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Going Woke and Going Broke: The Star Trek Conundrum
It’s the writing, stupid!
It has become axiomatic in certain segments of fandom that diverse casting = bad product. (“Go woke and go broke”, as the saying goes.) The underwhelming critical and/or commercial performance of several high-profile projects that were accused of trafficking in progressive identity politics would seem to support the axiom (The Last Jedi, or the 2016 Ghostbusters, aka, the “all-female Ghostbusters”, come to mind). However, this is simply not true. Otherwise, how would one explain the success and longevity of the Star Trek franchise. (X-Men come to mind, as well)
I find it amusing when self-described “anti-woke” Star Trek fans complain about the franchise “going woke” with the recent addition of Star Trek: Discovery in 2017, apparently unaware of the property’s storied commitment to progressive values since its inception. The 1966 premiere episode of the original series boldly established its progressive bona fides merely by showing a multicolor, multiethnic crew of equals working together. Diversity quickly became one of the franchise’s calling cards, expanding beyond race and ethnicity to embrace LGBTQ characters and characters with physical challenges.
And it was not just diversity the show embraced. From the jump, Star Trek used the license afforded by the…
