Jess, this is amazing as is all of your work and I'm honoured to be a part of it 💜 if any Trekies mad with me, I've been watching Lower Decks and it has been the perfect gateway drug to Star Trek. Yes, Jess has successfully converted another one lol
While all the poors, like myself, are waiting for Jessie's video to drop on here on TH-cam they need to head on over and check out the fantastic video you posted today on Tic Tok and appropriation. Great work! Also come back after you've binged the entirety of Deep Space Nine, which might just be the best of what Star Trek has to offer but is criminally underappreciated. Great focus on familial relationships, especially father son dynamics as well as the tyranny imposed by those wiling to do anything for profit, how religion exists for outsiders to a culture, forced melting pot dynamics, group sex with puddle people whose society get it on together all the time in a sex ocean of themselves, wormholes, social unrest, the dynamics of war, challenging views on terrorism/freedom fighting, and so many more topics that are just as relevant today as they were then. Plus in the last few seasons the show just has this incredible visual quality that set it apart from the other series in look and feel. Go and consume all that, you won't regret it. Trust my opinion since I'm subbed to you and Jessie, so you know my taste is on point.
As someone who is nuero-divergent, I always thought of Data's emotion chip as an allegory for medication. Sure, he can live without it, but having it gives him a better altogether quality of life. When he was getting used to it, that was the dosage being wrong and thus his side effects of his heightened emotions were coming out more. What did it for me, was during the ending of Generations, he spoke to Counselor Troy about his emotions no longer controlling him, then finding Spot, and we see him honestly cry, the chip now working as intended.
Yep. I've often compared it to psych meds, or perhaps just something like weed. It doesn't make him neurotypical, and I don't even think it's an allegory for masking. I just see it as something which gives him a bit more awareness over this alexithymia and some social cues. He can still choose whether to act on them, but he finds the humans around him marginally less baffling now.
Possibly irrelevant, but the character was originally created as Leslie Crusher, but somewhere along the way the teen prodigy was changed to be a boy, maybe because there were already three women leads, maybe because somebody thought it would be a good tribute to Gene to have a third character inspired by him (Riker based on Kirk based on what Gene wanted to be in the 60s, Picard based on what Gene thought of himself in the 80s, Wesley taking Gene's middle name). Perhaps there's room to retcon that change into Wesley's pre-Enterprise childhood?
I love that the ace/autistic communities found something that we can relate to in Data. He certainly makes us feel like we have a place in society, that we can thrive and be accepted and that we don't all have to think or feel like neurotypicals. However I find criticizing him for the sometimes poor representation to be unfair to his character and the writers. He was not written to represent those communities, he just happened to be characterized in such a way that he ended up seeming autistic and was ace. Data isn't a human being being so viewing him purely with human characterization, including autistic traits, kind of entirely misses the point of his character. He is not human and in his quest to become human, he realised that he didn't need to be anything more than he was. He needed to grow as himself not into something else. Data is an android with many autistic traits and is asexual and that is a valid identity. The message I take from data is not that it's valid to be autistic and/or asexual but that you are valid no matter what your identity is and that no matter how out of place you might feel in society, friends groups, the world; there IS a place for you.
Love this. I'm autistic (which is how I found fellow autistic Jessie's channel) but not asexual. My husband is on the ace spectrum though being demisexual. He's also ADHD. I think I understand why he related to Data so well. I love Data and Spock as characters.
I love how positive the relationships of Troy/Riker and Crusher/Picard are. They are clearly attracted to each other, but still able to be friends without jealousy. I think seeing that as a child informed my teenage and adult relationships. There was difficulty when I found ppl who weren't so open, but still, its led to great friendships and relationships in my life.
Me: "Hey Husband, part 2 of Jesse Gender's Sex in Star Trek documentary is out." Husband: "We should watch that tonight." Me: "Um... it's 5.5 hours long..." Husband: "What! how?" Me: "well it covers TNG..." Husband: "Oh, well you would need 5 hours just for for Riker..."
I got to the "Riker asking for the Horga'hn" bit, and I always saw it as a practical joke on Picard. He knows Picard is strong enough to reject any advances, and smart enough to figure it out before it's too late. It also goes along with him ribbing Picard during Captain Picard Day, and being shocked when Picard actually came back with his own plan of a Commander Riker Day. Also, that's one of my favorite lines in the entire episode: "Someone you love?" "I wouldn't go that far..." Just has that subtext of "Riker is getting this Horga'hn shoved right up his Jeffries Tube so hard he won't be thinking of Jamaharon for months." XD
For me, that bit made me think "someone you love?" (Picard pauses for a moment while he imagines having an affair with Riker, then thinks of Q too...) Obviously, the Risaan woman doesn't know who gave him that Horgan - but it's suggestive of a gay relationship between Picard and Riker, even if the only intention in the writer's mind was a joke on Picard.
The joined Trill could take up an hour easily-they could experience sex in a male host, a female host, and as whatever sex the symbiont is before it is joined (in the underground pools).
"Never stop believing in fighting for that better future of humanity" I parasocially love you, Jessie. Thank you for taking the time, effort and energy to create this.
Sirtis' absolute joy at being able to act once she got her uniform is something that has stayed with me for years since I saw an interview with her around the release of Generations
This documentary got me too look a little deeper into the history of TNG and I think I understand why they specifically gave Gates McFadden, aka the person playing Beverly Crusher, the ability to direct the episode Genesis. If you don't remember, Genesis was the episode where everyone started "devolving" into random creatures down their species ancestral tree. Like a regular old Iguana or a human becoming a giant spider creature, lol. Somebody in the comments said they believe they likely gave Gates McFadden the ability to direct this super weird episode to further antagonize and discourage her. I wasn't so sure about that. It turns out that she actually had a ton of experience directing puppets and people in heavy prosthetics as several of her more well known previous roles were being the Director of Choreography (which seemed to be mostly about working with the puppets) on both Labyrinth and Dark Crystal (as well as The Muppets Take Manhattan)! So, having that experience totally fits with asking her to direct the one episode where they probably brought in weird animatronics and puppet able horror monster models. They should have treated her better earlier, for sure, however, this decision might've been made out of more than just spite, for once.
Another reason to be glad that they leaned away from Riker's Gene-inspired possessiveness of Troi post-season 1: it shows him growing as a character and as a man over the course of the series, broadening his perspective, becoming less selfish, learning how to deal maturely with working alongside someone he had/has such strong feelings for. It's a great arc for his character, and this process of personal growth is a great thing to model to viewers, especially men.
Showing my age here. In the 80s when the flagship doctor was a woman, that was a big deal to us. People I know saw that as powerful and not in a caretaking role.
@@julietteangeli We have had a couple female captains. So progress there. But I get what both of you are saying. And, even with Discovery, the writers aeem to have trouble writing multple strong women without them seeming to have more antagonism than between two men, but that may be a Me issue with interpretation than an actual issue. I just feel Captain Burnham and the Federation president would have been differently written for two men. For example, even before all the mirror universe reveals, even in prime it felt like Burnham and Georgieau had a daughter mother vibe. I never really got a father son vibe from Picard and Riker. So two men is, to me, not better, not worse, just different. And, sadly, if they were different genders, they would most likely go the Adama Rosslyn route. I will say TNG didn't do that with Picard and Admiral Nechayev, but she was only on sparingly. And DS9 never had Kira and Sisko fall into that. They had conflicts, especially early on, but that was because Kira was naturally suspicious Bajor was giving up one occupier for another.
While it had its issues early on, and what shows don't, and while not in the Trek universe, the Orville does give us that a female doctor with a stong Dr. Crusher vibe. And this season, with the exception of one episode, imo, they have been knocking it out of the park.
I know people aren't going to agree with me, and I don't think you, Jessie, are going to agree with me based on your personal perspective of Tasha as a character, but I loved Tasha as a character. As a person who has survived multiple instances of sexual trauma, I DO mention my sexual trauma often. I share it with my friends and partners and in intense discussions about sex and sexuality. I don't hide it and talking about my experiences gives me power over them. I'm also a sexual person who has embraced their sexuality. So, for me, it felt really empowering to see a character who had faced sexual trauma, who is willing to admit that they've had traumatic sexual experiences, BE a sexual person who is willing to have sex with people she finds attractive. Too often I've felt like I'm not allowed to be a sexual person because I've had sexual trauma and I've even had partners that didn't want to be sexual with me because of my experiences. It felt great to see Tasha want to pursue sexual encounters regardless of her experiences and made me feel like I wasn't alone. To be clear: I don't want what I've said to dismiss how the actors felt in their roles or in the cast, because I completely understand what they've gone through and respect their feelings. I just want to say that sexual trauma survivors aren't a monolith, and Tasha, as a character, felt like I finally had representation, no matter how small. And that felt awesome.
I think it’s really great that you felt like you had representation, it’s so important. I think ultimately it may be less about whether it’s realistic or not for Tasha to behave the way she does and more about if the male writers writing her really considered all these things intentionally, or did they just give her random stuff and it just happened to connect in some way. A happy accident so to speak.
I really appreciate you bringing this up. As a fellow SA survivor, I also talk openly about my experience. It's taken me a while to be able to be open to touch and sexuality, but I've been able to reach a point where I feel comfortable in my skin and with myself as a sexual being. I think that part of the Tasha Yar character is well expressed, for the most part. More could have been done to explore this, as well as the healing process, in "Justice", and it's a shame that clearly was never going to happen. It's unfortunate that the writers couldn't get to grips with the nuanced issues brought up by someone like Tasha.
Thats a very good point. Even though I dont talk about my abuse, thats more cuz I often fail to see the point. It happened, it was trauma: both past tense. And I just don't wanna go through the hassle of people wanting to discuss it out of varying shades of interested curiousity. Not like there are genuinely interesting avenues of conversation most can come up with. And cuz it is hard to have people view you as something besides a survivor. And at least Tasha had a character.
As for Klingons' backup organs, we have them too. You can easily miss a lung or a kidney and not be in trouble. Apparently a lot of people are born with an extra spleen, and other organs can be accidentally duplicated too. If you have Klingons who get grievous wounds that destroy an organ on the regular, the ones with an extra, say, liver, would be more likely to survive. And voilà, evolution!
We don't actually know that Klingons have two penises, just that they have two urethras. Though a couple of early Pocket Books Trek novels mention that Klingons have three testes.
Honestly as an Ace person who's basically looking at all this from the outside. All I can really say is fascinating with an eyebrow raise. And I'm also now distracted by the idea of an annual gathering of Ace people from across the Federation on Risa to do everything except having jamaharon.
Regarding the ep "The Outcast" and Riker's confusion about pronouns, I am frankly astounded that a whole team of professional writers appear to have been unfamiliar with the singular they, which has been featured in the English language since before William Shakespeare was born.
Yeah that bothered the Hel out of me. I loved that they tried to show a clear acceptance for binary trans folks, but I also HATED how they were simultaneously throwing non-binary identities under the bus. I know it was a product of its time, but none the less I hate the problematic parts as much as I love the progressive parts.
@@lucienfortner841 It also is totally (and thankfully) retconned away in canon, considering 23rd century crewmembers -- ones who were totally fish out of water in the 32nd century -- began referring to Adira as they/them the moment they requested it. And it should be that way. We should continue incorporating better understanding of LGBTQIA+ identities into Star Trek as time goes on. After all, both DIS and SNW are supposed to be in a progressive future. An aspirational one where someone like me wouldn't face resistance to being called she/they pronouns. (Which I still have issues with even working for a more progressive company today in 2022.)
@@gozerthegozarian9500 Star Trek canon is all over the place, so I think we can safely assume Riker would actually be completely chill about nonbinary pronouns in reality, some writers just need to have a better history lesson!
It speaks a lot to her talent and tenacity that McFadden was given such a difficult episode to direct (to discourage her, I'm certain) and did a damn good job of it. When I saw that episode I could totally see watching a whole movie she directed. That episode really felt to me like a well-done made-for-tv 🎥
I didn't like Tasha much when I just caught brief bits of her interactions in passing, but when I actually watched her in action I grew to really like her. I've survived sexual assault and while there might be a tendency to retreat into asexuality to avoid triggers for many victims, I think that can actually further perpetuate the victim mindset and to me, personally, there's a LOT more bravery in saying F**K that, *I* am in control of *my* body, my pleasure, and NO ONE is taking that from me. Um...also, YES, survivors DO TALK ABOUT IT. Sometimes a lot! For me, it's because I'm MAD and if I'd had more information and conversations with other women about it prior, it might have never happened in the first damn place. If we hide our truth or stay silent, other victims will suffer in isolation and won't see that there are survivors who weren't totally obliterated emotionally/mentally/physically by their assault. Tasha deserved all of Data's 27 modes!
My favorite moment for Guinan is when Q sees her as a threat. There's all these hints at her true power, and how her time on the Enterprise is just one of the roles she's played through time and space on her journeys. I would have loved to see her escapades. There's also this sense that it's a choice for her to care about less advanced beings, and she is capable of making hard and horrible decisions. But that's just kind of lingering under the surface.
My headcanon on the El-Aurians is that their extra-temporal sensitivity collapses the power of the Q Continuum like an observed waveform. Can they wield the type of direct reality editing power the Q can? No. But the Q are uniquely vulnerable interacting with them.
