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Bonus video! George Takei's big gay multiverse (Patreon)

Published:
2023-04-23 16:00:04
Edited:
2023-07-14 18:30:23
Imported:
2026-06
Tags:

Content

Backup link if the video doesn't play: https://youtu.be/01-MXyE7-xk 

I'm trying something new with video embeds this week, but I'm not sure if it'll have any effect. Let me know if this works better/worse/the same!

Hi there! For this week's video, we're diving into a few of the multiversal appearances of George Takei, who's lent his talent to adventures spanning Star Wars, the Marvel and DC universes, Avatar, and even the Riverdale universe. He's everywhere! Plus, I came across a very unexpected appearance by a not-quite-yet-famous comedian in a news report from the 90s about Ellen's coming out episode. And! News about my upcoming book tour, and how to get a signed copy!

Here's the latest dates & locations for the book tour: http://gaysitcoms.com

And if you want to get a signed copy of my book, you can buy it through Elliott Bay and then note in the comment field that you'd like it autographed: https://elliottbaybook.com/item/G4pP01yr7tt8lUJ3vRpSIw

Files

Bonus video! George Takei's big gay multiverse

Hi there! For this week's video, we're diving into a few of the multiversal appearances of George Takei, who's lent his talent to adventures spanning Star Wars, the Marvel and DC universes, Avatar, and even the Riverdale universe. He's everywhere! Plus, I came across a very unexpected appearance by a not-quite-yet-famous comedian in a news report from the 90s about Ellen's coming out episode. And! News about my upcoming book tour, and how to get a signed copy!

Comments

Steve McLean

Before 'Tales of the City' and 'It's Elementary', PBS was under scrutiny because of airing the documentary 'Tongues Untied'. It was created by Marlon Riggs, a Black man, about the Black, gay experience. It aired on a few PBS stations in 1990 (SF, LA, NY) and is purported to be the first time American TV audiences saw a romantic, same sex kiss. PBS tried to roll it out nationally the following year but many stations chose not to program it or ran it near midnight. In the 1992 Republican presidential primaries, presidential candidate Pat Buchanan cited Tongues Untied as an example of how President George H. W. Bush was investing "our tax dollars in pornographic and blasphemous art." Buchanan released an anti-Bush television advertisement for his campaign using re-edited clips from Tongues Untie

Irisarc

That's very interesting. That was about the time I was starting to put the pieces together in my life to see that I fall into the category of "Lesbian". I don't remember that doc. They probably didn't show it here, as I live in Oklahoma, where I'm positive it wasn't shown. The internet wasn't a thing yet, but if had been, I know I would have been secretly watching it on the TV on my room, changing the channel any time I heard someone coming up stairs.

Irisarc

Just wanted to let you know, Matt, that I just preordered the book on Audible. I can hardly wait to read it. If it's anything like your YT chennel, I know I'll love it.

mattbaume

Thank you so much! Can't wait for you to get it.

mattbaume

Oh wow yes that's another good one -- Tongues Untied is great but Republicans made SUCH a big stink about it. I remember watching it in college and being like "that's what they had a problem with???" It's basically a great, smart poem.

Dan Maloney

I completely agree with Takei about making the Sulu character gay. I appreciate the desire to pay tribute to George and to honor his path and his work as a gay man. And I understand that people often do not really understand how to do something like this for a member of a minority of which they are not themselves a part. But actors know their characters; they spend a great deal of time building a backstory and an inner life to guide them in playing a character. There are many cases of actors refusing to say a line or play a scene because the character that they understand would not do or say such a thing. Secondly, when a series is as beloved as "Star Trek", fans understand each character as he or she (or they) has been presented. There are well known cases where actors have been replaced by another actor to play a continuing character and it rarely goes well. But even worse is when a universe has been created and suddenly an important character is changed in important ways without explanation or a reason inherent in the character or story line. Excellent example is the "Dallas" season that turned out to be all a dream. This is offensive to fans and for good reason. A world should be consistent - however much of a fantasy the story is, it should have its own consistency. And also, I completely agree with you, that if one were going to do something like this, it must be fully embraced and made important - not the type of throwaway that you describe. Basically a character has a whole change of such importance and they toss in a sort of "Oh, by the way" treatment? It is tokenism of the worst sort. Especially in a world which purports to boldly go where no man has gone before. I completely appreciate all the ground-breaking that "Star Trek" did and its attempts to address important issues. But this was a miss - way too little and a bit too late. A new strong gay character, yes, maybe bringing on a Sulu offspring that is gay - but Sulu himself? Very bad choice.

