Uhura is Smart! Yay!
May. 14th, 2009 11:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
starvinbohemianI was going to compile a list of Spock/Uhura fic recs and articles, but then the fandom just EXPLODED! So much fic! Too much to keep up with! It's fantastic. :D I love this pairing so much, and it's marvelous fun seeing so many people loving on them, too, particularly at [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com].
On the downside, I've already come across fics that swiftly remove Uhura from the picture so that Kirk and Spock can live happily ever after, and that does not sparkle with me. Does not sparkle at all. It's a little surreal being on the other side of the "canon het pairing" vs. "fanon slash OTP" battle. I don't think that's ever happened before... Oh, wait, never mind, Torchwood. Still, it's rare for me to prefer the canon het pairing because "the love interest" is usually written so poorly, so transparently, or so offensively that it's almost a mercy to take her out of the picture. Yeah, I'm still lookin' at you, Padme Amidala. I won't even look at you, Ginny Weasley. Did I say that it was a mercy for her? I meant me.
But Nyota Uhura is no Padme or Ginny. Hells no. As evidenced by this quote from Zoe Saldana from here:
And Saldana herself figures that for serious, career-minded Uhura, Spock is more her type than an on-the-prowl guy like Kirk. "I'm pretty sure that Uhura would choose a night in and studying 10 times over going out and partying it up and hooking up with a boy," Saldana said. "Who other than Spock to come in and sort of possess all the qualities that she sees in herself, that she would like to continue to obtain, and that she would want to see in a man? I almost feel like Kirk would be the opposite and be someone she just wouldn't go for."
YES. Similar comments from the people behind the movie reveal creators actually taking the time to THINK about a heroine before shoving her into a corset, a contrived relationship, and a useless story line (in that order). And now I'm lookin' at you, Elizabeth Swan. A girl like Uhura wouldn't go for a guy like Kirk, but how many times have we seen the amorous frat boy seduce the smart girl by showing her that she needs to "have fun"? Too many times, my friends. The novelization reveals that a lot of "Uhura being a genius and great at her job" stuff was unfortunately cut from the film, but the fact that these aspects of her still came through in the movie is testament to how freaking cool she is. Yes, I think I have something of a girl-crush on Uhura. What?
On the downside, I've already come across fics that swiftly remove Uhura from the picture so that Kirk and Spock can live happily ever after, and that does not sparkle with me. Does not sparkle at all. It's a little surreal being on the other side of the "canon het pairing" vs. "fanon slash OTP" battle. I don't think that's ever happened before... Oh, wait, never mind, Torchwood. Still, it's rare for me to prefer the canon het pairing because "the love interest" is usually written so poorly, so transparently, or so offensively that it's almost a mercy to take her out of the picture. Yeah, I'm still lookin' at you, Padme Amidala. I won't even look at you, Ginny Weasley. Did I say that it was a mercy for her? I meant me.
But Nyota Uhura is no Padme or Ginny. Hells no. As evidenced by this quote from Zoe Saldana from here:
And Saldana herself figures that for serious, career-minded Uhura, Spock is more her type than an on-the-prowl guy like Kirk. "I'm pretty sure that Uhura would choose a night in and studying 10 times over going out and partying it up and hooking up with a boy," Saldana said. "Who other than Spock to come in and sort of possess all the qualities that she sees in herself, that she would like to continue to obtain, and that she would want to see in a man? I almost feel like Kirk would be the opposite and be someone she just wouldn't go for."
YES. Similar comments from the people behind the movie reveal creators actually taking the time to THINK about a heroine before shoving her into a corset, a contrived relationship, and a useless story line (in that order). And now I'm lookin' at you, Elizabeth Swan. A girl like Uhura wouldn't go for a guy like Kirk, but how many times have we seen the amorous frat boy seduce the smart girl by showing her that she needs to "have fun"? Too many times, my friends. The novelization reveals that a lot of "Uhura being a genius and great at her job" stuff was unfortunately cut from the film, but the fact that these aspects of her still came through in the movie is testament to how freaking cool she is. Yes, I think I have something of a girl-crush on Uhura. What?