Of course this theory goes down other rabbit holes about how the Borg have the same advantage from having assimilated the El-Aurians, and Q’s actions putting the Federation in conflict with the Borg was about using humanity (well particularly humanity, but all the Federation really) in a proxy war against a threat (if they keep assimilating and evolving) that could eventually directly threaten the Continuum, that thanks to the El-Aurian traits they can’t just snap out of existence.
@@glamourweaver ooooooooh that's good, and makes sense. Might have to join you down that rabbit hole. I need to brush up on my knowledge of the El-Aurians. Was just watching the Next Gen episode Darmak with my partner last night. One of many life long watch throughs for me, but first complete series watch for her. I was gushing about how much I love episodes like that, that they feel quintessentially Star Trek to me, risking your life just to understand someone else, and how it models the ideals of the series. Makes me think I'd love a Trek movie about these two races of beings interacting. Minimal federation interaction, maybe a ship we don't know yet caught in the middle, and how two such advanced races who understand the magnitude of a conflict escalating would handle it.
If you cannot see the flaws in the media you consume you are not really consuming it. To consume is to digest and in doing so understand the content. Videos like this show that, while you love Star Trek, you understand that it is not without it's problems both in the stories we see and behind the scenes. These things are easy to miss if you just watch and don't think about the content afterwards. Well done. With that out of the way, Jessie I hope your recovery is going well and that you are able to continue to make great content like this. I started to get more into Star Trek because of you. I watched TNG and Voyager reruns on BBC America a few years back but didn't really consider myself a trekkie unitl I watched your content. I even got myself a Star Trek ace pride pin recently. :)
Can't wait for the DS9 video. Changeling sex, the evolution of the Ferengi, Garak (lizard) (queer), Dukat (lizard) (horny) (bastard), the Trill view on gender, Weyoun "I like to watch" 7... It's gonna be great !
I like that Deana got to wear the uniform later but I hate that they did it by having some random guy tell her to, instead of having it be the character's decision. I look forward to the Deep Sex Nine video, hope we hear you talk more about Lwaxana with her appearences on that show. And Jadzia who is still such a refreshing female character.
Jellico was a great one appearance Captain. The guy was a harsh but justified go getter. I don´t mind a experienced cap enforceing dress code for officers.
@@jamesrichardvankliff9262 I get that people feel that way. I just would have preferred it being a moment of growth for the established character rather than an establishing moment for a one off character.
@@bebecranney8740 Yeah granted and it would have been better that way, but in the 80s character-progression from the inside of a character is not givin. There´s almost always an exterior source for that.
I'm no trekkie, but ya know, at 3:32:57, Picard actually could have just used Data's willingness to keep his promise to Tasha over self-preservation as an example of his humanity instead of the more straightforward fact that they had sex. If anything, they already KNOW that Data can preform in bed because he was built with the ability to do so. They could have cut out one sentence and made the same, maybe even stronger point, really.
Yeah, I had read that until now as "Data is a person because he can care deeply for people and respects their secrets even after their deaths," but I see now that the characters' reactions are "oh, hm, could a mere machine have sex?" (Pay no attention to the contents of that bedside drawer...)
1) One of the things that I really appreciate about your videos is the fact that you realize the limitations in your experience and uplift Black and ace creators to fill in those gaps. 2) Picard is definitely a sub.
Ok, I'm ALMOST done, and I'm so impressed with how thorough this was; there's SO much in here. It deserves thousands more views. I'm glad you time-stamped it; it made it easier to finish. I keep thinking about how I'm writing in Mass Effect; I'm trying to balance all the relationships and not everyone getting their happily ever after, but it does stink that Cortez and one of the lesbian characters both lost their life partner. I wrote the OC as having lost her wife for plot reasons - she's prescient, and the wife didn't believe her visions, in the end - but I want her to live happily ever after.
Jessie, its important to consider that there are SA survivors who welcome touch as a way to gain control of their sexual narrative and for re-write and have some sense of control of their sexual experiences.
In real life certainly, but on a show written mostly by guys who have shown a proclivity to not really writing women well, I doubt it was meant to show SA survivors experience and really just inconsistencies and ignorance.
There is a narrative, often told by people on the outside looking in about people who have been abused in this way as having been 'liberated ' of prudishness etc, more willing to accept the transactional nature of similar activities more openly, but often in reality it's a trauma response of, well if it's not actually that important than what happened to me wasn't that bad.... It's complicated and something that would have required far more exploration of the character than they ever wrote her to have been done well (multiple edits because my phone hates the way I type)
@@CaptainPikeachu Yeah, I doubt Tasha's past ever even entered the writers' minds when they wrote all the scenes we get with her being attracted to men. They were trying to avoid her being queer-coded with that stuff, not trying to make any sort of cohesive character. I was rather surprised this video never even mentioned that (especially since the previous video I watched was Jessie's video on queer coding!)
Took me too long to watch this video. This is, in my opinion, a very important series that needs to reach not just star trek fans, but as many people as possible. Keep up the fantastic content Jesse!
Worf was such a bad father! Also, interesting how much I had been excusing TNG for the sexism inherent in so many plots and not facing it directly... Love your work ♥
I first watched next generation as a small child, and never really noticed or cared about the sexual aspect. Looking back on it now and watching your video...I think Riker might have started me down the long path to realizing I am pansexual. It's the beard. It's GOTTA be the beard.
Jessie, this video is incredible. The first one in this series was great, but this one just goes so in-depth on so many specific issues, and I love so much that you reached out to others to speak on their experiences first-hand. Truly, you've gone out of your way to demonstrate here the point that you were making about some of the failings of the series, and that others brought up as well. You brought diverse people from different experiences to the table and let them speak in their own voices. I learned a lot about subjects I didn't even know to wonder about, like sex tourism (which I had never considered as a... thing, I guess), and was incredibly gratified to be included with the discussion of asexuality and Data. Legitimately, I did not expect the topic to be brought up (because so often it isn't, even in discussions where it is extremely relevant), so when it was, I swear I got a little endorphin rush. I *adored* TNG growing up when it was airing and Data was far and away my favorite character (I even mail ordered Brent Spiner's album-- which I still have). I was a tween in a rural small town in the 80s and would have no idea what asexuality or aromanticism were for well over a decade to come, but I did know that Data made me so deeply happy in ways I couldn't articulate. The episode where he tries dating was a particular point of fascination for me-- I can't say I liked the episode particularly, and in fact felt deeply ashamed while watching it, like having second-hand embarrassment watching someone make a fool of themselves, and yet I would re-watch it on my meticulously labeled VHS recording with this sense that there was something really important in it that I needed to figure out. It was this itch in my head, or like a difficult puzzle you keep getting stuck on but are compelled to come back to. Looking back, I never had any epiphanies while watching it, but I do think it was a formative piece in the jigsaw of figuring out my orientation over the course of decades. To see it, and Data as a character overall, brought into this conversation and examined by an asexual person, articulating so many aspects of his character that just *fit* with the experience of being a human with no sexual attraction, this was an unexpected but very welcome moment today. Honestly, with the news today, this video has been a comfort to have as company for over five hours. As have so many of your recent videos-- your James Gunn video in particular is spectacular and I need to leave a rave review over there as well. These are the kinds of pop culture videos I really enjoy, where someone takes their time, digs deep, consults other people for their own perspectives, and gives everything as much nuance and complexity as possible, and gives each topic within time and space to really breathe. You don't shy away from criticisms of your favorite things, which I deeply appreciate as well. And finally you being able to take time for yourself right now is also wonderful, as is your willingness to damn the algorithms and make the content that speaks to you and brings you joy. Because that's what this *should* be! In our idealistic future among the stars where money doesn't exist and we produce things for the sake of self expression alone. In the meantime, I hope this video gets the views it deserves. Rest up, take care of yourself, and I'm looking forward to whenever you're back.
You dancing in all the Star Trek scenes is not something I thought I needed but I'm glad I got. Thank you for this video, truly!! An insane amount of effort was put into it and it shows. Thanks to all the people that participated too! I hope you do get some rest, you really deserve it
I've been watching this video in segments over the past three days, and I've got to say it is incredible, Jessie. The work that must have gone into it is mind-boggling. You're an amazing person and now it's time to take some you time after the surgery. I hope is all went well and that you are recovering well. Happy Pride Month and Live Long and Prosper.
I was so taken aback that the more sympathetic stuff said about Gates and Maurice's treatment of her was said by....Rick Berman? It really felt like the Onion "Horrible: The Worst Person You Know Just Made a Great Point" headline Also, about an hour and a half in and loving it ! You're awesome, Jessie!
Thank you! Please, please, take your break. Take care of you. I love your content and the way you provide new and different frameworks for my thinking about a lot of these issues. You are a blessing. I have enjoyed watching your change and become the amazing woman you are! Thank you!
I disliked Pulaski at first, but she grew on me. By the time Crusher came back, though I had missed her, I was sad to see Pulaski go and came to miss her too.
Alright, I'll say it. "The most ambitious crossover in history". It is a testament to your passion and hard work that I watched this through to the end (having so many talented collaborators didn't hurt). Like with the last one in this series, I am constantly surprised and delighted in how you use this subject as a jumping off point to address many different ideas around this series. People who say you must hate Star Trek clearly didn't actually watch very far cause this also doubled as a great TNG retrospective. And as for the end...your joy comes through the darkness and distance to touch others, though you may never know it. :)
It's taken me a few days, but I finally finished this video. The amount of time, care, love, and skill you've put into this is incredibly impressive. This is a series I'll recommend to every trekkie in my life! Your final message really hit home. Those of us in marginalized groups have and will continue to be a part of this fandom and world, and you are an excellent addition to it. Please, enjoy your rest and heal well post surgery. Onto DS9!!!
This was an absolute labour of love and I highly commend you for doing it. You expertly told the story of TNG (albeit through a certain lens) but touched upon some really important points. Its why Discovery is so important. While I'm not the biggest fan of the show (I won't derail by going into it), I do recognise that it pushes representation in the way Trek _should_. The existence of Discovery makes me proud to be a Star Trek fan. Trek and I have had our issues (I was heavily bullied for being into Trek at school and would later distance myself from it because of that previous stigma) but I learned to embrace my love of the show and even guide newer fans who have explored the older stuff _because_ of Discovery. Its a great time to be a Trekkie and I am glad we're all still here
Thank you for this video. I haven't finished watching but the discussion of Deanna Troi made me want to add something, specifically about how differently the concept of an "empath" could have been handled (and this isn't directly about sex but bear with me). I think one of the annoying things about Troi's character was how her "empath" powers seemed to be understood in a Shane Dawson-esque way, if that makes any sense. As in, "She's an empath, so she's always sooo nurturing and full of understanding and could never hurt anyone!" (which of course was also very gendered on the show). Well, there's an Ursula Le Guin short story that questions this very idea (unfortunately I can't remember the title or the collection, I'll edit it in if I can find it). In it, a group of people are sent on a survey mission to a newly discovered planet where they can detect some sort of mysterious sentient activity, and one of the people on board is an "empath". The catch? The empath is actually the rudest and most hostile little shit possible, and everybody hates him, including the captain (who's an Asian woman by the way). I won't spoil the entire story, but it slowly builds up to a climax where the captain has an epiphany about why the empath is acting that way: Because he's overwhelmed by other people's emotions, and most people aren't exactly filled with positivity. He isn't able to ignore other people's unexpressed dislike of himself like non-empaths do, and it's as if every negative feeling everybody has on this long stressful mission is constantly being screamed into his face. Which is why he acts the way he does. I don't know if the short story was written as a sort of response to TNG or even after the show went on air, but I think it's obviously so much more an interesting way to deal with the concept of sci-fi "empathy". I'm not saying TNG should have made Troi into an aggressive git, but simply dealing with the darker implications of her power would have instantly made her a more rounded character. Note: As a warning, IIRC at the beginning of the Le Guin story the empath's condition is described literally as "inverted autism" (as in, a person's autism literally turned inside out via some sci-fi magic) based on an outdated definition of autism. I didn't get the feeling this was done out of actual malice (though it would be up to autistic people to judge that), but it did seem to be based on the assumption that autism means an insensitivity to other people's emotions, and also something that needs to be "cured". Then again, the whole story is a kind of a brutal deconstruction of the "cure" that was found for this guy, so there's also that. Edit: The short story is called "Vaster Than Empires and More Slow", from a collection titled "The Found and the Lost" (but may have been included in others). Looking at it now, there are some details I didn't remember correctly or didn't remember at all, but the general gist remains (and you can find out for yourselves if you decide to read it).
Ther is an octavia butler wher ea woman has a syndrome that makes her basically an empath, and she uses it to built her cult, a good cult at this time, to change the world for the better. That i a good idea, that its a disadventage but also making her a pretty good manipulatior (which she uses for good)
Normally on a video line this, I would comment just to help the creator and the video get more traction. But this is genuinely such an amazing analysis, with so much time and hard work put in, it deserves the praise. Thank you for giving me something to listen to (and occasionally watch) my whole day at work.
