Women in the New Star Trek Movie

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Title:	Women in the New Star Trek Movie
Creator:	LJC
Date(s):	May 12, 2009
Medium:	online
Fandom:	Star Trek: Alternate Original Series
Topic:
External Links:	Women in the New Star Trek Movie
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Women in the New Star Trek Movie is a Star Trek: AOS essay by LJC.

Some Topics Discussed

• Uhura and Amanda Grayson
• Uhura as a foil for Kirk
• discussion about Spock
• "the boys get to do cool stuff, and the girls don't" argument
• how do we define cool stuff
• disappointment that we never get to see Kaylee Frye in Serenity be good at her job, like we got to see in Firefly
• the size of the roles of other characters other than Kirk
• about that kiss..., and the Spock/Uhura relationship
• strong female characters
• rationalization and possibly lowering expectations

From the Essay

Since Star Trek opened last week, I've been reading just about every review and discussion that comes my way. Livejournal, where I do the majority of my blogging and socializing fannishly, I'm seeing a lot of Star Trek glee, but also a lot of Star Trek headdesking about Uhura specifically and the roles of women in general in the film.

And while some of it I think is justified, a lot of it has me scratching my head, wondering if people saw the same film I did.

I think a big part of Uhura's role is, like Sulu and Chekov, to be the model Academy grads and represent the side of Starfleet that Kirk isn't and doesn't want to be. You can't be maverick without foils to show how maverick you are being, and Uhura is that in the Kobayashi Maru. Kirk's meet cute with Chris Pike and Uhura serves much the same purpose. The meet-cute makes Old Skool folks laugh from meta because this is a Jim Kirk who cannot get the girl. But in-story, it shows that Uhura is not there to be The Girl To be Got. Or even necessarily The Girl Who Got Away. We're given an Uhura who knows what she wants, and doesn't want a boy like Kirk. He keeps trying, she sticks to her guns. And she does it in a way that while injecting levity into the story, also tells us a lot about both her and Kirk as people. She's focused, she doesn't muck about, and she's hella smart and awesome at her job. This to me is a good thing. But just because she has a love interest, this does not in my eyes reduce her to the role of nothing but a love interest.

At the same time, Kirk winning Uhura's acceptance is also about Chris Pine as Kirk winning the audience's acceptance. Her utter scorn when she called him "Captain" during the Kobayashi Maru test is there so that, when she calls him "Captain" on the bridge of the Enterprise after the fight's been won, we can see she means it. He's finally matured enough to deserve her respect. And by doing so, the audience buys that this reckless kid with a chip on his shoulder is Command material, and capable and responsible enough to lead a crew of 400 highly trained Starfleet personnel.

I do not see Uhura as nothing but a catalyst any more than I see Bones' relationship with Jim as nothing but a catalyst. I'm sorry. I know I am failing at Internet Feminism 101 here, but not every death of a female character is fridging, and not every love interest is "reduced" to being "nothing but" a love interest.

Look, I know that as women, we look for strong female characters. And we are upset when we don't get them. But I also think there is a lot of gender bias towards rejecting storylines we see as "stereotypically" female stories such as anything involving romantic love, and dismissing emotion-driven stories as not strong. And I think that's throwing the baby out with the bath water. I just don't see the ability to express love and compassion as any less strong as the ability to take or throw a punch. YMMV.

Does this mean I didn't totally almost cry when, due to Kirk taking Pike's place ahead of schedule, there was no Number One? Or wish we could have seen Nurse Chapel instead of just hear McCoy call her name offscreen? Does this mean I don't crave more of Uhura being awesome? Hell no. But I was satisfied by the Uhura we did get, and I have hope and a certain amount of faith that if when get more story, there will be more balance. Because now that Abrams, Orci and Kurtzman and this cast have proved they can give us the Star Trek we all loved since the 1960s, they can give us the Star Trek we need in the 21st Century.

Fan Comments

[P Gutierrez]: Wow, excellent analysis. Thanks for digging deep on this.

[ebster]: I agree completely. I love that, in the movie, women are allowed to keep feminine characteristics without having to compete with the guys. Because, quite honestly if men and women are truely equal, it wouldn't be that way.

[ohsnapiam56]: I loved this Uhura. And I loved her relationship with Spock. When he 'collapses' on her shoulder in the elevator...great. Women should be women...they can be strong, smart AND feminine and that's what this Uhura was. I do believe we will see more of Spock/Uhura in the next ST because that's what the stars (including Zachary Quinto) want to see.

[aw3]: I agree wholeheartedly. Yeah, it might have been cool if Uhura joined the other boys in off planet skirmishes but the reality is that Uhura is a communications officer. That's her job and she performs it admirably. I too was very surprised with her hookup with Spock yet relieved that she didn't end up with Kirk. Zoe Saldana portrayed the same Uhura that Nichelle Nichols originated; a strong and courageous soldier performing her duties to the best of her ability. I, too, look forward to seeing more of Uhura in the next installment and I'm ecstatic about her presence in this flick. Great insights. Thank you for sharing!!

[Oddangel]: I liked the Spock/Uhura relationship VERY much. I thought it was a welcomed change and a fessing up to the original Spock/Uhura potential love story that was not allowed to prosper b/c of racism in the 1960's. Uhura/Spock are lovely and the characters play so well off of each other. The only way I see a problem in this is if they go the cliche route and make a triangle between her, Kirk, and Spock. Let Kirk remain the womanizer- somethings don't need to change - lol. I thought Uhura was kickass in the movie and definitely held her own. The character got the attention and screen time she so definitely deserved back in the 1960's.

[Aldee]:

A great article. I also saw Uhura as a strong female. So strong that she was the only one to bring out the "human" reaction in Spock. By the way it was brillant [sic]. As a huge Star Treck [sic] fan there was always something hinted at Spock and Uhura especially in the first season. Uhura was the best at what she does. Uhura was not a kick ass officer but I get the impression we will see that in the next movie. Also the point about losing Amanda was brillant [sic]. It had to be Spock's mother. I felt his pain. It was evident he was hurting. Personally I rate this Star Trek with the Wrath of Khan. One of the best ever.