Out actor Gee Takei, who origally played Lt. Sulu, <a href="; target="_blank">lled</a> the creative cisn to make the character gay <i>Star Trek Beyond</i> "really unfortunate," promptg strong rpons om <i>Beyond</i> screenwrer and actor Simon Pegg and out actor Zachary Quto.
Contents:
- SULU IS GAY IN 'STAR TREK BEYOND,' MAKG FRANCHISE HISTORY
- FROM GHOSTBTERS TO STAR TREK BEYOND: GAY CHARACTERS ARE THERE, BUT ONLY JT
- THE SURPRISG CONTROVERSY BEHD THE NEW GAY "STAR TREK" CHARACTER
- GAY 'STAR TREK' CHARACTER PROVOK POLARIZG RPONSE
SULU IS GAY IN 'STAR TREK BEYOND,' MAKG FRANCHISE HISTORY
* star trek beyond lgbt characters *
In 1991, Gene Rodnberry ma a statement on his plans to clu gay characters Star Trek: The Next Generatn, but followg his ath shortly afterwards, the productn team were slow to follow up on his promis. Throughout the 1990s, fans were engaged letter-wrg mpaigns askg for gay characters, some of which were endorsed by actors appearg the anchise, but the rponse om Paramount was at bt dismissive and at worst outright hostile. The episo gets plenty wrong – nflatg havg no genr wh asexualy, g a character who is sentially transgenr as a metaphor for gay people whout really realizg that was what they were dog, and assumg that androgyno people would tomatilly wear drab clothg and have bad haircuts (a quick Google Imag search of “nonbary style” will show you how far off the mark that is).
FROM GHOSTBTERS TO STAR TREK BEYOND: GAY CHARACTERS ARE THERE, BUT ONLY JT
The ill-fated AIDS-allegory episo Blood And Fire, wrten by David Gerrold, would have featured actual human gay characters, but was shot down at the script stage.
THE SURPRISG CONTROVERSY BEHD THE NEW GAY "STAR TREK" CHARACTER
Deep Space Ne did do a ltle better than s sister shows terms of sual background queerns – Jadzia isn’t thrown by the ia of gay Ferengi, Bashir and O’Brien happily plan a baby shower for a pregnant male lleague, several characters the Mirror Universe are queer – but they missed jt as many opportuni as The Next Generatn and Voyager. Litenant Hawk, a mor on-screen character Star Trek: First Contact, was wrten as a gay man, but referenc to were removed om later versns of the script. Jeri Taylor’s Pathways, which explor the life stori of the crew of Voyager, featur a background gay uple and a gay Starfleet Amy roommate for Harry Kim.
The Starfleet Corps of Engeers novels feature a gay uple, and the DS9 relnch books feature a lbian uple. One gay ma character would have been phg the envelope for The Next Generatn, but now, well to the twenty-first century and wh queer characters creasgly visible film and televisn (egreg mortaly rat notwhstandg), if Star Trek wants to mata s reputatn of beg ahead of the curve on social issu, needs to do better than that. Fans are hopeful that Bryan Fuller, the shownner of the new Star Trek seri set to land early 2017, who is gay himself, unrstands that and is ready to explore the full range of possibili.
GAY 'STAR TREK' CHARACTER PROVOK POLARIZG RPONSE
We don’t jt want one gay character. We want to see well-round gay, lbian and bisexual characters who have more gog on than their sexualy. One of the “Star Trek” universe’s most beloved characters is revealed to be gay the latt stallment of the inic anchise.
“I liked the approach, which was not to make a big thg out , which is where I hope we are gog as a speci, to not policize one’s personal orientatns, ” he and Pegg’s cisn to pict Sulu as a gay man was a nod to Gee Takei, who played the role the origal 1960s “Star Trek” televisn seri and six subsequent films, Cho said.