I honestly don't understand why Jess is thanking us for watching while I'm on my knees after 5 hours of watching this masterpiece in complete awe of her talent
All of my friends and family are on vacation (separately, it’s not like I was left out or anything), so I was able to settle down on the couch with my dog and watch this entire video in just one sitting. I just have one thing to say: this is clearly the height of your creative career (so far). You obviously poured your heart and soul into this video and it shows. I look forward to seeing more of these after your hiatus. Rest well, Jessie! Your return is already highly anticipated by myself and I’m sure everyone else. You’ll definitely still have an audience left when you come back. 🖖🏻 LLAP
This essay expanded in its scope more than I expected it to and I’m so glad it did. The limitations of our imaginations in the present and what futures we can conceive of and strive for, and where we fall short. You pulled no punches on where it went wrong but even through the deep brain fog and focus issues that stop me from reliably making instant oatmeal these days I was hanging onto every word. I’m trans, disabled, autistic, and have been watching my community members die in droves. I reject optimism, but I embrace hope. And hope is a painful thing. But we cannot help each other out of this nightmare without being able to imagine a better world. It’s inevitable those imagined better possibilities will fall short, but we keep doing it. Because that’s how we learn. We are fighting for survival. Things are grimmer by the day. And it seems inescapable. The power to imagine other, better ways of existing is impossible to overstate. Fighting purely AGAINST something drains the life out of a person without something to fight FOR, too. I still have trouble wrapping my head around just how powerful imagining and finding better ways to BE is. It’s a sustaining force. It tempers the despair I’m real emotional today and kinda tangentinf al over the place but that outro bit (like the part with the music before it cuts back to the epilogue of you talking to the camera) emotionally suckerpunxhed me in a good way. Suddenly I was crying. It opened a brief outlet for the pressure of grief, fear, anger, and stubborn painful hope. Maybe this sounds too flowery but while I was into this entire video, that ending statement hit me right in the soul. (It’s good crying. I can’t cry most of the time even when I need to. My jaw finally unclenched for the first time in days. I can’t wait for the ds9 ep but till then imma just rewatch these two and rope my family into watching them. Might delete this and write a more “normal” comment if I get painfully embarrassed over this one once the unexpected flood of emotions wears off but I’m gonna post it for now bvsuse I want you to know the positive impact this had on me. WELL worth the watch time. There’s too much important context to cut out just to make a shorter video for the sake of it and it woulda suffered from the lack of the more in depth info surrounding the show itself. (PS: I love your glasses)
Oh God it's longer than a Dan Carlin podcast. I am both terrified and ecstatic! From a very new, very bewildered supporter and fan, thank you so much Jessie, you are incredible, and incredibly talented 🥰
Imagine if Perfect Mate had actually been a Troi episode, and focused on the idea of women forming relationships with each other outside of being defined by their relationship to men under patriarchy.
I also have many questions about intersex Klingons and the way variations are treated, but yes, it is pretty heavily implied that Klingons do have two vaginas! Also in Discovery, when Lorca learns that L'Rell had sex with Ash- and since Ash is still thought to be human at this point- Lorca makes a comment about Ash not having enough genitals for her. Ignoring all of the other issues with Ash/L'Rell, it does at least let us know that presumably, yeah, they've got two. Also, fun fact that's not fun at all: the only reason Blood and Fire was adapted into Stigma at all was because UPN wanted to do an awareness campaign and asked for all their shows to do an episode about HIV. If it hadn't been for the network, the story wouldn't have been part of Star Trek at all
Omg I am at the Klingon biology intermission and I am crying. I can't. I just, I can't. How can 4.5 hours into a video be perfect comedic timing? It just is.
As a person who hasn’t really watched much Star Trek, I really enjoyed this and wanna watch the series now. Thanks and hope you have a speedy recovery :)
This video has it all, a full gamut of video essay goodness, weaving together gravity and levity so well that the five and a half hour runtime flew by. I couldn't help but smile at that Riker montage. Thank you so much for this, and to all the guest analysts, voiceovers and contributors. This is an absolute gem. I especially like how you articulate something that I'm calling "critical appreciation." As you describe, I believe the best criticism comes from a place of love: a desire to see something or someone be their best selves. To love a work is to not ignore its faults, but to accept it as a whole, flaws and all. Unfortunately "criticism" has become synonymous with uncharitable nitpicking and aggressive "takedown" culture, and I hope that people start to realize that genuinely examining your favorites critically is commonly a path to deepening your affection for them. Again, I'm looking forward to the DS9 episode of this series, and its treatment of the mirror universe alone will be plenty to work with. I'm especially remembering the scene where mirror Garak "offers" himself to mirror Worf, and Worf doesn't say "no" but rather "...you are not my type." 😏 And then there's Intendant Kira... 😳 Anyhow hope your recovery is going well and that you can truly enjoy the time off - you deserve it! I'm absolutely in awe of how you completed this and the James Gunn retrospective and got both out this past week with no apparent tradeoff in quality - both are absolutely fantastic. How do you do it?
Hey Jessie. Thanks for making this. I can't imagine the emotional toll it took, but am eager to see your passion and love take hold of the fandom and spread positivity and hope. I'm glad to see someone speak positively and critically of the series, because you're very correct. It is an imperfect show, but the legacies it left are impossible to ignore (for better or for worse). I also want to thank you personally for including a memoriam for Eric Webb. I've never had the pleasure of meeting him, but we communicated online a few times near the start of the pandemic. His spirit for love and optimism was infectious and I was heartbroken to hear of his passing last month. It's indescribably amazing to know the Trek community is as tightknit and supportive of each other as we are. I look forward to your future content and wish you nothing but the best for your endeavors. Live long and prosper.
An absolutely excellent look at TNG (as always from you). I can't believe some people thought you hated star trek from the last one, what an absurd thought. 💜💜💜
The ending really hit a spot for me as I too try to cope the world and humanity with watching video essays about pop culture things so it's always a joy to watch videos like yours. I hope you have a fine break and after that you will make many more videos which will bring joy, especially to you. Looking forward to it!
Yeah, Nevada has some issues with sexual tourism (though plenty of locals frequent brothels outside of town). The problem I have with the brothels is they're often run by men and I've heard stories about workers not being able to deny services in certain cases. There's that dynamic that Foreign Man In a Foreign Land talks about very succinctly in capitalism where there's just this cruelty and use of people aspect. It's genuinely upsetting (also I'm impressed with how well the subtitles are doing for him, it's usually terrible with accents)
They have all sorts of laws and rules that make it pretty clear to me that the primary motivation behind the criminalization of sex work is more about protecting the clients’ privacy. Also they won’t let them read anything while waiting for the clients. It’s bad.
Technically it's illegal to be a prostitute in Vegas itself (county law) but legal in some nearby areas. I'm sure illegal prostitution continues though. Not that legal or illegal is an important distinction compared to whether it's coerced or not.
Caught this on Nebula last week (spaced out over several days) and wanted to say that it's worth every minute. I didn't even realize there's going to be a forthcoming part 3 and now I'm really looking forward to that, too. Extra content with Foreign & FD Signifier was also fantastic (and I gotta recommend anyone else to follow them if you're not already).
The amount of innuendo in just the intro has me rolling (also, is it hot in here??) I appreciate the Riker warning and the lil recap too. The subtitles are working pretty well so far (as far as auto-generated ones go)
Yeah, Tasha's back story was one of the things I hated most about her, and her writing is so weird. I liked crusher and Pulowski is honestly great (I wish they had her too, both were awesome). There's definately terrible sexism when you look back on it, I always caught it on spike TV when I was a teenager so I didn't really examine it a whole bunch at the time, but you point out a lot of the issues succinctly.
And they never really explained *why*. Yeah, war is hell. That's all they gave. Civil War, ergo, rape gangs. That was pretty much the sum total of it. I wanted to love Tasha. She had so much potential, but Denise Crosby was right: they didn't give her shit to do. Hell, her little sister Ishara was almost a more developed character in one episode than Tasha became in the greater part of a season. (legit: Ishara Yar could have been a principal character in a ST series).
Yeah, the episodes where Troi gets her memory invaded and raped is my absolute least favorite tng episode. They treat her like such crap and there's no justice. It seriously makes me upset when I watch, I hate it tbh
Took me a few days, but I finally finished the first 2 hours of the vid! Stellar so far! Bit of a Content Warning for SA stuff going forward: It was kind of rough getting past the section about how much assault is used in Star Trek, because whenever I see it used only as a tool to express how bad a villain is, the victim is ignored, if not outright forced to confront a horrific situation where they have to relive their trauma, and its gutwrenching in a way that I just can't put into words. Being a male survivor of SA myself, I can say that seeing Tasha be so open about her trauma is actually kinda vital for people like me. I personally do not speak about with anyone, but we very much know that when we speak of it, it will make people viscerally uncomfortable because often times they don't have the tools to engage with that or have simply never spoken to someone who was open with having gone through that hurt, but its so important that we make it clear what we have gone through. The ability to just state it openly grants us a sense of power over our own autonomy, and since so many survivors opt to keep quiet, just seeing someone who is strong enough to confront it and voice is enough to help the quieter people who'd rather keep it unmentioned to get the help they rightfully deserve. At least that's my 20 cents, other people likely see it different.
At the part where you talked about the composition of the TNG writer's room. As much as I love DS9, it was the only show that only had white cishet men on the main writing staff. Anyone else was a freelance.
@@MiraSmit skin color doesn't necessarily matter but experiences and knowledge base do. It is very difficult to write what you truly do not know and, like the Risa section of this video states, these writers do not know sex work or sex tourism and could only approach it from an outsider perspective (I mean, they could also have gone out and asked for input from sex workers in a sex touristy place but they were writing for most of a season and Risa episodes tend to be more or less one offs, they probably didn't think it particularly important to go into detail on...). I'm not saying they are bad writers or anything, just that their experience colored what they deemed important and worth focusing on and that someone with a different experience may have come to a different conclusion on what is important and worth developing.
It's interesting considering that it's the only one addressing diversity in any satisfactory way imho. Like they could have done some things way better way more and some of their ideas were terrible, but at least those ideas were there.
Finally finished the video and I have a lot of thoughts: - Troi looked SO much better in an actual uniform, yet they somehow repeated this same mistake in Voyager with Seven Of Nine. - Frakes's delivery of "Or more?" is absolutely classic. - I'll admit, I initially disliked Pulaski for basically deadnaming Data, but in hindsight that was probably a bit unfair. It's too bad Muldaur and McFadden essentially had to compete for the show's last remaining "female main cast member slot" when they both could've been great additions to the cast's overall dynamic. - As a former warehouse worker for a certain auto parts retailer, I can confirm that Worf's experience in that cargo bay is an all-too-common one; I myself got a moderate concussion once as a direct result of multiple coworkers' carelessness, and it actually could've been prevented by a single bungee cord. - That montage of clips from "Sub Rosa" was glorious. 10/10 - I never thought about how tragic it was not only that K'Ehleyr died but more specifically that she was replaced by Alexander. Talk about diminishing dramatic returns... - Foreign Man's excellent points about Risa are just more proof that the planet's culture was criminally under-written from the start; Imagine the fascinating and nuanced storylines possible on an alien planet where physical intimacy is viewed as an essential form of communication. Some open-minded bi/pan individuals such as myself might view that as a paradise, but MOST humans actually wouldn't be comfortable with that at all, and especially not ace people. To even interact with Risa, the Enterprise would've needed some kind of sexual ambassador. - I've had a new idea for a Trek series: Star Trek: Sex Ambassador. - Picard finally breaking down in "Family" makes me cry every time. - Bring on the utopian sex salamander future! - Berman changing alternate-Tasha's fate wasn't something I was previously aware of and is utterly confounding; What does it add? Why not just have Sela be a clone made partially from Tasha's DNA? The Romulans DO seem fairly obsessed with cloning anyway, although I'm not sure when exactly that specific idea started to enter the canon. - "The Outcast" is still a valuable contribution to Trek but I dislike how Soren seemingly stops caring about Riker at all after she's forcibly converted back to a cis enby, as if to say that not adhering to the gender binary means either that you can't feel love or attraction the way binary people do or that those feelings can ONLY be centered on other nonbinary people. - Generally, the slow progress of queer and gender-nonconforming representation in Trek and other popular media franchises seems even weirder when considered alongside Drummer's amazing polycule on The Expanse; Maybe stuff like TNG was necessary to pave the way for it, but it almost seems like the Belters' views on sex and gender are pointed rebukes of what was missing from earlier sci-fi. Basically Drummer is the best ever and I love her. - Take however much time to rest that you need, Jessie! Things have been ROUGH the past few weeks, for everyone in the States. I'm especially worried about the entire generation of young people who have posted clear evidence of their queerness to the internet and might at some point in the horrifyingly near future live in states where that can get them arrested. Whether that is allowed to happen comes down to whether we're all willing to fight, and sometimes in order to fight you have to rest. - All in all, this was a fantastic video and I can't wait for the DS9 installment!
Very interesting thoughts. I had the idea that Risa wasn't quite what "Foreign Man' described, as it is a Federation Member and is not a impoverished planet (climate and to prevent quakes). But how could a "pleasure planet" exist in the Federation Charter?
