Beyond the Final Frontier - Race and Ethnicity in Star Trek
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2017-08-31
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en
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This thesis examines the portrayal of two characters of ethnic minorities in the popular Star Trek–franchise. Its primary purpose is to determine whether the portrayal of the African American lieutenant Uhura and the middle eastern inspired antagonist Khan adheres to negative stereotypes and how their portrayal has changed over time in the franchise. In order to examine the characters’ portrayal with the help of these theories, the case study of this thesis will focus on specific episodes of the Star Trek-franchise with significant time having gone by in–between the episodes and movies to open the possibility of change in the portrayal of ethnic minorities. The results of this thesis show that the portrayal of the African American woman, Uhura, is progressive. As for the portrayal of the antagonist Khan, in earlier episodes his his mystical and mysterious background reminiscent of the Orient is emphasized. Later, his ethnicity was erased which opens the discussion of this character having fallen victim to being white-washed.
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