In the seventh episode of the third season of Star Trek, the Klingons and the Federation clash over atrocities committed by both sides, only to discover that reality is not what it seems. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Star Trek.
Trigger Warning: For discussion of racism, genocide, brownface, and sexual assault/rape.
I liked this episode, and I think it addressed some ideas that were unbelievably uncomfortable for Star Trek. To me, that’s the most compelling aspect of “Day of the Dove.†There’s an intense look at bigotry and prejudice here, and it’s done in a way that doesn’t spare the Enterprise cast either. Which I appreciate! I liked that we got to see how the Federation humans reacted poorly to the situation, just as the Klingons did.
Of course, “Day of the Dove†is not without some glaring problems, but I think it’s fair to discuss the ways in which this episode sets itself apart from the normal Star Trek pattern. The main characters on this show are often safe, and I don’t just mean that in a literal sense. Yes, they don’t die, and yes, they always escape whatever peril is thrown at them episode-to-episode. But because these characters are meant to be the courageous heroes, it also means that the writers rarely focus a critical eye upon them within the text. That’s why we have an episode like “The Paradise Syndrome.†The text never criticizes his awful, vicious behavior because we’re supposed to view him not just as a hero, but as someone we aspire to be. It’s easier for people to project themselves onto Captain Kirk if we’re never left feeling uncomfortable.
So I expected “Day of the Dove†to follow a very similar thread in regards to how this conflict was portrayed. The Klingons would be prone to violence, and the Federation members would just be defending themselves, right? In a very appropriate twist, though, we see three different characters express sentiments that are plainly horrible. The first, of course, is from Chekov, who vows to avenge his brother’s death. OH, BY THE WAY, THE SPARKLE ALIEN IMPLANTED THAT MEMORY WITHIN HIM. But even this story of revenge is not quite one of outright bigotry; in Chekov’s mind, he has every right to kill Klingons because he truly believes that they murdered his brother. So the writers take it a step further with Bones and Scotty. Bones, furious and bewildered by what the Klingons have done to the crew, begs Kirk and Spock to LITERALLY COMMIT GENOCIDE. He wants all the Klingons wiped out! So I felt like the episode very plainly criticized war mongering, which must have been a poignant point to make in 1968.
And then there’s Scotty, who releases a torrent of bitterness and bigotry at Spock, calling him a “half-breed,†and IT’S JUST THE MOST AWFUL THING EVER. While on the one hand I’m satisfied that the show kept the Klingon and Federation displays of bigotry relatively even, I think they kind of fail when it comes to… well, a lot of things. Let’s start with Scotty, who spews some of the nastiest anti-Vulcan drivel we’ve ever seen on the show. Spock, understandably, responds by saying that he’s “irritated†by humans and their emotional states, and for some godawful reason, this is the only thing that Kirk and the writers focus on. Kirk doesn’t even bother to criticize or discourage Scotty once Spock speaks. Instead, he compels Spock to stop being unreasonable, which… look, I get that it’s shocking that Spock said anything that could have been construed as emotional, but Scotty’s words were ABSOLUTELY WORSE. Later on, Kirk references the “racial bigotry†that Spock took part in and never mentions Scotty, and ????????? I wouldn’t even categorize Spock’s rebuttal as bigotry! He barely scratched the surface of humanity. Oh god, because it’s on my mind, this whole thing reminded me of people who concern themselves with criticizing non-white folks’ method of fighting racism and then never fight racism itself. They are way more interested in making sure non-white people are “nice†and “polite†to racists because WHY ARE YOU SO MEAN TO THEM, CAN’T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG? That’s not to say that this is what Kirk did here, because I don’t think it’s the case, but the dynamic was familiar to me.