Guinan is an awesome character. She's deep. I didn't feel like she wasn't a fully realized character or only a magical spirit guid black woman. Her role always felt wise, quiet, deep, mysterious, with more there than we ever knew about. Yes, my view was probably influenced by having seen her comedy monologue on the little white girl with beautiful blonde hair, where Whoopi uses a yellow shirt to make pretend hair, to illustrate a piece of her childhood. That really hit home for me, seeing that at college-age around the time (before?) her role on TNG. (It's powerful; whatever color you are, you should seek it out and watch for what it says about all of us.) I don't think the two Sister Act movies had been out yet, but I think Jumping' Jack Flash had been. So I knew who Whoopi was, and I'd read a couple go interview pieces where she'd said why she wanted to be in Star Trek. I think Ghost had already been out. So I knew Whoopi was smart, incisively witty and funny, and she could act really well. She had said she looked up to Nichelle Nichols as Uhura, but I'm not sure her full explanation had been out (or rather, that I had seen it) before I saw her on TNG. -- I might have heard that Levar Burton had been in Roots, but I'm not sure if I knew that back then. (I had been young enough that my parents didn't want me to see Roots, for the violence, even though I'm sure black kids my age saw it, growing up. But by college-age, I still hadn't seen it.) When Avery Brooks was cast as Cmdr. Benjamin Sisko, I had no idea who he was, but whew, he nailed it, and haha, his real-life persona is even bigger! Tuvok as a dark-skinned Vulcan actually makes very good sense, given how Vulcan is mostly a desert planet, heat and sun. And note, Nichelle Nichols rocked as Uhura, but oh, I wish she'd gotten more than the few times she got away from opening hailing frequencies. Note: She did console repairs and got a compliment from Spock, she took the navigator's station once, and she took the science station at least once, besides her rec room scene with Spock and her Tribbles scenes. People forget she did get some scenes, but yes, all the regulars on TOS needed more screen time. Representation matters, and if we're ever going to get to where "color" (skin) and "race" don't matter, then we need to change a lot more than we have. The steps backward lately (or more visibility that they didn't go as far forward as white folks might've thought) need to go forward again and really change, for all of us who are somehow "different."
She can be good and a character and fill the magical n...o trope. like tony todd in final destiatioy. She owns but its still aplying. And tony todd is the best character in the franchise, but still, its a trope that many characters fall into.
She made this a wonderful character and one Whoopi brought a lot to it (she was an Academy Award winner), but I agree with the idea that this is *also* a trope. Fully both are true at the same time.
Congrats Jessie, I feel like I just took an undergrad class on TNG in the department of gender studies at a university. This is quality stuff. I also really appreciate you bringing in other TH-camrs whose experiences and perspectives really elevated the material and allowed is to go more places. You've given me a lot of chew on in a franchise that I know really well. I first came across your channel when you talked about "Our Flag Means Death." When I saw this video I was intrigued, but the five hour duration initially really turned me off. Fortunately I gave it a chance and broke it up into 7 or 8 sessions. Worth it, but yeah, some people will skip it because of the length. Maybe split them into shorter videos? I don't know. You're the TH-cam pro. Also thank you for being so honest and raw at the end. A cis het white guy like me can result get lost in the theory of all off these issues, and forget the real life experiences and consequences of all the things happening in the world. Your vulnerability helps me to be a better ally. At least I hope it does. Keep going. And congrats on your final surgery! We'll still need here after your break, waiting to welcome you back.
I feel like they modeled Pike after Riker’s school of how to be flirty yet charming with sex and with women, because all the things you describe with positively with Riker is also present in Pike’s interactions so far with the two women he’s seen in relationships with. He’s just so darn charming and affable and respectful and loves cuddling. Perfect. Thankfully Riker and Pike have never been in the same room or else we might all lose our minds 😆
AMAZING video Jessie. I just told my wife and housemates about the klingon anatomy and we all LOL'd. It's hard seeing how harsh the world is, especially to trans people, at the moment, and I'm so sorry that it's so damaging to you. Just to reassure you that this and all your other content is the highlight in my day. Very thoughtfully put together, funny, and it's great to hear and see many of my other favourites featured. Anyway, I hope you are recovering well from your surgery and not in too much pain. I'm excited to see the results and hope it brings you everything you hope for. Have a wonderful month off. I personally will be watching your content to hopefully appease the algorithm
the fact that i have minimal trek experience and happily watched a five and a half hour video on it is enough to say to the quality of the video, but it's all so GOOD with the more technical/entertainment stuff (costumes, framing, jokes, etc.) to the, ahem, *meat* of the video and the care that goes into dissecting characters and scenes and themes at various levels (behind the scenes, the material, fan reception), and, of course, the excellent contributions from foreign man in a foreign land and FD signifier and arranock. like, i cannot imagine how long this took to put together, but it was absolutely worth it imo, i had a great time watching this edit: also i now see the riker appeal
A five-hour video on a series I've never watched seemed daunting, but I'm digging the casual documentary-like conversation feel to it. I'm about an hour into this and really enjoying the discussion and the numerous sex puns :D A lot of work went into this and it shows. Never been into Trek and have vague memories of TNG as a kid, but I've heard good things about Strange New Worlds (and Lower Decks) - though haven't taken the leap just yet.
I wasn’t planning on watching this video in one sitting but I did because of how well presented this discussion was and the guest parts were even better. Thank you for taking all this time and energy. I really enjoyed it and look forward to more in this series when you get to it.
I opened the video to find the bit about Risa, chanting to my self "I will not watch the whole video. I will not watch the whole video." I may yet succeed, but I'm starting to doubt it. Edit: typo update: I did succeed in turning it of and go to bed, but I also came back and rewatched the rest of it.
Jessie, amazing video. Truly unreal the amount of time and effort put into this. This has helped me contextualize a lot of the more problematic things I picked up on during my first watch through of TNG. It was my first venture into the Star Trek universe and I loved it so much, but something about the newer series feels better to me (in the sense of representation in a futuristic society). I could not agree with your last statement more, there is so much humanity to be recognized in what was there and to still recognize that we have room for progress. Thank you so much for this. 💚
I remember when I ran across "Firefly", I noticed right away the obvious aesthetic similarities between the TNG "councilor" character and the "muse / companion" character in Firefly, in the 1st episode. When Firefly added a priest character that explicitly labeled her a "whore", I immediately recalled watching an episode of TNG with my dad at age 9, during its first airing in which my dad laughed uproariously at some plot point where the councilor had helped to raise officer morale with a series of hour long closed door in-office sessions that proved to save the Enterprise, leaving her exhausted. Seeing as I was 9 in 1990, I made a mental note that my dad laughs at unfunny details.
Thank you for making this. I really appreciate all the work you put into it. I hope you are having a good rest and are recovering well. Know that I and all your other fans will be here when you are ready to come back.
I was uncomfortable at first with everything because I've never seen your channel before. You made good points and talked about many things I had not thought about before. Good job.
I'm strictly hetero, and some of my funniest experiences from my college days in the late 70's involved friends "coming out" to me. One, Mike, asked to come over for a margarita party. We only had to supply the blender. My gut reaction? Oh, that explains a LOT. But the funniest part was, he only acknowledged it to himself two years before. He and his roommate were going to a Halloween party at the frat house, and the roommate asked me and my roommate to dress him up as a girl. We were so successful that the other guys didn't realize he was a guy. (He was kind of pretty.) The next morning he came around to ask us how to get off the nail polish. Uh, it's enamel, so paint remover. Anyway, it was following that party that Mike realized he was in love with the roommate, and that he was gay. (I should add, this was a very small technical college with just one fraternity, completely full of geeks.)
I started this video during the premier and thought it would under two hours... it turned out to be quite a lot longer than that, but I somehow made it to the end in one sitting, and regret nothing!
This came out while I was studying for the bar exam, so I’m just getting to it now. I love the like 5 minute music video of Riker being ridiculously sexy. For the DS9 episode, I humbly request at least an hour of the, I’m sure, 13 hour run time to be dedicated to totally real, definitely not only in my head, 100% valid Bashir/Garak romance.
2.5 hours in. Amazing work. 2 things, loved Stranger's piece on sex tourism. As someone who's done sex work, the point about alienation from one's work was well made. On Risa, even assuming the culture is incredibly sex positive, I can't imagine having other cultures/species exploiting that aspect of culture not having negative impacts, if only as cutural exploitation. Q. The scene at the end of Picard, when Q hugs Picard, was so intense, it would have worked so well, and explianed so much, if Q had declared his love as he was about to die. After all, Q csn be any gender, age, species (including the dog or scarecrow), and love for Picard doesn't negate real feeling for Janeway. Also, Stewart considered the gay stuff. He's a great friend of Ian McKellen. 😊❤️❤️❤️🏳️🌈
" He's a great friend of Ian McKellen." Of course he is! Not sure if that was true when that quote was from though, do you know if Stewart knew McKellen at all well before they both worked on the X-Men movies?
This deserves so many more views than it's gotten so far, and there's a lot I want to respond to, but for now I just wanted to say I am soooo excited for you getting your FFS finally! I know it got pushed off because of the pandemic, and the extra wait has been difficult, so i'm extra stoked for you that it's finally here. Sending an e-hug; here's to a fast recovery!
It took a week, but I watched the whole thing! Thank you for the tremendous work you put into this, Jessie. It was funny, informative, and in places deeply affecting. Thank you.
I just made it through the entire main portion of the video (your closing thoughts are playing as I type). Side note, I have no idea how someone could watch the first part and think you hate/despise/dislike star trek. This was an incredible journey. I cannot wait for part 3, and I love hearing your insight and personal experiences through it all. Like I commented on the first part, just wow. Incredible stuff.
Jess, this is amazing as is all of your work and I'm honoured to be a part of it 💜 if any Trekies mad with me, I've been watching Lower Decks and it has been the perfect gateway drug to Star Trek. Yes, Jess has successfully converted another one lol
OMG YESSSSSSSSS
While all the poors, like myself, are waiting for Jessie's video to drop on here on TH-cam they need to head on over and check out the fantastic video you posted today on Tic Tok and appropriation. Great work!
Also come back after you've binged the entirety of Deep Space Nine, which might just be the best of what Star Trek has to offer but is criminally underappreciated. Great focus on familial relationships, especially father son dynamics as well as the tyranny imposed by those wiling to do anything for profit, how religion exists for outsiders to a culture, forced melting pot dynamics, group sex with puddle people whose society get it on together all the time in a sex ocean of themselves, wormholes, social unrest, the dynamics of war, challenging views on terrorism/freedom fighting, and so many more topics that are just as relevant today as they were then. Plus in the last few seasons the show just has this incredible visual quality that set it apart from the other series in look and feel. Go and consume all that, you won't regret it.
Trust my opinion since I'm subbed to you and Jessie, so you know my taste is on point.
@@JessieGender1
2269 a _nice_ year
Epic.
@@JessieGender1
I never heard of any of this, and I immediately smiled when you started talking about Lwaxana Troy
we gottem
"I told you I want to be equals" "Even in matters of love?" "Especially in matters of love" Riker 👏gets👏pegged👏
As someone who is nuero-divergent, I always thought of Data's emotion chip as an allegory for medication. Sure, he can live without it, but having it gives him a better altogether quality of life. When he was getting used to it, that was the dosage being wrong and thus his side effects of his heightened emotions were coming out more. What did it for me, was during the ending of Generations, he spoke to Counselor Troy about his emotions no longer controlling him, then finding Spot, and we see him honestly cry, the chip now working as intended.
YES this is exactly what I was thinking, except I couldn't put words to it!
Yep. I've often compared it to psych meds, or perhaps just something like weed. It doesn't make him neurotypical, and I don't even think it's an allegory for masking. I just see it as something which gives him a bit more awareness over this alexithymia and some social cues. He can still choose whether to act on them, but he finds the humans around him marginally less baffling now.
I never thought of that, thanks for posting this!
“I think we can all see [Wesley as trans], right?”
_cuts to Wesley’s greatest wish being a handsome buff adult_
Holy shit
I like how this recontextualizes Wesley's character in a way that makes him so much more likable.
Possibly irrelevant, but the character was originally created as Leslie Crusher, but somewhere along the way the teen prodigy was changed to be a boy, maybe because there were already three women leads, maybe because somebody thought it would be a good tribute to Gene to have a third character inspired by him (Riker based on Kirk based on what Gene wanted to be in the 60s, Picard based on what Gene thought of himself in the 80s, Wesley taking Gene's middle name).
Perhaps there's room to retcon that change into Wesley's pre-Enterprise childhood?
i can absolutely get behind that headcanon
I love that the ace/autistic communities found something that we can relate to in Data. He certainly makes us feel like we have a place in society, that we can thrive and be accepted and that we don't all have to think or feel like neurotypicals.
However I find criticizing him for the sometimes poor representation to be unfair to his character and the writers.
He was not written to represent those communities, he just happened to be characterized in such a way that he ended up seeming autistic and was ace.
Data isn't a human being being so viewing him purely with human characterization, including autistic traits, kind of entirely misses the point of his character.
