like the character of Spock, Uhura typifies the ideals of Star Trek, even when the historical truths of those ideals fall short of how we remember them. It’s hard to really believe that Roddenberry would have fired Nimoy, but over the years, Nichols, Sargent, Roddenberry, and others have repeated the story of her audition with very little variation, making a solid case that at least one person (probably Sargent) was taken with the idea that Spock as a Black woman might have worked. And yet, Nichols said at least one person present asked that somebody “phone the contracts department” to see if Nimoy had put pen to paper. In this interesting period of ideation, could Nichols have replaced Leonard Nimoy as a Black female Spock? Probably not. How 'Star Trek: Picard' Fits Into The Timeline.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |