Chris is mixing it up! “It’s not really a traditional style ‘Ask Roger Anything’ question, but can you do a post on George Takei?”
To be honest, when you asked the question, I didn’t have all that much to say. Subsequently, there’s been a bit more.
Let me start with the original Star Trek (1966-1969). I was not a big fan, but my father was. I suspect it was because it had a strong black character in Uhuru (Nichelle Nichols), just as Mission: Impossible had with Greg Morris’ Barney.
I did watch the reruns enough so that when The Next Generation started, I was primed. I saw the first five Star Trek movies, featuring Takei’s Sulu (hated #5, was bored by #1, but liked the middle three).
I vaguely remember that George Takei was politically active. When he was running for office in Southern California, the Fairness Doctrine (1949-2011, R.I.P.) was invoked, precluded local stations from showing Star Trek in syndication during the campaigns, lest the program provide him with an unfair advantage.
I didn’t think much about Takei until he came out as gay in 2005. That was obviously quite liberating, as he became more visible in the public eye. And when he joined Facebook in 2011, his wit engendered millions of followers. He became a TV pitchman, usually working his catchphrase, “Oh, MY!” into each ad.
More importantly, he spoke out for gay rights, and for those Japanese-Americans who, like himself as a child, had been interred in camps in the United States during World War II. I guess I really like a good Second Act story, and the George Takei narrative is that.
I don’t follow him on social media, but he’s often reposted, so I get to see his wisdom, and I’ve even shared them, usually in the fortnightly roundups. Sometimes it’s humor, often in a science fiction vein. Frequently he is pointing out political injustice. He was, this election cycle, a nag to Bernie Sanders supporters who weren’t switching to Hillary Clinton, and I found THAT annoying.
Recently, it was announced the Sulu persona in the Star Trek reboot is gay in honor of George Takei. Interestingly, Takei found the news “really unfortunate” because it is twisting of “Gene [Roddenberry’s] creation, to which he put in so much thought.” It’s not surprising that he is so protective of the integrity of the character he brought to life.
Apparently some Star Trek fans have gotten all bent out of shape over the storyline news. The late Gene Roddenberry did promise to include gay people in Star Trek, but the studio put the kibosh on it. George Takei’s opposition is to Sulu’s character being gay but would have embraced a different, not so well established character having a same-gender relationship.
Undoubtedly, there are many Trek fans who are gay and want to know that they can be represented on the Enterprise, which I’m sure George Takei, more than most, understands.
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Bob Fletcher Dies at 101; helped interred Japanese-Americans
Takei has contributed some of the most memorable moments to the Howard Stern Show over the last decade plus, and makes regular appearances as the show announcer when he is in NYC. I’ve loved watching him develop his public persona since he came out. He’s been a champion for equality and for recognizing the injustice done to Japanese-Americans in the American Concentration Camps during WW2.
I do disagree with him about the revelation in Star Trek Beyond that Sulu is gay, however. Both for progressive and narrative reasons, it’s a wonderful step forward and I am greatly looking forward to seeing it this weekend.
Oh my!
Thank you. 🙂 Did you know he also speaks some Spanish and has started a gun control group? To me, he’s the most American thing to ever America. 🙂
I certainly understand where Takei is coming from because he’s since gone to great pains to explain it in detail. I can even intellectually accept what he’s saying. But the new Star Trek movies are reboots and involve an alternative timeline. So, nothing in this Enterprise is the same as in the original series. For that reason, I disagree with him about the current Sulu. And, everyone admits it’s WAY past time for a gay crew member who’s an important character. Too late for me (I’m past the longing to see my reality reflected), but young people seeing themselves reflected has got to be a good thing.
I didn’t see any of his Sanders/Hillary stuff, probably because he posts most of his stuff at totally the wrong time for me (they didn’t have trouble with timezones on Star Trek~).
I only became a fan of his when he joined FB. My two sons are fans of his, and Star Trek, so I started seeing his posts that they would re-tweet. I think he’s very funny. My family and I flew to NYC last November for a week because my granddaughter was in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, in the Great American Marching Band. Anyway, one day we went to Central Park and as we were leaving, Takei walked past us with his husband and a few other people. It was very cool!