He is not human and in his quest to become human, he realised that he didn't need to be anything more than he was. He needed to grow as himself not into something else. Data is an android with many autistic traits and is asexual and that is a valid identity. The message I take from data is not that it's valid to be autistic and/or asexual but that you are valid no matter what your identity is and that no matter how out of place you might feel in society, friends groups, the world; there IS a place for you.
I absolutely agree… as an ace person myself, I find Data hard to read as ace, and extremely messy in its implications.
I mean he is an autism representation by beig a robot i guess, but h is really well one and how hi humanity is displayed and defended.
Love this. I'm autistic (which is how I found fellow autistic Jessie's channel) but not asexual. My husband is on the ace spectrum though being demisexual. He's also ADHD. I think I understand why he related to Data so well. I love Data and Spock as characters.
he briefly had a gf though. the idea of him having sex was played pretty poorly
He's not asexual. He's fully functional.
I love how positive the relationships of Troy/Riker and Crusher/Picard are. They are clearly attracted to each other, but still able to be friends without jealousy. I think seeing that as a child informed my teenage and adult relationships. There was difficulty when I found ppl who weren't so open, but still, its led to great friendships and relationships in my life.
Me: "Hey Husband, part 2 of Jesse Gender's Sex in Star Trek documentary is out."
Husband: "We should watch that tonight."
Me: "Um... it's 5.5 hours long..."
Husband: "What! how?"
Me: "well it covers TNG..."
Husband: "Oh, well you would need 5 hours just for for Riker..."
I got to the "Riker asking for the Horga'hn" bit, and I always saw it as a practical joke on Picard. He knows Picard is strong enough to reject any advances, and smart enough to figure it out before it's too late. It also goes along with him ribbing Picard during Captain Picard Day, and being shocked when Picard actually came back with his own plan of a Commander Riker Day.
Also, that's one of my favorite lines in the entire episode: "Someone you love?" "I wouldn't go that far..." Just has that subtext of "Riker is getting this Horga'hn shoved right up his Jeffries Tube so hard he won't be thinking of Jamaharon for months." XD
For me, that bit made me think "someone you love?" (Picard pauses for a moment while he imagines having an affair with Riker, then thinks of Q too...) Obviously, the Risaan woman doesn't know who gave him that Horgan - but it's suggestive of a gay relationship between Picard and Riker, even if the only intention in the writer's mind was a joke on Picard.
We, the Deep Space Nine fans, fully expect Part 3 to be NO LESS than 12 hours.... or we riot. =P
Just like... skip 'Profit and Lace'?
Is that a Bell Riot? I'll let myself out. Computer, one to beam up.
@@smwillia “Set phasers to BONK”
With (at least) one full hour devoted to everyone's favorite pansexual sex lizard Garak.
The joined Trill could take up an hour easily-they could experience sex in a male host, a female host, and as whatever sex the symbiont is before it is joined (in the underground pools).
"Never stop believing in fighting for that better future of humanity" I parasocially love you, Jessie. Thank you for taking the time, effort and energy to create this.
Jessie: *invites herself over to our quarters for a 'good time'*
Proceeds to spend 5 hours telling us the history of star trek sexual liberation
My kind of date, she knows how to show someone a good time 😄
And a good time was had by all.
69 noice
Yes that tracks... I mean I don't know what you where expecting lol
I mean, I'm having a good time lol
Finally, somebody tackles the SA of Riker by the lady alien. Even when I was a kid, I thought it was horrible that it was treated as a joke.
Sirtis' absolute joy at being able to act once she got her uniform is something that has stayed with me for years since I saw an interview with her around the release of Generations
This documentary got me too look a little deeper into the history of TNG and I think I understand why they specifically gave Gates McFadden, aka the person playing Beverly Crusher, the ability to direct the episode Genesis.
If you don't remember, Genesis was the episode where everyone started "devolving" into random creatures down their species ancestral tree. Like a regular old Iguana or a human becoming a giant spider creature, lol.
Somebody in the comments said they believe they likely gave Gates McFadden the ability to direct this super weird episode to further antagonize and discourage her. I wasn't so sure about that.
It turns out that she actually had a ton of experience directing puppets and people in heavy prosthetics as several of her more well known previous roles were being the Director of Choreography (which seemed to be mostly about working with the puppets) on both Labyrinth and Dark Crystal (as well as The Muppets Take Manhattan)!
So, having that experience totally fits with asking her to direct the one episode where they probably brought in weird animatronics and puppet able horror monster models.
They should have treated her better earlier, for sure, however, this decision might've been made out of more than just spite, for once.
True fact: my grandmother had two wombs, but only one of her kidneys was functional. Truth is stranger than fiction. She lived to be 106.
My condolences😭😭😭😭
Cool!
Another reason to be glad that they leaned away from Riker's Gene-inspired possessiveness of Troi post-season 1: it shows him growing as a character and as a man over the course of the series, broadening his perspective, becoming less selfish, learning how to deal maturely with working alongside someone he had/has such strong feelings for. It's a great arc for his character, and this process of personal growth is a great thing to model to viewers, especially men.
Showing my age here. In the 80s when the flagship doctor was a woman, that was a big deal to us. People I know saw that as powerful and not in a caretaking role.
Hello
It's made me sad that other than her temporary replacement we haven't had any more women as main doctors.
@@julietteangeli hello
@@julietteangeli We have had a couple female captains. So progress there. But I get what both of you are saying.
And, even with Discovery, the writers aeem to have trouble writing multple strong women without them seeming to have more antagonism than between two men, but that may be a Me issue with interpretation than an actual issue. I just feel Captain Burnham and the Federation president would have been differently written for two men. For example, even before all the mirror universe reveals, even in prime it felt like Burnham and Georgieau had a daughter mother vibe. I never really got a father son vibe from Picard and Riker. So two men is, to me, not better, not worse, just different. And, sadly, if they were different genders, they would most likely go the Adama Rosslyn route.
I will say TNG didn't do that with Picard and Admiral Nechayev, but she was only on sparingly. And DS9 never had Kira and Sisko fall into that. They had conflicts, especially early on, but that was because Kira was naturally suspicious Bajor was giving up one occupier for another.
While it had its issues early on, and what shows don't, and while not in the Trek universe, the Orville does give us that a female doctor with a stong Dr. Crusher vibe. And this season, with the exception of one episode, imo, they have been knocking it out of the park.
Dominic Noble getting to voice Patrick Stewart is propably the best thing you could've done for him
I know people aren't going to agree with me, and I don't think you, Jessie, are going to agree with me based on your personal perspective of Tasha as a character, but I loved Tasha as a character. As a person who has survived multiple instances of sexual trauma, I DO mention my sexual trauma often. I share it with my friends and partners and in intense discussions about sex and sexuality. I don't hide it and talking about my experiences gives me power over them. I'm also a sexual person who has embraced their sexuality. So, for me, it felt really empowering to see a character who had faced sexual trauma, who is willing to admit that they've had traumatic sexual experiences, BE a sexual person who is willing to have sex with people she finds attractive. Too often I've felt like I'm not allowed to be a sexual person because I've had sexual trauma and I've even had partners that didn't want to be sexual with me because of my experiences. It felt great to see Tasha want to pursue sexual encounters regardless of her experiences and made me feel like I wasn't alone.
To be clear: I don't want what I've said to dismiss how the actors felt in their roles or in the cast, because I completely understand what they've gone through and respect their feelings. I just want to say that sexual trauma survivors aren't a monolith, and Tasha, as a character, felt like I finally had representation, no matter how small. And that felt awesome.
I think it’s really great that you felt like you had representation, it’s so important.
I think ultimately it may be less about whether it’s realistic or not for Tasha to behave the way she does and more about if the male writers writing her really considered all these things intentionally, or did they just give her random stuff and it just happened to connect in some way. A happy accident so to speak.
I really appreciate you bringing this up.
As a fellow SA survivor, I also talk openly about my experience. It's taken me a while to be able to be open to touch and sexuality, but I've been able to reach a point where I feel comfortable in my skin and with myself as a sexual being. I think that part of the Tasha Yar character is well expressed, for the most part. More could have been done to explore this, as well as the healing process, in "Justice", and it's a shame that clearly was never going to happen.
It's unfortunate that the writers couldn't get to grips with the nuanced issues brought up by someone like Tasha.
@@PatrickSteiden I totally agree with you the writer's really should had explored tasha more
Thats a very good point. Even though I dont talk about my abuse, thats more cuz I often fail to see the point. It happened, it was trauma: both past tense.
And I just don't wanna go through the hassle of people wanting to discuss it out of varying shades of interested curiousity. Not like there are genuinely interesting avenues of conversation most can come up with.
And cuz it is hard to have people view you as something besides a survivor.
And at least Tasha had a character.
Hey, I know you!
As for Klingons' backup organs, we have them too. You can easily miss a lung or a kidney and not be in trouble. Apparently a lot of people are born with an extra spleen, and other organs can be accidentally duplicated too. If you have Klingons who get grievous wounds that destroy an organ on the regular, the ones with an extra, say, liver, would be more likely to survive. And voilà, evolution!
We don't actually know that Klingons have two penises, just that they have two urethras. Though a couple of early Pocket Books Trek novels mention that Klingons have three testes.
I have an extra vein coming off my heart
Honestly as an Ace person who's basically looking at all this from the outside. All I can really say is fascinating with an eyebrow raise. And I'm also now distracted by the idea of an annual gathering of Ace people from across the Federation on Risa to do everything except having jamaharon.
I stand by both of those statements XD.
I am legit down for that kind of Con!!😀
I mean, if Risa is carribean coded you know they'll have some of the best food in the galaxy
Count me in for it
Planet of the Garlic Bread?
Regarding the ep "The Outcast" and Riker's confusion about pronouns, I am frankly astounded that a whole team of professional writers appear to have been unfamiliar with the singular they, which has been featured in the English language since before William Shakespeare was born.
Yeah that bothered the Hel out of me. I loved that they tried to show a clear acceptance for binary trans folks, but I also HATED how they were simultaneously throwing non-binary identities under the bus. I know it was a product of its time, but none the less I hate the problematic parts as much as I love the progressive parts.
@@lucienfortner841 It also is totally (and thankfully) retconned away in canon, considering 23rd century crewmembers -- ones who were totally fish out of water in the 32nd century -- began referring to Adira as they/them the moment they requested it. And it should be that way. We should continue incorporating better understanding of LGBTQIA+ identities into Star Trek as time goes on. After all, both DIS and SNW are supposed to be in a progressive future. An aspirational one where someone like me wouldn't face resistance to being called she/they pronouns. (Which I still have issues with even working for a more progressive company today in 2022.)
Not to mention, Captain Kirk refered to Sargon with singular they in the TOS episode Return to Tomorrow quite happily many years before.
@@Soundwave._ OMG, I'd forgotten about that! You're right!
@@gozerthegozarian9500 Star Trek canon is all over the place, so I think we can safely assume Riker would actually be completely chill about nonbinary pronouns in reality, some writers just need to have a better history lesson!
It speaks a lot to her talent and tenacity that McFadden was given such a difficult episode to direct (to discourage her, I'm certain) and did a damn good job of it. When I saw that episode I could totally see watching a whole movie she directed. That episode really felt to me like a well-done made-for-tv 🎥
It's a tragedy she never directed any TNG movies given that she was a seasoned director who had more experience than any of the male cast members.
I didn't like Tasha much when I just caught brief bits of her interactions in passing, but when I actually watched her in action I grew to really like her. I've survived sexual assault and while there might be a tendency to retreat into asexuality to avoid triggers for many victims, I think that can actually further perpetuate the victim mindset and to me, personally, there's a LOT more bravery in saying F**K that, *I* am in control of *my* body, my pleasure, and NO ONE is taking that from me. Um...also, YES, survivors DO TALK ABOUT IT. Sometimes a lot! For me, it's because I'm MAD and if I'd had more information and conversations with other women about it prior, it might have never happened in the first damn place. If we hide our truth or stay silent, other victims will suffer in isolation and won't see that there are survivors who weren't totally obliterated emotionally/mentally/physically by their assault.
Tasha deserved all of Data's 27 modes!
"Foreign Man"'s nuanced take on Risa and describing the parallels to the sex tourism in the real world was probably the most interesting part of this.
My favorite moment for Guinan is when Q sees her as a threat. There's all these hints at her true power, and how her time on the Enterprise is just one of the roles she's played through time and space on her journeys. I would have loved to see her escapades. There's also this sense that it's a choice for her to care about less advanced beings, and she is capable of making hard and horrible decisions. But that's just kind of lingering under the surface.
My headcanon on the El-Aurians is that their extra-temporal sensitivity collapses the power of the Q Continuum like an observed waveform. Can they wield the type of direct reality editing power the Q can? No. But the Q are uniquely vulnerable interacting with them.
Of course this theory goes down other rabbit holes about how the Borg have the same advantage from having assimilated the El-Aurians, and Q’s actions putting the Federation in conflict with the Borg was about using humanity (well particularly humanity, but all the Federation really) in a proxy war against a threat (if they keep assimilating and evolving) that could eventually directly threaten the Continuum, that thanks to the El-Aurian traits they can’t just snap out of existence.