And then we’ve got Chekov’s sexual assault on Mara, which Spock dismisses because Chekov suddenly isn’t responsible for it. I think this suffers from a lack of distinction; the writers don’t bother to make it clear how much the Sparkle Alien is controlling in these situations. As I understood it, the Sparkle Alien merely changed reality so that the two groups could act on their existing prejudices. The only time it changed a mind was in Chekov’s case. So am I supposed to believe that Chekov, who is often portrayed as if he is a horny teenager, suddenly wasn’t capable of believing that he was entitled to Mara’s body? Okay, Star Trek. OKAY. Even her role itself felt very strange, particularly that long sequence where she just stands around looking confused and saying absolutely nothing. I’m sorry, since when are Klingons docile and quiet? Why is that a Klingon woman acts nothing like the rest of her kind?
But there’s nothing more egregious than this show’s absolutely absurd use of brownface throughout “Day of the Dove.†The Klingons throughout Star Trek have always been an unfortunate display of Orientalism, but this episode just blasts off into the stratosphere of NOT APPROPRIATE. While I’m willing to admit that this is complicated by Michael Ansara, who played Commander Kang, being Syrian-American, I don’t have a problem stating that actors should never darken their skin for roles. Hollywood needs to hire people of the skin color they want instead of constantly hiring those with fairer skin, who get more opportunities for roles than their darker counterparts. And then there’s the disaster of an implication in making the Klingons EVEN DARKER THAN THEY USED TO BE within an episode that portrays them as even more brutal warlords than they ever have been. I mean, I didn’t spend the entire video for this episode commenting on this because it would have been a waste of time. It’s so obvious that I didn’t really feel the need to say much beyond the few times I mentioned it.
While I think that it was distracting every time a Klingon came on the screen, I don’t know that it ruined the episode for me personally. I’m not watching this show expecting the writers to be perfect, and I really dug the premise. It’s a thrilling and bizarre adventure, but it’s also got a lot of problems within it.
The video for “Day of the Dove†can be downloaded here for $0.99.
Mark Links Stuff
– Mark Does Stuff is now on Facebook! Feel free to Like the page, which I’m running myself, for updates and SILLINESS.
– If you would like to support this website and keep Mark Does Stuff running, I’ve put up a detailed post explaining how you can!
– Please check out the MarkDoesStuff.com. All Mark Watches videos for past shows/season are now archived there!
– My Master Schedule is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often. My next two Double Features are now in the schedule! I will be watching The Sarah Connor Chronicles and then Leverage. Commission away!
– I will be at quite a few conventions and will be hosting events throughout 2015, so check my Tour Dates / Appearances page often to see if I’m coming to your city!
Here’s the transcript of Kirk’s intervention in the altercation between Spock and Scotty:
KIRK: Gentlemen! (intervenes as they nearly come to blows.) Spock! Scotty. Spock. Spock! Stop it! You’re half human! What are we saying? What are we doing to each other?
SPOCK: Fascinating. The result of stress?
KIRK: We’ve been under stress before. It’s never set us at each other’s throats.
SCOTT: But this is war.
KIRK: There isn’t any war! Or is there?
SCOTT: Have we forgotten how to defend ourselves?
KIRK: Scotty. What’s happening to us? We’ve been trained to think in other terms than war. We’ve been trained to fight its causes, if necessary. Then why are we behaving like a group of savages? Look at me. Look at me. Two forces aboard this ship, each of them equally armed. Has a war been staged for us, complete with weapons and ideology and patriotic drum beating? Even, Spock, even race hatred?
I got the sense that Kirk was talking to both Scotty AND Spock when he was trying to get them to cut it out. After that, he was talking to Spock more, not because he thought that what Spock did was worse, but because Kirk knows that something has gone wrong, that neither of these guys behaves this way. And when Kirk is trying to figure something out, it’s Spock he bounces ideas off of, partly because Spock is both the First Office AND the Science Officer, so Kirk nearly always wants and needs his counsel, partly because Spock’s the smartest person on the ship.
That last line, when Kirk says, “Even, Spock, even race hatred,” I took that to mean that he was talking to Spock about the race hatred directed at him, not about race hatred that he thought Spock possessed. I suppose it’s ambiguous and could be taken either way, but that’s how I heard it.