Much Ado About Sulu

We love to put things (and people) into boxes.  It makes it easier than actually dealing with the complexities that accompany human nature.  All cops like donuts, all African-Americans like hip hop, and all gay men are fabulous at fashion.  But when people break out of their boxes, it can be confusing.

The new Star Trek movie has generated some controversy because it was decided to reveal that the character of Sulu, played in the movies by John Cho, would be gay as an homage to George Takei, the actor who originated the character on TV and who came out of the closet after the show ended. But then Takei released a statement saying he was “disappointed” by the decision to revamp an existing Trek character, and suggested if they wanted a gay character they should have created a new one.  Zachary Quinto, the openly gay actor who plays Spock in the films, said he was "disappointed" by Takei’s disappointment.

Can’t we all just get along?

Simon Pegg, who plays Scotty and is one of the co-authors of the script, defended the decision to make Sulu gay as an idea they loved once they’d come up with it.  He also pointed out that the Star Trek movies take place in an alternate time line from the TV series (because Kirk’s father died fighting time-traveling Romulans when Kirk was born; you did see the first movie, right?) and so any changes (like Uhuru being into Spock and not Kirk) were acceptable.  This is an interesting argument until you try to work out how Kirk’s father dying would turn Sulu gay.  If sexual orientation is genetic, how would Kirk’s father’s death affect Sulu’s genetic makeup?

What I find most interesting is the assertion by everyone that the original Sulu on the TV show was straight.  How do we know this?  It’s not like Sulu was ever seen with a girlfriend, although he was sort of making goo-goo eyes at one of the female space hippies in one episode.  He was certainly at ease in San Francisco in The Voyage Home, although he explained that he was born there.  And in the episode The Naked Time I wouldn’t exactly call his running around shirtless with a foil terribly manly.

Star Trek being a product of 60’s TV we didn’t know much about any of the crew’s sex lives.  Nurse Chapel had a male ex-fiancée before she got the hots for Spock, so she seemed definitely straight.  Kirk’s womanizing is notorious, but for all we know Kirk might have chased anything with two legs and some sort of orifice.  Spock was Vulcan, and on Vulcan it appears that thanks to Pon-Farr marriage is all about procreation, just like Republicans think it should be.  Chekov had an ex-girlfriend.  Uhura seemed attracted to Kirk, but who knows what happened when she and Yeoman Rand got together for drinks on a Saturday night and started lamenting about the Captain’s unattainability.  I’m thinking about that now and . . . I’ll be in my bunk.

Both sides make good points.  Takei is correct to say that changing an established character seems like a bow to PC-ness and that they should have created a character that was gay from the character’s inception.  Pegg is right to reply that then the new character would be identified as “the new gay character” and wouldn’t be as integrated into the show as an iconic character such as Sulu.

The bottom line is that you have to be very careful when making assumptions about a group of people and how any individual will react to something.  Gays are not, pardon the expression, homogenous.  Some may want Gay Pride parades and to be thought of as “special” while other may just want to be thought of as normal and no different from anyone else.   Everyone should be treated as an individual, and not merely as a member of a group, especially a group they had no choice in joining.

At least this puts the whole “Japanese Sulu is being played by a Korean actor” controversy firmly behind us.