The title of this is enticing, but just like the claim made in it, the article fails to deliver.
Chakotay’s character Isn’t racist; it is uninspired. B’lanna is not even remotely close to the “worst” Voyager character. Janeway should have been a healthy blend of Kirk, Picard, and Sisko, not just “more Kirk”.
I think it is extremely easy to critique Voyager with a current lens, but much of its issues stem from the 90s and Jeri Taylor’s exit, as well being the first Trek wholly owned by the network and not allowed to do its own thing like its predecessors.
I agree on most of those counts, except the Chakotay one is actually very real; if you didn’t fully read the article (and I knew this already before reading it), a “Native American” cultural consultant, only to fond out the dude was a complete phony, so nearly everything that show depicts of Chakotay’s culture is either pulled from stereotypes or made up entirely.
I was aware of the consultant prior as well, but the fact that they made an attempt wasn’t necessarily racist. We’re talking about cultures that have evolved 400+ years from our own, so they could have come up with anything at all, especially considering that Chakotay didn’t grow up on Earth. They chose not to pursue his background at all, and then chose not to develop him from there, when they had the choice to do anything.
You’re right that the attempt wasn’t necessarily malicious. I feel it can be possible to have good intentions and still end up doing something wrong, whether that be sexist, racist, or otherwise hurtful.
Inaccurate cultural depictions can take away control of a people’s story and misrepresent them in such a way that distracts from the fact that they are a present-day people living their own everyday lives.
Of course, I think the failures in Chakotay’s character development that you mention are also very real and are a major factor in the failure of his character.
They still do similar stuff, one thing that annoys me is that they pluralized the last name Ortega, to make it sound more Spanish? I’d love to know the reason.
I’m from Spain, even though I know the last name Ortegas does not exist it made doubt so I checked an old phone book, there were many pages of Ortega and Ortiga, not a single Ortegas I could find.
Her family is an ancient line named after a stronghold they built in an abandoned mexican bistro during world war 3. It’s also why she has that haircut, as a tribute to the raiders who kept them supplied
No.
The title of this is enticing, but just like the claim made in it, the article fails to deliver.
Chakotay’s character Isn’t racist; it is uninspired. B’lanna is not even remotely close to the “worst” Voyager character. Janeway should have been a healthy blend of Kirk, Picard, and Sisko, not just “more Kirk”.
I think it is extremely easy to critique Voyager with a current lens, but much of its issues stem from the 90s and Jeri Taylor’s exit, as well being the first Trek wholly owned by the network and not allowed to do its own thing like its predecessors.
I agree on most of those counts, except the Chakotay one is actually very real; if you didn’t fully read the article (and I knew this already before reading it), a “Native American” cultural consultant, only to fond out the dude was a complete phony, so nearly everything that show depicts of Chakotay’s culture is either pulled from stereotypes or made up entirely.
I was aware of the consultant prior as well, but the fact that they made an attempt wasn’t necessarily racist. We’re talking about cultures that have evolved 400+ years from our own, so they could have come up with anything at all, especially considering that Chakotay didn’t grow up on Earth. They chose not to pursue his background at all, and then chose not to develop him from there, when they had the choice to do anything.
You’re right that the attempt wasn’t necessarily malicious. I feel it can be possible to have good intentions and still end up doing something wrong, whether that be sexist, racist, or otherwise hurtful.
Inaccurate cultural depictions can take away control of a people’s story and misrepresent them in such a way that distracts from the fact that they are a present-day people living their own everyday lives.
Of course, I think the failures in Chakotay’s character development that you mention are also very real and are a major factor in the failure of his character.
Overall, though, I still quite enjoy Voyager.
They still do similar stuff, one thing that annoys me is that they pluralized the last name Ortega, to make it sound more Spanish? I’d love to know the reason.
I’m from Spain, even though I know the last name Ortegas does not exist it made doubt so I checked an old phone book, there were many pages of Ortega and Ortiga, not a single Ortegas I could find.
Her family is an ancient line named after a stronghold they built in an abandoned mexican bistro during world war 3. It’s also why she has that haircut, as a tribute to the raiders who kept them supplied