It's been a long road ...

"Bill Harris" wrote in message
...
That's not right. They've tied Vulcan mind melding into homosexuality?


No, they didn't. They used T'Pol's disease as an allegory to AIDS and
AIDS
related discrimination. Homosexuality was not mentioned.

Bill Harris

Sci-Fi Quote of the month:
"We will never forgive and we will never forget." - Stilgar, "Dune"


T'Pol got the disease through an act considered deviant behavior
(metaphor: AIDS & Homosexualality) by Vulcans. She was forced into this
activity (metaphor: Raped). T'Pol is a main character, so the disease had
to be the result of force (the writers did not feel they could get away with
painting T'Pol as a deviant, yet) She refused to seek treatment from the
Vulcans, because of a feeling of shame (an emotion?). She had no reason to
feel shame (she was feeling guilty, this is a story line that is involved in
damn near every TV movie that involves rape). Homosexuality was not
mentioned in the story, but neither was AIDS. The idea of the writers was
premised on the idea that the Vulcans in the 22nd century are closed minded,
and that once all the mind melters were able to come out of the closet, it
paved the way for Spock in the 23rd century to get his freak on two are
three times a season. When Spock, in a hundred years, does it is considered
a good thing. Top it off with the whole AIDS/Discrimination public service
message at the end of the show, I think the meaning was clear.

The underlying message was "don't be prejudiced against deviant
behavior, even though it results in diseases and other negative
complications. You might even like it!!". I should not have to defend
myself, but will anyway. I tolerate, and am civil to people I know who are
homosexual. What these adults do with each other is their business. I do
not think that homosexualality is "normal", but if it makes these guys
happy, whatever... I just don't care to have the writers try to trick me
into reconsidering my beliefs, based upon a conjured up story.

I would not be surprise to see an episode written that involves a
religious zealots who plan to destroy whole cities by getting followers to
fly highjacked spaceships into them setting off the antimatter pods as they
do so. The planet these beings are from have declared the total
obliteration of all other cavitations as there purpose. The plot and
message of the story will be how unfair it is that the being (people,
lifeforms) of the other planets in their solar system don't like them and
check their luggage more closely when they visit. Muslim extremist,
airplanes, Iran, Taliban, buildings, Islam, and liberals who don't believe
evil people exist are not mentioned, but the meaning will be clear.

There was an episode of the TOS where the Enterprise (NCC-1701) pays a
visit to a planet that is supposed to be only at the stoneage, could be
bronze age (spears & bow and arrows), stage of development. Kirk and McCoy
beam down to find that one of the tribes on the planet has flintlocks now.
Well there is the usually action adventure story that involves badly
choreographed fight scenes that have doubles that look nothing like the
actors. It is found out that infact the Klingons are supplying a tribe it
favors with technological advancements, trying to pass it off a natural
technological advancement. Kirk makes a decision to supply a tribe the
Federation favors equal advancements for the purpose of defense, thus
setting off a an arms race on the planet. Of course McCoy has a problem
with this. Kirk compares it to the "brush" wars of the twentieth century,
somewhat a pro war message in that there was no other solution if the tribe
was to survive. You don't see this kind of writing out Hollywood anymore,
extremely unPC. If you wrote this today it would have to have a solution
that involved "us" being more understanding of the other side.

"Balance of Terror" was a good one too. The enemy was not even evil,
but it was still important to destroy them at all cost. At no time did Kirk
try to contact them to negotiate and "understand" them.