Lt. Nyota Uhura is one of the legendary characters in the cultural phenonemon, Star Trek. The communications officer on the Starship Enterprise, Uhura was one of the original cast members and, with the later addition of Chekov, one of the iconic figures in the internationally renowned Star Trek mythos. Notably, the character is the only woman in that number and, additionally, Uhura is one of the few standout Black characters in science fiction popular culture. Her influence has been widespread; Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., poet Nikki Giovanni and astronaut Dr. Mae Jameson have all acknowledged the role the character has played in the shaping of society’s view on race and gender. As this preeminent figure in popular culture, a study of her evolving status within the Star Trek mythos can serve as a prism that can be used to examine how we have changed in our understanding of issues of race and gender.
This presentation will primarily critique Nichelle Nichols’ depiction. Nichols is the original Uhura, playing the character in all three seasons of Star Trek’s original run as well as reprising the role in six films. Altogether, Nichols played the role for twenty-five years-significant outside of other aspects of this character because it is the longest depiction of an African-American role-and the bulk of this study will focus on the character’s development during her tenure. The Nichols portion of my presentation will draw from the original run of the series, the character’s transition through the ranks during the six movies and examples of outside media, including the licensed comics, appearances in other multimedia venues and Nichols’ own observations from her autobiography, Beyond Uhura: Star Trek and Other Memories. The presentation will conclude with a small examination of Zoe Saldana’s performance in the rebooted Star Trek films.
About the presenterVincent Williams
Vincent Williams is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the English & Philosophy department at Drexel University. He teaches the entire Freshman Writing sequence as well as classes in African-American literature and science fiction. Williams is also a Faculty Fellow in the Drexel Writing Center, where he focuses on student tutoring, graduate training and specialized advising of faculty documents including fellowship applications, tenure review packages and academic submissions.