@@glamourweaver ooooooooh that's good, and makes sense. Might have to join you down that rabbit hole. I need to brush up on my knowledge of the El-Aurians. Was just watching the Next Gen episode Darmak with my partner last night. One of many life long watch throughs for me, but first complete series watch for her. I was gushing about how much I love episodes like that, that they feel quintessentially Star Trek to me, risking your life just to understand someone else, and how it models the ideals of the series. Makes me think I'd love a Trek movie about these two races of beings interacting. Minimal federation interaction, maybe a ship we don't know yet caught in the middle, and how two such advanced races who understand the magnitude of a conflict escalating would handle it.
If you cannot see the flaws in the media you consume you are not really consuming it. To consume is to digest and in doing so understand the content. Videos like this show that, while you love Star Trek, you understand that it is not without it's problems both in the stories we see and behind the scenes. These things are easy to miss if you just watch and don't think about the content afterwards. Well done.
With that out of the way, Jessie I hope your recovery is going well and that you are able to continue to make great content like this. I started to get more into Star Trek because of you. I watched TNG and Voyager reruns on BBC America a few years back but didn't really consider myself a trekkie unitl I watched your content. I even got myself a Star Trek ace pride pin recently. :)
3:24:05 I love the supercut of Riker just unapologetically finding joy in sexuality. It is so wholesome. I love that man.
Can't wait for the DS9 video. Changeling sex, the evolution of the Ferengi, Garak (lizard) (queer), Dukat (lizard) (horny) (bastard), the Trill view on gender, Weyoun "I like to watch" 7... It's gonna be great !
I like that Deana got to wear the uniform later but I hate that they did it by having some random guy tell her to, instead of having it be the character's decision. I look forward to the Deep Sex Nine video, hope we hear you talk more about Lwaxana with her appearences on that show. And Jadzia who is still such a refreshing female character.
I can’t wait to hear Jessie talk about Jadzia!
Jellico was a great one appearance Captain. The guy was a harsh but justified go getter. I don´t mind a experienced cap enforceing dress code for officers.
@@jamesrichardvankliff9262 I get that people feel that way. I just would have preferred it being a moment of growth for the established character rather than an establishing moment for a one off character.
@@bebecranney8740 Yeah granted and it would have been better that way, but in the 80s character-progression from the inside of a character is not givin. There´s almost always an exterior source for that.
@@jamesrichardvankliff9262 Yes and as Jessie mentioned the writers seemed to struggle to tell stories from the perspective of the female characters.
I'm no trekkie, but ya know, at 3:32:57, Picard actually could have just used Data's willingness to keep his promise to Tasha over self-preservation as an example of his humanity instead of the more straightforward fact that they had sex. If anything, they already KNOW that Data can preform in bed because he was built with the ability to do so. They could have cut out one sentence and made the same, maybe even stronger point, really.
Agreed
Honestly, I didn't remember how that episode went and if Jessie hadn't said what would happen that's where I thought it would go🍊
Yeah, I had read that until now as "Data is a person because he can care deeply for people and respects their secrets even after their deaths," but I see now that the characters' reactions are "oh, hm, could a mere machine have sex?" (Pay no attention to the contents of that bedside drawer...)
He's fully functional
Thank you for speaking about imaginary tomorrow's real yesterday in an amazing way that I could not.
1) One of the things that I really appreciate about your videos is the fact that you realize the limitations in your experience and uplift Black and ace creators to fill in those gaps.
2) Picard is definitely a sub.
Ya that’s a good think for yikes episodes like code of honor.
Ok, I'm ALMOST done, and I'm so impressed with how thorough this was; there's SO much in here. It deserves thousands more views. I'm glad you time-stamped it; it made it easier to finish. I keep thinking about how I'm writing in Mass Effect; I'm trying to balance all the relationships and not everyone getting their happily ever after, but it does stink that Cortez and one of the lesbian characters both lost their life partner. I wrote the OC as having lost her wife for plot reasons - she's prescient, and the wife didn't believe her visions, in the end - but I want her to live happily ever after.
Jessie, its important to consider that there are SA survivors who welcome touch as a way to gain control of their sexual narrative and for re-write and have some sense of control of their sexual experiences.
In real life certainly, but on a show written mostly by guys who have shown a proclivity to not really writing women well, I doubt it was meant to show SA survivors experience and really just inconsistencies and ignorance.
@@CaptainPikeachu It often comes across, or is stated as, overcompensation or a traumatic reaction
There is a narrative, often told by people on the outside looking in about people who have been abused in this way as having been 'liberated ' of prudishness etc, more willing to accept the transactional nature of similar activities more openly, but often in reality it's a trauma response of, well if it's not actually that important than what happened to me wasn't that bad.... It's complicated and something that would have required far more exploration of the character than they ever wrote her to have been done well (multiple edits because my phone hates the way I type)
@@CaptainPikeachu Yeah, I doubt Tasha's past ever even entered the writers' minds when they wrote all the scenes we get with her being attracted to men. They were trying to avoid her being queer-coded with that stuff, not trying to make any sort of cohesive character. I was rather surprised this video never even mentioned that (especially since the previous video I watched was Jessie's video on queer coding!)
Took me too long to watch this video. This is, in my opinion, a very important series that needs to reach not just star trek fans, but as many people as possible. Keep up the fantastic content Jesse!
Worf was such a bad father! Also, interesting how much I had been excusing TNG for the sexism inherent in so many plots and not facing it directly... Love your work ♥
@@willdwyer6782 omg I had know idea about that
I first watched next generation as a small child, and never really noticed or cared about the sexual aspect. Looking back on it now and watching your video...I think Riker might have started me down the long path to realizing I am pansexual. It's the beard. It's GOTTA be the beard.
Jessie, this video is incredible. The first one in this series was great, but this one just goes so in-depth on so many specific issues, and I love so much that you reached out to others to speak on their experiences first-hand. Truly, you've gone out of your way to demonstrate here the point that you were making about some of the failings of the series, and that others brought up as well. You brought diverse people from different experiences to the table and let them speak in their own voices. I learned a lot about subjects I didn't even know to wonder about, like sex tourism (which I had never considered as a... thing, I guess), and was incredibly gratified to be included with the discussion of asexuality and Data.
Legitimately, I did not expect the topic to be brought up (because so often it isn't, even in discussions where it is extremely relevant), so when it was, I swear I got a little endorphin rush. I *adored* TNG growing up when it was airing and Data was far and away my favorite character (I even mail ordered Brent Spiner's album-- which I still have). I was a tween in a rural small town in the 80s and would have no idea what asexuality or aromanticism were for well over a decade to come, but I did know that Data made me so deeply happy in ways I couldn't articulate. The episode where he tries dating was a particular point of fascination for me-- I can't say I liked the episode particularly, and in fact felt deeply ashamed while watching it, like having second-hand embarrassment watching someone make a fool of themselves, and yet I would re-watch it on my meticulously labeled VHS recording with this sense that there was something really important in it that I needed to figure out. It was this itch in my head, or like a difficult puzzle you keep getting stuck on but are compelled to come back to. Looking back, I never had any epiphanies while watching it, but I do think it was a formative piece in the jigsaw of figuring out my orientation over the course of decades. To see it, and Data as a character overall, brought into this conversation and examined by an asexual person, articulating so many aspects of his character that just *fit* with the experience of being a human with no sexual attraction, this was an unexpected but very welcome moment today.
Honestly, with the news today, this video has been a comfort to have as company for over five hours. As have so many of your recent videos-- your James Gunn video in particular is spectacular and I need to leave a rave review over there as well. These are the kinds of pop culture videos I really enjoy, where someone takes their time, digs deep, consults other people for their own perspectives, and gives everything as much nuance and complexity as possible, and gives each topic within time and space to really breathe. You don't shy away from criticisms of your favorite things, which I deeply appreciate as well. And finally you being able to take time for yourself right now is also wonderful, as is your willingness to damn the algorithms and make the content that speaks to you and brings you joy. Because that's what this *should* be! In our idealistic future among the stars where money doesn't exist and we produce things for the sake of self expression alone. In the meantime, I hope this video gets the views it deserves. Rest up, take care of yourself, and I'm looking forward to whenever you're back.
You dancing in all the Star Trek scenes is not something I thought I needed but I'm glad I got. Thank you for this video, truly!! An insane amount of effort was put into it and it shows. Thanks to all the people that participated too! I hope you do get some rest, you really deserve it
I've been watching this video in segments over the past three days, and I've got to say it is incredible, Jessie. The work that must have gone into it is mind-boggling. You're an amazing person and now it's time to take some you time after the surgery. I hope is all went well and that you are recovering well. Happy Pride Month and Live Long and Prosper.
Did you just ask me to "just roll with it" 4.5 hours into the video? Girl, I am ride or die at this point.
I was so taken aback that the more sympathetic stuff said about Gates and Maurice's treatment of her was said by....Rick Berman? It really felt like the Onion "Horrible: The Worst Person You Know Just Made a Great Point" headline
Also, about an hour and a half in and loving it ! You're awesome, Jessie!
I like to imagine Rick Berman said that, and then right after went on a rant on why Terri Farrell didn't have good tits
I was pretty surprised by that too, given the was he treated Terry Ferrell
@@KariIzumi1 and Jeri Ryan, and Kate Mulgrew, and Nana...
Thank you! Please, please, take your break. Take care of you. I love your content and the way you provide new and different frameworks for my thinking about a lot of these issues. You are a blessing. I have enjoyed watching your change and become the amazing woman you are! Thank you!
I disliked Pulaski at first, but she grew on me. By the time Crusher came back, though I had missed her, I was sad to see Pulaski go and came to miss her too.
Yeah I slowly grew to like her and was sad to see her go
Pulaski is probably the most underrated major character in Star Trek!
It's too bad they couldn't have thought of a way to have her as a recurrent character. I did miss Crusher, but would have enjoyed more of Pulaski.
Alright, I'll say it. "The most ambitious crossover in history".
It is a testament to your passion and hard work that I watched this through to the end (having so many talented collaborators didn't hurt). Like with the last one in this series, I am constantly surprised and delighted in how you use this subject as a jumping off point to address many different ideas around this series. People who say you must hate Star Trek clearly didn't actually watch very far cause this also doubled as a great TNG retrospective.
And as for the end...your joy comes through the darkness and distance to touch others, though you may never know it. :)
It's taken me a few days, but I finally finished this video. The amount of time, care, love, and skill you've put into this is incredibly impressive. This is a series I'll recommend to every trekkie in my life!
Your final message really hit home. Those of us in marginalized groups have and will continue to be a part of this fandom and world, and you are an excellent addition to it. Please, enjoy your rest and heal well post surgery.
Onto DS9!!!
This was an absolute labour of love and I highly commend you for doing it. You expertly told the story of TNG (albeit through a certain lens) but touched upon some really important points.
Its why Discovery is so important. While I'm not the biggest fan of the show (I won't derail by going into it), I do recognise that it pushes representation in the way Trek _should_.
The existence of Discovery makes me proud to be a Star Trek fan.
Trek and I have had our issues (I was heavily bullied for being into Trek at school and would later distance myself from it because of that previous stigma) but I learned to embrace my love of the show and even guide newer fans who have explored the older stuff _because_ of Discovery.
Its a great time to be a Trekkie and I am glad we're all still here
Thank you for this video. I haven't finished watching but the discussion of Deanna Troi made me want to add something, specifically about how differently the concept of an "empath" could have been handled (and this isn't directly about sex but bear with me). I think one of the annoying things about Troi's character was how her "empath" powers seemed to be understood in a Shane Dawson-esque way, if that makes any sense. As in, "She's an empath, so she's always sooo nurturing and full of understanding and could never hurt anyone!" (which of course was also very gendered on the show). Well, there's an Ursula Le Guin short story that questions this very idea (unfortunately I can't remember the title or the collection, I'll edit it in if I can find it). In it, a group of people are sent on a survey mission to a newly discovered planet where they can detect some sort of mysterious sentient activity, and one of the people on board is an "empath". The catch? The empath is actually the rudest and most hostile little shit possible, and everybody hates him, including the captain (who's an Asian woman by the way). I won't spoil the entire story, but it slowly builds up to a climax where the captain has an epiphany about why the empath is acting that way: Because he's overwhelmed by other people's emotions, and most people aren't exactly filled with positivity. He isn't able to ignore other people's unexpressed dislike of himself like non-empaths do, and it's as if every negative feeling everybody has on this long stressful mission is constantly being screamed into his face. Which is why he acts the way he does. I don't know if the short story was written as a sort of response to TNG or even after the show went on air, but I think it's obviously so much more an interesting way to deal with the concept of sci-fi "empathy". I'm not saying TNG should have made Troi into an aggressive git, but simply dealing with the darker implications of her power would have instantly made her a more rounded character. Note: As a warning, IIRC at the beginning of the Le Guin story the empath's condition is described literally as "inverted autism" (as in, a person's autism literally turned inside out via some sci-fi magic) based on an outdated definition of autism. I didn't get the feeling this was done out of actual malice (though it would be up to autistic people to judge that), but it did seem to be based on the assumption that autism means an insensitivity to other people's emotions, and also something that needs to be "cured". Then again, the whole story is a kind of a brutal deconstruction of the "cure" that was found for this guy, so there's also that. Edit: The short story is called "Vaster Than Empires and More Slow", from a collection titled "The Found and the Lost" (but may have been included in others). Looking at it now, there are some details I didn't remember correctly or didn't remember at all, but the general gist remains (and you can find out for yourselves if you decide to read it).
