New 'Star Trek' Trailer Offers Just a Glimpse of John Cho

Harry Mok
November 17, 2008

John Cho takes on the role of Sulu in the new "Star Trek," which has has been lauded over the years as a forward-thinking show that had diverse casts (including Asian Americans) in all its iterations and offered a Utopian view of the future. I explored racial aspect of "Star Trek's" view of the future for a story in The Spaces Issue of Hyphen.

While there's been a better mix of races within the "Star Trek" world than in most other TV shows or movies, the portrayals of people of color are often stereotyped, according to Daniel Bernardi, author of "Star Trek and History: Race-ing Toward a White Future," whom I interviewed for the story.

The appeal of "Star Trek" for many fans has been the premise that humans can and will move beyond racism and conflicts that are keeping us back. Even so, "Star Trek" is still a Hollywood production and has its problems, as my story outlines.

Take a look at the trailer and my story. Is Bernardi is reading too much into "Star Trek"?

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Harry Mok

Editor in chief

Editor in Chief Harry Mok wrote about growing up on a Chinese vegetable farm for the second issue of Hyphen and has been a volunteer editor since 2004. As a board member of the San Francisco and New York chapters of the Asian American Journalists Association, Harry has recruited and organized events for student members. He holds a master’s degree in journalism from the University of California, Berkeley, where he was also a graduate student instructor in the Asian American Studies Department.

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Comments

Comments

Steve wrote on Tue, 11/18/2008 - 7:31am
This movie is going to be fabulous indeed.TRIVIA: Do you know?OTHER THEN LEONARD NIMOY, WHO IS THE ONLY OTHER ACTOR TO BE IN BOTH STAR TREK THE MOTION PICTURE IN 1979 AND THE NEW STAR TREK MOVIE COMING IN MAY?.The answer is backwards below.nahoodsirhc
Harry wrote on Tue, 11/18/2008 - 8:49am
Really, I didn't know that.
Harry wrote on Tue, 11/18/2008 - 10:41am
Oh, and I almost forgot, take a look at an interview with John Cho, also from The Spaces Issue.
Ben2501 wrote on Tue, 11/18/2008 - 5:32pm
I disagree with the guy who said that what StarTrek is about is that all races can get along provided whites are in charge and you try to be like them.I mean, in a way, the Federation is like a metaphorical United States, and other alien races are like other countries/cultures. But I never get the impression that the Federation is all about white superiority. Uhura does not have to change who she is in order to join the Federation, she gets to be her butt-kicking self, and I never got the impression that she or any of the others were servants to the white race. The federation embraces all races as equals. And this vision of hope and unity even ultimately includes other races, as Worf becomes an equal member of the crew in STTNG times...
real ST fan wrote on Wed, 11/19/2008 - 7:45am
this trailer looks HORRIBLE
Harry wrote on Wed, 11/19/2008 - 10:35am
Real ST Fan, can you elaborate, what did you not like?Ben2501, I don't think Professor Bernardi is talking so much about the fictional Star Trek universe but more how it was portrayed by the show's writers and producers.Most of the cast members who were not white were supporting characters and never fully developed. Poor Harry Kim was the young ensign who could never get the girl. And what was Uhura doing most of the time? Answering the phone!
callipygian wrote on Thu, 11/20/2008 - 9:47pm
dude, they are raping this thing just like transformers and indiana jones. star trek does not belong on the big screens. well, at least not the one of the traditional ones. the only thing keeping it on life support is the conventions and video games.