Star Trek Into Darkness

We see a lot of movies and have a lot of thoughts, but beware the spoilers beneath for “Iron Man 3,” “The Dark Knight Rises,” and “Star Trek: Into Darkness.”

In 1967, when the character of Khan first graced the original Star Trek series, the U.S. was an entirely different landscape for racial politics. Gene Roddenberry, problematic as he may be as a showrunner, made a brave step for race portrayals on television; a diverse cast, the first interracial kiss, and Khan: the pinnacle of biological engineering, and portrayed by a man of color.

Although B-Batch delivers the menace and cunning characteristic of Khan in Star Trek: Into Darkness, there are plenty of actors of Indian descent who could have easily matched B-Batch in caliber and skill. Khan is a unique villain in the Star Trek canon in that he is intelligent and cunning as well as cold and ruthless. In short; he’s an intriguing and complex villain that makes for a fascinating character study, and it’s disappointing that this iconic character has fallen victim to another instance of plot-twist-whitewashing.

Iron Man 3 tackled the fundamental problem of racist villainy by developing a plot twist ⅔ of the way through the movie that shows that The Mandarin takes two forms: Ben Kingsley, the front man actor, and Guy Pearce, the mastermind behind it all. Neither of these actors being of Chinese descent.

Similarly, in The Dark Knight Rises, Bane (another whitewashed character) is ultimately revealed to be only a frontman; working for equally whitewashed Talia Al-Ghul played by french actress Marion Cotillard, who has been masquerading as Miranda Tate the entire time.

With all these roles, we see people of color being portrayed as, yes, villains (also problematic), but also being recast in blockbusters as white people, under the guise of “a big reveal.” We appreciate the need to avoid the racist caricatures, but hiding a racist legacy through whitewashing is not necessarily the way to do it.

Would it not have been better to address this deeply flawed character by dispelling notions of such horrendous stereotypes and replacing them with complex and fully realized characters? The good news for comic book fans is that studios are taking the two dimensional, racist, caricatures and replacing them with—hallelujah! Fully formed, developed, and intriguing villains who can provide rich stories and discussions around evil. The bad news is that they seem to believe that the only way audiences can take such portrayals seriously is when they are white actors.

Play it off as white guilt manifesting by trying not to cast people of color in a villainous roles, or maybe just as a continued trend of studios overlooking actors of color, the result is the same: the exclusion of respectful representation for people of color in the mainstream media.

Back in 1967, Gene Roddenberry gave the world his portrayal of the perfect ubermensch, and that man was Ricardo Montalban. If he could do give us some proper diverse casting at the height of American racial warfare, what’s stopping us now?

Star Trek 12: Guns blazin’, cameras flarin’.

After all the hoopla of Star Wars being bought by Disney, J.J. Abrams emerged at the helm of the iconic science fiction series. However, before Abrams tackles this legendary franchise, he must grapple with the one he had already redefined: Star Trek. His first installment created a new canon and was one of the better reboots made in recent memory, but the only thing more difficult than executing a fresh reboot is to surpass it in it’s sequel. Abrams fails in that regard, but to call Star Trek: Into Darkness a disappointment would be far from the truth.

The crew of the Enterprise returns only to see that Starfleet is under attack by the cold and calculating John Harrison (Benedict Cumerbatch, Sherlock, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy). In order to hunt down the terrorist, Kirk and company must risk galactic war by traveling into the Klingon Empire.

While Abrams’ first film dazzled with a sleek sexiness, Into Darkness digs into grittier territory. Abrams still manages his visually taut and precise visuals (lens flare and all) but juxtaposes it with a far darker ambiance. This tonal shift allows us to recommit to the characters as well as materialize the stakes of their world. A somber fragility stalks the film; creating an eeriness absent from the first film.

The writing did well to not oversaturate villains as many other sequels do (lookin’ at you Iron Man 2 and Spiderman 3); the plot was simple and concise, creating a whizz-bang tempo that made the 2 hours fly by. This brisk cadence was also enhanced by the chemistry and rapport of the stellar ensemble. While the addition of Carol Marcus (Alice Eve, She’s Out of My League, Men in Black 3) was rather trivial (that underwear scene, really?), the rest of the cast brought a synergistic energy laced with wit and sass. Even with the a heavier tone, Abrams keeps the film crisp with a devilish sense of humor.

The darker tone called for an increased exploration in depth of the characters, but it was clear that the caliber of acting and writing could not meet such lofty demands. In scenes requiring elite acting chops and decisive writing the results were rather underwhelming. Nothing particularly egregious, but the film never had the sublime moment it needed to strike with potency and induce a visceral reaction.

Even with the flaws, Star Trek Into Darkness is a completely satisfying and respectable entry in Abrams freshly forged canon. Enough parallels and threads are tied to it’s predecessor, while still managing to be a fully realized film of it’s own. The night is dark and full of terrors, but Into Darkness is full of flash and festivity.

Pulp Diction note: Neither of us are experts in the Star Trek canon, although one of us was raised mildly on TNG reruns and “The Trouble with Tribbles.” We sincerely wish we could comment a little better on the fact that J.J. Abrams remains (seemingly) unabashedly reengineering the Star Trek franchise into a new universe that doesn’t need to appeal to Trekkies, but we feel out of our depth in that respect. But to all our favorite Trekkie friends, sorry Abrams is so steadfast in his exclusive recreation. Live long and prosper!