Ther is an octavia butler wher ea woman has a syndrome that makes her basically an empath, and she uses it to built her cult, a good cult at this time, to change the world for the better. That i a good idea, that its a disadventage but also making her a pretty good manipulatior (which she uses for good)
That actually sounds a lot like Ram Elbrun from the Tin Man episode.
@@greatsayain Tam Elbrun. I also thought about him when reading this comment. Notice that a male Betazoid was chosen for this role
@@limiv5272 yeah that was my phone's autocorrect changing the name. It doesn't recognize Tam.
@@greatsayain I gave up on autocorrect a long time ago
Normally on a video line this, I would comment just to help the creator and the video get more traction. But this is genuinely such an amazing analysis, with so much time and hard work put in, it deserves the praise. Thank you for giving me something to listen to (and occasionally watch) my whole day at work.
I honestly don't understand why Jess is thanking us for watching while I'm on my knees after 5 hours of watching this masterpiece in complete awe of her talent
I wish more people went on deep, intellectual rants about Star Trek in lingerie.
All of my friends and family are on vacation (separately, it’s not like I was left out or anything), so I was able to settle down on the couch with my dog and watch this entire video in just one sitting. I just have one thing to say: this is clearly the height of your creative career (so far). You obviously poured your heart and soul into this video and it shows. I look forward to seeing more of these after your hiatus.
Rest well, Jessie! Your return is already highly anticipated by myself and I’m sure everyone else. You’ll definitely still have an audience left when you come back.
🖖🏻 LLAP
This essay expanded in its scope more than I expected it to and I’m so glad it did. The limitations of our imaginations in the present and what futures we can conceive of and strive for, and where we fall short. You pulled no punches on where it went wrong but even through the deep brain fog and focus issues that stop me from reliably making instant oatmeal these days I was hanging onto every word. I’m trans, disabled, autistic, and have been watching my community members die in droves.
I reject optimism, but I embrace hope. And hope is a painful thing. But we cannot help each other out of this nightmare without being able to imagine a better world. It’s inevitable those imagined better possibilities will fall short, but we keep doing it. Because that’s how we learn.
We are fighting for survival. Things are grimmer by the day. And it seems inescapable.
The power to imagine other, better ways of existing is impossible to overstate. Fighting purely AGAINST something drains the life out of a person without something to fight FOR, too. I still have trouble wrapping my head around just how powerful imagining and finding better ways to BE is. It’s a sustaining force. It tempers the despair
I’m real emotional today and kinda tangentinf al over the place but that outro bit (like the part with the music before it cuts back to the epilogue of you talking to the camera) emotionally suckerpunxhed me in a good way. Suddenly I was crying. It opened a brief outlet for the pressure of grief, fear, anger, and stubborn painful hope.
Maybe this sounds too flowery but while I was into this entire video, that ending statement hit me right in the soul.
(It’s good crying. I can’t cry most of the time even when I need to. My jaw finally unclenched for the first time in days. I can’t wait for the ds9 ep but till then imma just rewatch these two and rope my family into watching them.
Might delete this and write a more “normal” comment if I get painfully embarrassed over this one once the unexpected flood of emotions wears off but I’m gonna post it for now bvsuse I want you to know the positive impact this had on me.
WELL worth the watch time. There’s too much important context to cut out just to make a shorter video for the sake of it and it woulda suffered from the lack of the more in depth info surrounding the show itself.
(PS: I love your glasses)
Oh God it's longer than a Dan Carlin podcast. I am both terrified and ecstatic! From a very new, very bewildered supporter and fan, thank you so much Jessie, you are incredible, and incredibly talented 🥰
You have excellent taste in podcasts, my good person.
Imagine if Perfect Mate had actually been a Troi episode, and focused on the idea of women forming relationships with each other outside of being defined by their relationship to men under patriarchy.
lol, your insane
I'm five and a half minutes in, and I am amazed yet again by the range of Trek clothing you managed to find and own.
Finally, a creator who is right about Polaski. I have been dying on this hill for 30 years.
I also have many questions about intersex Klingons and the way variations are treated, but yes, it is pretty heavily implied that Klingons do have two vaginas! Also in Discovery, when Lorca learns that L'Rell had sex with Ash- and since Ash is still thought to be human at this point- Lorca makes a comment about Ash not having enough genitals for her. Ignoring all of the other issues with Ash/L'Rell, it does at least let us know that presumably, yeah, they've got two.
Also, fun fact that's not fun at all: the only reason Blood and Fire was adapted into Stigma at all was because UPN wanted to do an awareness campaign and asked for all their shows to do an episode about HIV. If it hadn't been for the network, the story wouldn't have been part of Star Trek at all
Omg I am at the Klingon biology intermission and I am crying. I can't. I just, I can't. How can 4.5 hours into a video be perfect comedic timing? It just is.
As a person who hasn’t really watched much Star Trek, I really enjoyed this and wanna watch the series now. Thanks and hope you have a speedy recovery :)
Four hours in and FD Signifier is SUCH a gift. Watch to the end and you will truly be rewarded. This video just keeps on giving.
This video has it all, a full gamut of video essay goodness, weaving together gravity and levity so well that the five and a half hour runtime flew by. I couldn't help but smile at that Riker montage. Thank you so much for this, and to all the guest analysts, voiceovers and contributors. This is an absolute gem.
I especially like how you articulate something that I'm calling "critical appreciation." As you describe, I believe the best criticism comes from a place of love: a desire to see something or someone be their best selves. To love a work is to not ignore its faults, but to accept it as a whole, flaws and all. Unfortunately "criticism" has become synonymous with uncharitable nitpicking and aggressive "takedown" culture, and I hope that people start to realize that genuinely examining your favorites critically is commonly a path to deepening your affection for them.
Again, I'm looking forward to the DS9 episode of this series, and its treatment of the mirror universe alone will be plenty to work with. I'm especially remembering the scene where mirror Garak "offers" himself to mirror Worf, and Worf doesn't say "no" but rather "...you are not my type." 😏 And then there's Intendant Kira... 😳
Anyhow hope your recovery is going well and that you can truly enjoy the time off - you deserve it! I'm absolutely in awe of how you completed this and the James Gunn retrospective and got both out this past week with no apparent tradeoff in quality - both are absolutely fantastic. How do you do it?
Hey Jessie. Thanks for making this. I can't imagine the emotional toll it took, but am eager to see your passion and love take hold of the fandom and spread positivity and hope.
I'm glad to see someone speak positively and critically of the series, because you're very correct. It is an imperfect show, but the legacies it left are impossible to ignore (for better or for worse).
I also want to thank you personally for including a memoriam for Eric Webb. I've never had the pleasure of meeting him, but we communicated online a few times near the start of the pandemic. His spirit for love and optimism was infectious and I was heartbroken to hear of his passing last month. It's indescribably amazing to know the Trek community is as tightknit and supportive of each other as we are.
I look forward to your future content and wish you nothing but the best for your endeavors. Live long and prosper.
An absolutely excellent look at TNG (as always from you). I can't believe some people thought you hated star trek from the last one, what an absurd thought. 💜💜💜
The ending really hit a spot for me as I too try to cope the world and humanity with watching video essays about pop culture things so it's always a joy to watch videos like yours. I hope you have a fine break and after that you will make many more videos which will bring joy, especially to you. Looking forward to it!
Yeah, Nevada has some issues with sexual tourism (though plenty of locals frequent brothels outside of town). The problem I have with the brothels is they're often run by men and I've heard stories about workers not being able to deny services in certain cases. There's that dynamic that Foreign Man In a Foreign Land talks about very succinctly in capitalism where there's just this cruelty and use of people aspect. It's genuinely upsetting
(also I'm impressed with how well the subtitles are doing for him, it's usually terrible with accents)
Brothels should only be legal if run democratically as a co-op, every other form I can think are exploitative in nature.
@@grandsome1 I mean, that's basically true of all businesses.
They have all sorts of laws and rules that make it pretty clear to me that the primary motivation behind the criminalization of sex work is more about protecting the clients’ privacy.
Also they won’t let them read anything while waiting for the clients. It’s bad.
Technically it's illegal to be a prostitute in Vegas itself (county law) but legal in some nearby areas.
I'm sure illegal prostitution continues though. Not that legal or illegal is an important distinction compared to whether it's coerced or not.
Caught this on Nebula last week (spaced out over several days) and wanted to say that it's worth every minute. I didn't even realize there's going to be a forthcoming part 3 and now I'm really looking forward to that, too. Extra content with Foreign & FD Signifier was also fantastic (and I gotta recommend anyone else to follow them if you're not already).
The amount of innuendo in just the intro has me rolling (also, is it hot in here??)
I appreciate the Riker warning and the lil recap too. The subtitles are working pretty well so far (as far as auto-generated ones go)
Yeah, Tasha's back story was one of the things I hated most about her, and her writing is so weird. I liked crusher and Pulowski is honestly great (I wish they had her too, both were awesome). There's definately terrible sexism when you look back on it, I always caught it on spike TV when I was a teenager so I didn't really examine it a whole bunch at the time, but you point out a lot of the issues succinctly.
And they never really explained *why*. Yeah, war is hell. That's all they gave. Civil War, ergo, rape gangs. That was pretty much the sum total of it.
I wanted to love Tasha. She had so much potential, but Denise Crosby was right: they didn't give her shit to do. Hell, her little sister Ishara was almost a more developed character in one episode than Tasha became in the greater part of a season. (legit: Ishara Yar could have been a principal character in a ST series).
Yeah, the episodes where Troi gets her memory invaded and raped is my absolute least favorite tng episode. They treat her like such crap and there's no justice. It seriously makes me upset when I watch, I hate it tbh
OMG YAAAAAAS I LOVE LWAXANA!!!!!! SHE'S SO HECKIN AMAZING!!!
🤣🤣🤣 Nutsack for a face lolol!!
Took me a few days, but I finally finished the first 2 hours of the vid! Stellar so far!
Bit of a Content Warning for SA stuff going forward:
It was kind of rough getting past the section about how much assault is used in Star Trek, because whenever I see it used only as a tool to express how bad a villain is, the victim is ignored, if not outright forced to confront a horrific situation where they have to relive their trauma, and its gutwrenching in a way that I just can't put into words. Being a male survivor of SA myself, I can say that seeing Tasha be so open about her trauma is actually kinda vital for people like me. I personally do not speak about with anyone, but we very much know that when we speak of it, it will make people viscerally uncomfortable because often times they don't have the tools to engage with that or have simply never spoken to someone who was open with having gone through that hurt, but its so important that we make it clear what we have gone through. The ability to just state it openly grants us a sense of power over our own autonomy, and since so many survivors opt to keep quiet, just seeing someone who is strong enough to confront it and voice is enough to help the quieter people who'd rather keep it unmentioned to get the help they rightfully deserve.
At least that's my 20 cents, other people likely see it different.
At the part where you talked about the composition of the TNG writer's room. As much as I love DS9, it was the only show that only had white cishet men on the main writing staff. Anyone else was a freelance.
Really? Never would have thought.
Obviously the skin color of the writers doesn't matter as much as one would think.
At least we had an amazing woman captain in Voyager. Plus we had 7 of 9 later on.
@@MiraSmit skin color doesn't necessarily matter but experiences and knowledge base do. It is very difficult to write what you truly do not know and, like the Risa section of this video states, these writers do not know sex work or sex tourism and could only approach it from an outsider perspective (I mean, they could also have gone out and asked for input from sex workers in a sex touristy place but they were writing for most of a season and Risa episodes tend to be more or less one offs, they probably didn't think it particularly important to go into detail on...). I'm not saying they are bad writers or anything, just that their experience colored what they deemed important and worth focusing on and that someone with a different experience may have come to a different conclusion on what is important and worth developing.
It's interesting considering that it's the only one addressing diversity in any satisfactory way imho. Like they could have done some things way better way more and some of their ideas were terrible, but at least those ideas were there.
Finally finished the video and I have a lot of thoughts:
- Troi looked SO much better in an actual uniform, yet they somehow repeated this same mistake in Voyager with Seven Of Nine.
- Frakes's delivery of "Or more?" is absolutely classic.
- I'll admit, I initially disliked Pulaski for basically deadnaming Data, but in hindsight that was probably a bit unfair. It's too bad Muldaur and McFadden essentially had to compete for the show's last remaining "female main cast member slot" when they both could've been great additions to the cast's overall dynamic.
- As a former warehouse worker for a certain auto parts retailer, I can confirm that Worf's experience in that cargo bay is an all-too-common one; I myself got a moderate concussion once as a direct result of multiple coworkers' carelessness, and it actually could've been prevented by a single bungee cord.
- That montage of clips from "Sub Rosa" was glorious. 10/10
- I never thought about how tragic it was not only that K'Ehleyr died but more specifically that she was replaced by Alexander. Talk about diminishing dramatic returns...