Lee Mynatt

I respectfully disagree with the above commenter. All characters created in Star Trek were envisioned as heterosexual due to the timeframe of when they were depicted. One, that's not true of even its cast portraying said characters and therefore not representative of humanity as Gene claimed to want to do. Also, speaking as someone who's seen a lot of characters in superhero comics, there's a tendency to only establish new characters as queer and then immediately desex them as individuals. Even when it's established characters there is a refusal to examine previous close same sex relationships for any sort of unrequired or even acknowledged yearning. While I'm not going to say Sulu should have a crush on any of his crewmates, I do find it, let's say, "interesting" that they allow him to be gay but only in an established "safe" way like a settled marriage with a child rather than being unattached as all other characters are at that same timeframe/age. There's a desexualization of queer characters as their only means of being allowed to existed is established universes that I find far more frustrating than an alternate universe version of a heterosexual-by-default character.

Zardogs! Zardogs!

As a fan of TOS, but definitely of the TNG/DS9/Voyager era, I get where he's coming from. But since it is the totally new timeline, things get to be different, and this is a thing that totally works in universe and in character. I wish he had gotten to be as horny as Sulu in TOS, but nothing is as horny as TOS.

Zardogs! Zardogs!

Bummed you can't sign an audiobook, but I will be coming to an event!

Beth's Art

Video still doesn't play on Patreon for me, but the link works.

quarridors

I've always had to use the backup link, this time the Patreon app video embed had a preview image and said under it that I needed to enable Javascript, but when I tapped to play it opened full screen and did actually work in the Patreon app with the Vimeo player. So that's an improvement from my perspective! (I'm on Android.)

Lin Kibblemom

I get the message "Sorry Because of privaacy settings, this video cannot be played here." The direct Vimeo link works altho I had to login to Vimeo to play it. Why not put the video on You Tube and just make it private?

Elin Hagberg

If they had been truly daring they should have addressed what many people did in fact see as a possible same sex relationship, even back in the day. They could have given Kirk and Spock a deeper relationship than in TOS. It would make sense that this was in the open in a new universe. I never thought Sulu was gay as a character either so I sort of get why Takei showed some hesitation towards the idea. But I also agree that changes can be made in a new universe so I can't say it bothers me either.

W. Brent Sawyer

yes, I remember watching "Tongues Untied" the night it premiered on the PBS station in Dallas, TX and I video taped it. I was shocked it was on TV. I had never seen anything like it. It was very eye opening. incredibly raw and angry and hard to watch yet I was so intrigued and captivated by it.

QueBijoux

My husband and I — Star Trek fans — both disagree with George’s stance. The Sulu who is gay (or whatever his orientation is as we only know he is involved with a man at that point) is in the Kelvin timeline, not the prime one. There could have been events in that timeline that led him to develop feelings for a man that didn’t happen in the prime timeline. Given the obstacles that the ST creatives experienced in introducing any LGBTQ characters, it was a bold move to make one of the established characters a member of the community. We saw that there is a dedicated anti-LGBTQ ST contingent against any queer characters with all of the derogatory comments they made about Discovery, so even introducing a new character wasn’t going to go over well with them. We were just sad that George felt that way. But to each their own.

Matt Porges

I'm really hoping to see you on May 22 (if that day turns out to not be so crazy workwise)!

QueBijoux

What made George’s response even more disappointing to me was that Alexander Siddig (Bashir) and Andrew Robinson (Garak) leaned in to the gay subtext and even acted in a story that confirmed it. George may say that that was due to the writing and the fan reaction, but to me it shows that actors don’t have to take the written words at face value and add their own interpretation to it. I have such respect for George, but he fell short here with it being a different timeline.

Mark

Thank you so much for the great videos!!! Am so excited!!! Ordered my signed copy today from Elliott Bay Books https://elliottbaybook.com

Kris Olsen

I remember commenting on Takei's facebook, "You DO realize this is the literal definition of tokenism." If you sould come to Salt Lake, that would be wonderful!

Jeff-todd Jencks

That book on your shelf called "Male Figure" was very distracting. 😍