A weird day shopping

[cornerofmadness]

just nothing quite worked well. Macy's summer clothes either belonged on a 90 year old going to bingo or not on sale. Did find one long sleeved tie-dyed thing left over from last fall on final sale. Got that. it's pretty but I needed it least. I want to replace my short sleeved dress shirts. Most are like 15 years old now.
No joy there.

Also there were SO many people on the roads for 2 pm on a Tuesday. it was shocking.

I'm still trying to work up excitement for the steampunk thing that I'm leaving for on thursday and I have none.

I forgot to share these badges for bingos at allbingo





So let me go back to one of my earliest (and my forever) fandom for fannish 50: Star Trek, the original series.

Let's be honest, there aren't a lot of women to pick from in the main cast. Uhura, Christine and Rand.

Yeoman Rand got the short end of the stick and sexually harassed off the show by a producer.

Christine is in a traditional female role of nurse. I liked her well enough.

But the one I really liked, especially now that I'm older and can appreciate her more (I liked Christine more when I was young). By now most of us probably have heard the story of how Nichelle wanted to leave the show after S1 but MLK told her to stay, that she was far too important to African Americans to quit.

We hear people joke how Uhura is just the space phone operator and that is unfair and reductive. She did so much more, especially in S1 (I did notice that when the censors and conservatives realized Star Trek was SO popular both Uhura and Sulu's roles were reduced to communications and helm. Even if all she did was communications, it was enough that she repped Black women as officers, as having agency which they did not have much of in the 1960s.

But Uhura did more.





Uhura was asked to - and expected to - take over the helm. Which she did. With no problems. She was obviously trained to do multiple bridge jobs. She could have been on the path to command for all we knew (and in later movies she was in fact a captain). Uhura was always more than a telephone operator.



In the next picture we can see her, weapon in hand and a look on her face that is not fear. Okay I'll admit it. She (and all the women) were written inconsistently when it came to their grit. That's what happens when you have multiple authors. But here, Uhura is ready to throw down. She really got to shine in the Mirror universe but I didn't share that picture because A) it's everywhere B) it's rather exploitive





I love that they did try to give her more depth much of which we owe to Nichelle herself. She was the one who gave Uhura the first name Nyota post series (upset that no one ever bothered during the show). When Uhura lost all her memories it was Nichelle who decided no, English is not her first language. She chose Swahili for Uhura.

Nichelle was more interested in music than acting in many ways from what I've read and heard her say. She was also partially why we see Uhura singing, dancing and playing music. I loved these little details (along with Sulu being a botany enthusiast which disappears after S1)

I love that the actors got to have some input in character development. Nichelle (George and Leonard) did especially well with hers.

Comments

[spikedluv]

I hope you do enjoy the steampunk con.

I enjoyed reading about Uhura.

[cornerofmadness]

thanks. I should be fine once I'm there.

Uhura is finally getting the credit she deserved, especially in the last decade. Glad Nichelle got to see some of that

[trobadora]

I love Uhura, and Nichelle Nichols.

[cornerofmadness]

Same. Her last years made me honestly sad.

[suzume]

Uhura is simply the best!

[cornerofmadness]

she absolutely was (and I love that icon)

[suzume]

Ha ha, yeah she was! (and I'm happy you like the icon)

[winterfirelight]

I love learning all this about Uhura! My family watched a lot of Star Trek growing up, but it was more TNG than original series, so I've forgotten a lot of these details. Probably worth a rewatch at some point, I'd probably enjoy it even more as an adult.

[cornerofmadness]

Glad you liked it. I do rewatch TOS and sometimes it's a struggle to remember the time period. Some of it doesn't hold up well. Some does. What makes me laugh are the right wingers whining how new Trek is too woke to watch and I think have you ever even watched Trek. TOS is SO 60s hippie aesthetics.

I love TNG too (probably this is my favorite)