- Foreign Man's excellent points about Risa are just more proof that the planet's culture was criminally under-written from the start; Imagine the fascinating and nuanced storylines possible on an alien planet where physical intimacy is viewed as an essential form of communication. Some open-minded bi/pan individuals such as myself might view that as a paradise, but MOST humans actually wouldn't be comfortable with that at all, and especially not ace people. To even interact with Risa, the Enterprise would've needed some kind of sexual ambassador.
- I've had a new idea for a Trek series: Star Trek: Sex Ambassador.
- Picard finally breaking down in "Family" makes me cry every time.
- Bring on the utopian sex salamander future!
- Berman changing alternate-Tasha's fate wasn't something I was previously aware of and is utterly confounding; What does it add? Why not just have Sela be a clone made partially from Tasha's DNA? The Romulans DO seem fairly obsessed with cloning anyway, although I'm not sure when exactly that specific idea started to enter the canon.
- "The Outcast" is still a valuable contribution to Trek but I dislike how Soren seemingly stops caring about Riker at all after she's forcibly converted back to a cis enby, as if to say that not adhering to the gender binary means either that you can't feel love or attraction the way binary people do or that those feelings can ONLY be centered on other nonbinary people.
- Generally, the slow progress of queer and gender-nonconforming representation in Trek and other popular media franchises seems even weirder when considered alongside Drummer's amazing polycule on The Expanse; Maybe stuff like TNG was necessary to pave the way for it, but it almost seems like the Belters' views on sex and gender are pointed rebukes of what was missing from earlier sci-fi. Basically Drummer is the best ever and I love her.
- Take however much time to rest that you need, Jessie! Things have been ROUGH the past few weeks, for everyone in the States. I'm especially worried about the entire generation of young people who have posted clear evidence of their queerness to the internet and might at some point in the horrifyingly near future live in states where that can get them arrested. Whether that is allowed to happen comes down to whether we're all willing to fight, and sometimes in order to fight you have to rest.
- All in all, this was a fantastic video and I can't wait for the DS9 installment!
Excellent thoughts. Never thought about how Seven never had a uniform really. Some tight clothes if I remember it right.
Very interesting thoughts. I had the idea that Risa wasn't quite what "Foreign Man' described, as it is a Federation Member and is not a impoverished planet (climate and to prevent quakes). But how could a "pleasure planet" exist in the Federation Charter?
Re: Troi's uniform. They also repeated the same mistake with T'pol in Enterprise, even when they had the opportunity to put her in a uniform.
Riker excitedly volunteers for the role of Sex Ambassador
Guinan is an awesome character. She's deep. I didn't feel like she wasn't a fully realized character or only a magical spirit guid black woman. Her role always felt wise, quiet, deep, mysterious, with more there than we ever knew about. Yes, my view was probably influenced by having seen her comedy monologue on the little white girl with beautiful blonde hair, where Whoopi uses a yellow shirt to make pretend hair, to illustrate a piece of her childhood. That really hit home for me, seeing that at college-age around the time (before?) her role on TNG. (It's powerful; whatever color you are, you should seek it out and watch for what it says about all of us.) I don't think the two Sister Act movies had been out yet, but I think Jumping' Jack Flash had been. So I knew who Whoopi was, and I'd read a couple go interview pieces where she'd said why she wanted to be in Star Trek. I think Ghost had already been out. So I knew Whoopi was smart, incisively witty and funny, and she could act really well. She had said she looked up to Nichelle Nichols as Uhura, but I'm not sure her full explanation had been out (or rather, that I had seen it) before I saw her on TNG. -- I might have heard that Levar Burton had been in Roots, but I'm not sure if I knew that back then. (I had been young enough that my parents didn't want me to see Roots, for the violence, even though I'm sure black kids my age saw it, growing up. But by college-age, I still hadn't seen it.) When Avery Brooks was cast as Cmdr. Benjamin Sisko, I had no idea who he was, but whew, he nailed it, and haha, his real-life persona is even bigger! Tuvok as a dark-skinned Vulcan actually makes very good sense, given how Vulcan is mostly a desert planet, heat and sun. And note, Nichelle Nichols rocked as Uhura, but oh, I wish she'd gotten more than the few times she got away from opening hailing frequencies. Note: She did console repairs and got a compliment from Spock, she took the navigator's station once, and she took the science station at least once, besides her rec room scene with Spock and her Tribbles scenes. People forget she did get some scenes, but yes, all the regulars on TOS needed more screen time. Representation matters, and if we're ever going to get to where "color" (skin) and "race" don't matter, then we need to change a lot more than we have. The steps backward lately (or more visibility that they didn't go as far forward as white folks might've thought) need to go forward again and really change, for all of us who are somehow "different."
She can be good and a character and fill the magical n...o trope. like tony todd in final destiatioy. She owns but its still aplying.
And tony todd is the best character in the franchise, but still, its a trope that many characters fall into.
She made this a wonderful character and one Whoopi brought a lot to it (she was an Academy Award winner), but I agree with the idea that this is *also* a trope. Fully both are true at the same time.
Thanks! You make fantastic, informative, funny, deep, thoughtful, well researched videos and I just love your work.
Congrats Jessie, I feel like I just took an undergrad class on TNG in the department of gender studies at a university. This is quality stuff. I also really appreciate you bringing in other TH-camrs whose experiences and perspectives really elevated the material and allowed is to go more places. You've given me a lot of chew on in a franchise that I know really well.
I first came across your channel when you talked about "Our Flag Means Death." When I saw this video I was intrigued, but the five hour duration initially really turned me off. Fortunately I gave it a chance and broke it up into 7 or 8 sessions. Worth it, but yeah, some people will skip it because of the length. Maybe split them into shorter videos? I don't know. You're the TH-cam pro.
Also thank you for being so honest and raw at the end. A cis het white guy like me can result get lost in the theory of all off these issues, and forget the real life experiences and consequences of all the things happening in the world. Your vulnerability helps me to be a better ally. At least I hope it does.
Keep going. And congrats on your final surgery! We'll still need here after your break, waiting to welcome you back.
I feel like they modeled Pike after Riker’s school of how to be flirty yet charming with sex and with women, because all the things you describe with positively with Riker is also present in Pike’s interactions so far with the two women he’s seen in relationships with. He’s just so darn charming and affable and respectful and loves cuddling. Perfect. Thankfully Riker and Pike have never been in the same room or else we might all lose our minds 😆
AMAZING video Jessie. I just told my wife and housemates about the klingon anatomy and we all LOL'd.
It's hard seeing how harsh the world is, especially to trans people, at the moment, and I'm so sorry that it's so damaging to you. Just to reassure you that this and all your other content is the highlight in my day. Very thoughtfully put together, funny, and it's great to hear and see many of my other favourites featured.
Anyway, I hope you are recovering well from your surgery and not in too much pain. I'm excited to see the results and hope it brings you everything you hope for.
Have a wonderful month off. I personally will be watching your content to hopefully appease the algorithm
the fact that i have minimal trek experience and happily watched a five and a half hour video on it is enough to say to the quality of the video, but it's all so GOOD with the more technical/entertainment stuff (costumes, framing, jokes, etc.) to the, ahem, *meat* of the video and the care that goes into dissecting characters and scenes and themes at various levels (behind the scenes, the material, fan reception), and, of course, the excellent contributions from foreign man in a foreign land and FD signifier and arranock. like, i cannot imagine how long this took to put together, but it was absolutely worth it imo, i had a great time watching this
edit: also i now see the riker appeal
A five-hour video on a series I've never watched seemed daunting, but I'm digging the casual documentary-like conversation feel to it. I'm about an hour into this and really enjoying the discussion and the numerous sex puns :D A lot of work went into this and it shows.
Never been into Trek and have vague memories of TNG as a kid, but I've heard good things about Strange New Worlds (and Lower Decks) - though haven't taken the leap just yet.
Thank you for this incredible video essay and all the work you put into it.
I wasn’t planning on watching this video in one sitting but I did because of how well presented this discussion was and the guest parts were even better. Thank you for taking all this time and energy. I really enjoyed it and look forward to more in this series when you get to it.
I opened the video to find the bit about Risa, chanting to my self "I will not watch the whole video. I will not watch the whole video."
I may yet succeed, but I'm starting to doubt it.
Edit: typo
update: I did succeed in turning it of and go to bed, but I also came back and rewatched the rest of it.
watching this as an asexual feels like studying a bunch of rats in a maze lol
(great work tho of course, learning a lot about both topics right now!)
Jessie, amazing video. Truly unreal the amount of time and effort put into this. This has helped me contextualize a lot of the more problematic things I picked up on during my first watch through of TNG. It was my first venture into the Star Trek universe and I loved it so much, but something about the newer series feels better to me (in the sense of representation in a futuristic society). I could not agree with your last statement more, there is so much humanity to be recognized in what was there and to still recognize that we have room for progress. Thank you so much for this. 💚
I remember when I ran across "Firefly", I noticed right away the obvious aesthetic similarities between the TNG "councilor" character and the "muse / companion" character in Firefly, in the 1st episode. When Firefly added a priest character that explicitly labeled her a "whore", I immediately recalled watching an episode of TNG with my dad at age 9, during its first airing in which my dad laughed uproariously at some plot point where the councilor had helped to raise officer morale with a series of hour long closed door in-office sessions that proved to save the Enterprise, leaving her exhausted. Seeing as I was 9 in 1990, I made a mental note that my dad laughs at unfunny details.
Small correction: Book didn't label Inara a whore; Mal told Book "She's a whore."
Thank you for making this. I really appreciate all the work you put into it. I hope you are having a good rest and are recovering well. Know that I and all your other fans will be here when you are ready to come back.
I think Luxanna also was overly flirtatious with Picard because she knew she was the only one who could make him flustered
I was uncomfortable at first with everything because I've never seen your channel before. You made good points and talked about many things I had not thought about before. Good job.
I'm strictly hetero, and some of my funniest experiences from my college days in the late 70's involved friends "coming out" to me. One, Mike, asked to come over for a margarita party. We only had to supply the blender. My gut reaction? Oh, that explains a LOT. But the funniest part was, he only acknowledged it to himself two years before. He and his roommate were going to a Halloween party at the frat house, and the roommate asked me and my roommate to dress him up as a girl. We were so successful that the other guys didn't realize he was a guy. (He was kind of pretty.) The next morning he came around to ask us how to get off the nail polish. Uh, it's enamel, so paint remover. Anyway, it was following that party that Mike realized he was in love with the roommate, and that he was gay. (I should add, this was a very small technical college with just one fraternity, completely full of geeks.)
Started this video as a Riker neutral, am now a changed man. Great work as always!
I started this video during the premier and thought it would under two hours... it turned out to be quite a lot longer than that, but I somehow made it to the end in one sitting, and regret nothing!
This came out while I was studying for the bar exam, so I’m just getting to it now. I love the like 5 minute music video of Riker being ridiculously sexy.
For the DS9 episode, I humbly request at least an hour of the, I’m sure, 13 hour run time to be dedicated to totally real, definitely not only in my head, 100% valid Bashir/Garak romance.
2.5 hours in. Amazing work. 2 things, loved Stranger's piece on sex tourism. As someone who's done sex work, the point about alienation from one's work was well made. On Risa, even assuming the culture is incredibly sex positive, I can't imagine having other cultures/species exploiting that aspect of culture not having negative impacts, if only as cutural exploitation.
Q. The scene at the end of Picard, when Q hugs Picard, was so intense, it would have worked so well, and explianed so much, if Q had declared his love as he was about to die. After all, Q csn be any gender, age, species (including the dog or scarecrow), and love for Picard doesn't negate real feeling for Janeway. Also, Stewart considered the gay stuff. He's a great friend of Ian McKellen. 😊❤️❤️❤️🏳️🌈
" He's a great friend of Ian McKellen." Of course he is! Not sure if that was true when that quote was from though, do you know if Stewart knew McKellen at all well before they both worked on the X-Men movies?
This deserves so many more views than it's gotten so far, and there's a lot I want to respond to, but for now I just wanted to say I am soooo excited for you getting your FFS finally! I know it got pushed off because of the pandemic, and the extra wait has been difficult, so i'm extra stoked for you that it's finally here. Sending an e-hug; here's to a fast recovery!
"John de Lancie's charisma alone just gets me to take my clothes off."
Speaking as an asexual, hard same.
This was a real tour de force. Fun and deep and important. And helpful to me. Congratulations. I look forward to the next ones - if I can find them.
"Rick, *orgies?* men and women and cumming and sex!" I know it's a puritanical censorship but this cracked me up🤣
It took a week, but I watched the whole thing! Thank you for the tremendous work you put into this, Jessie. It was funny, informative, and in places deeply affecting. Thank you.
5.5 hours?! Jessie! You beautiful madwoman, you!
No but honestly, fantastic work as always. I'm an hour in and it's already wonderful ^_^
I just made it through the entire main portion of the video (your closing thoughts are playing as I type). Side note, I have no idea how someone could watch the first part and think you hate/despise/dislike star trek.
This was an incredible journey. I cannot wait for part 3, and I love hearing your insight and personal experiences through it all. Like I commented on the first part, just wow. Incredible stuff.