In the seventh episode of the third season of\u00c2\u00a0Star Trek<\/i>, 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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch\u00c2\u00a0Star Trek<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Trigger Warning: For discussion of racism, genocide, brownface, and sexual assault\/rape<\/b>.<\/p>\n
I liked this episode, and I think it addressed some ideas that were unbelievably uncomfortable for\u00c2\u00a0Star Trek<\/i>. To me, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the most compelling aspect of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Day of the Dove.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an intense look at bigotry and prejudice here, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s done in a way that doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t spare the\u00c2\u00a0Enterprise<\/i> 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.<\/p>\n
Of course, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Day of the Dove\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is not without some glaring problems, but I think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fair to discuss the ways in which this episode sets itself apart from the normal\u00c2\u00a0Star Trek<\/i> pattern. The main characters on this show are often safe, and I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t just mean that in a literal sense. Yes, they don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t 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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why we have an episode like \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Paradise Syndrome.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d The text never criticizes his awful, vicious behavior because we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re supposed to view him not just as a hero, but as someone we aspire to be. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s easier for people to project themselves onto Captain Kirk if we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re never left feeling uncomfortable.<\/p>\n
So I expected \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Day of the Dove\u00e2\u20ac\u009d 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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 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.<\/p>\n
And then there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Scotty, who releases a torrent of bitterness and bigotry at Spock, calling him a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153half-breed,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S JUST THE MOST AWFUL THING EVER. While on the one hand I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m satisfied that the show kept the Klingon and Federation displays of bigotry relatively even, I think they kind of fail when it comes to\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 well, a lot of things. Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s start with Scotty, who spews some of the nastiest anti-Vulcan drivel we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve ever seen on the show. Spock, understandably, responds by saying that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153irritated\u00e2\u20ac\u009d 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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even bother to criticize or discourage Scotty once Spock speaks. Instead, he compels Spock to stop being unreasonable, which\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 look, I get that it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s shocking that Spock said\u00c2\u00a0anything<\/i> that could have been construed as emotional, but Scotty\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s words were ABSOLUTELY WORSE. Later on, Kirk references the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153racial bigotry\u00e2\u20ac\u009d that Spock took part in and never mentions Scotty, and ????????? I wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even categorize Spock\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s rebuttal as bigotry! He barely scratched the surface of humanity. Oh god, because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s on my mind, this whole thing reminded me of people who concern themselves with criticizing non-white folks\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 method of fighting racism and then never fight racism itself. They are way more interested in making sure non-white people are \u00e2\u20ac\u0153nice\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153polite\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to racists because\u00c2\u00a0WHY ARE YOU SO MEAN TO THEM, CAN<\/i>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG<\/i>? That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not to say that this is what Kirk did here, because I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the case, but the dynamic was familiar to me.<\/p>\n
And then we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got Chekov\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sexual assault on Mara, which Spock dismisses because Chekov suddenly isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t responsible for it. I think this suffers from a lack of distinction; the writers don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t 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\u00c2\u00a0mind<\/i> was in Chekov\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s case. So am I supposed to believe that Chekov, who is often portrayed as if he is a horny teenager, suddenly\u00c2\u00a0wasn<\/i>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t<\/i> capable of believing that he was entitled to Mara\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s body? Okay,\u00c2\u00a0Star Trek<\/i>. OKAY. Even her role itself felt very strange, particularly that long sequence where she just stands around looking confused and saying\u00c2\u00a0absolutely nothing<\/i>. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sorry, since when are Klingons docile and quiet? Why is that a Klingon woman acts nothing like the rest of her kind?<\/p>\n
But there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s nothing more egregious than this show\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s absolutely absurd use of brownface throughout \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Day of the Dove.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d The Klingons throughout\u00c2\u00a0Star Trek<\/i> have always been an unfortunate display of Orientalism, but this episode just blasts off into the stratosphere of NOT APPROPRIATE. While I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m willing to admit that this is complicated by Michael Ansara, who played Commander Kang, being Syrian-American, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have a problem stating that\u00c2\u00a0actors should never darken their skin for roles<\/b>. Hollywood needs to\u00c2\u00a0hire people of the skin color they want<\/i> instead of constantly hiring those with fairer skin, who get more opportunities for roles than their darker counterparts. And then there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the disaster of an implication in making the Klingons EVEN DARKER THAN THEY USED TO BE within an episode that portrays them as\u00c2\u00a0even more brutal warlords than they ever have been<\/i>. I mean, I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t spend the entire video for this episode commenting on this because it would have been a waste of time. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so obvious that I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really feel the need to say much beyond the few times I mentioned it.<\/p>\n
While I think that it was distracting every time a Klingon came on the screen, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know that it\u00c2\u00a0ruined<\/i> the episode for me personally. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not watching this show expecting the writers to be perfect, and I really dug the premise. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a thrilling and bizarre adventure, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also got a\u00c2\u00a0lot<\/i> of problems within it.<\/p>\n
The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Day of the Dove\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded here for $0.99<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n – Mark Does Stuff is now on Facebook<\/a>! Feel free to Like the page, which I’m running myself, for updates and SILLINESS. In the seventh episode of the third season of\u00c2\u00a0Star 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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch\u00c2\u00a0Star … Continue reading
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