Aliens Aren't Minorities.

In the preceding articles, discussed were how aliens could be used as proxies for: Asians, Africans, Amerindians, or Europeans. Now all those groups will be discussed, and how these aliens relate to racism and anti-racism will be explained.

Seemingly as a response to the critique by some that science fiction was 'escapist' literature, modern science fiction is notable for trying to address current issues and their various facets. One of the most prominent of those issues is racism.

That so many science fiction stories and films not only address racism, but try to actively combat it is quite admirable. Especially considering the common reaction of the 'white' majority is one of being a 'silent majority.' The majority despise racism, but don't speak out against it or work to end racial discrimination. Exacerbating this is the fact that many non-'whites' don't have much solidarity. For instance, 'blacks' may join in with 'whites' in insulting Asians or Latinos, while people in those groups may join in with 'whites' in insulting 'blacks' and each other. Then there's the tendency of Asians to be racist among themselves (i.e. Northeast Asians looking down on Southeast Asians). And in rare cases there is contemptible racism towards 'whites' (as opposed to the much more common resentful racism towards 'whites'). Science fiction does a fair job at covering all of this. But, as will be explained, there are still flaws in science fiction authors' tactics.

The earlier articles which set a 'groundwork' of sorts, covered Star Trek, Star Wars, and Babylon 5. Although many other science fiction realms delve into racism, these are the stories that will be used here.

Anti-racism via alien relations began early on in Star Trek, with the Original Series. Spock was a frequent victim of 'speciesist' discrimination, subjected to many insults solely based on his being Vulcan.

In Voyager, B'Ellana Torres mentions being picked on as a child for being half-Klingon; racism is given as one of the main reasons for Torres' temper. B'Ellana once wished that her cranial ridges were less noticeable. Further showing how destructive racism can be, Torres initially seeks to alter the genome of her and Tom Paris' child so as to protect the child from the same insults Torres faced while growing up. Analogous to how many non-'whites' seek out 'white' spouses in the hopes that their children will be accepted as being 'American' or can pass as 'white.'

Star Trek Enterprise, in turn, deals with T'pol and Trip's Vulcan-human relationship. In this case, T'pol's mother states that if they had a child, that child would be a shame. After the Xindi attacks, there is speciesism on Earth; the Vulcans hide in their compound while Phlox faces bullies in a bar who try to intimidate him simply because he's non-human. (Somewhat related is the episode where Archer and co. travel to the Xindi colony and abduct the arboreal Xindi scientist who points out that not all Xindi are bad--an obvious link to the September 11 attacks and pointing out that not all Muslims are bad).

While the Star Wars films do not address racism directly--with an exception being the Imperial prison officer's reaction to 'prisoner' Chewbacca in A New Hope--the Expanded Universe potentially beats out Star Trek in this field. COMPNOR is a speciesist institution. Non-humans such as the Wookiees and Mon Calamari are enslaved by the Empire. Non-humans in general are considered as animals, and alien worlds lost their Senate seats soon after the establishment of the Empire. And even the Chiss look down on other species, a case of Asian racism. The Yevetha boil over into full-fledged genocidal speciesism. Meanwhile, the Gungans are just considered to be stupid, but not worth exterminating, by the human Naboo.

Babylon 5 plunges deep into the topic, actually pointing out how history is a large determinant of racism. The Narn hate the Centauri because the Centauri enslaved them. And because the Centauri were able to enslave the Narn, the Centauri hold contempt for the Narn. This parallels closely with many 'blacks' opinions toward 'whites,' and many 'whites' opinions toward 'blacks.' Similarly, humans and Mimbari have hostility toward each other due to the Earth-Mimbari War. Many Asians, and even some Americans, harbor great anger toward all Japanese based on Imperial Japan's aggression over sixty years ago.

While the use of aliens, and alien settings, is a 'safe' avenue for discussing racism, it isn't the ideal option.

Most poignantly is the fact that odds are an alien species would not be at the same level of development as a human. They would be either more developed, or less.

Aliens would probably not have the same neurotransmitter and hormonal levels as humans. They would thus be more or less aggressive or passive than humans, and would notably separate personalities and behaviors than humans.

Such is not the case for human 'races.' Although each human individual has slightly more or less mutations than other humans, and has varying hormonal and neurotransmitter levels than other humans--both within and between 'races'--all humans have pretty close to the same levels as other humans. All humans are quite similar in their physical composition.

And this is why using aliens--who would not be all that close to humans in intelligence and the way they viewed the universe--should not be used as proxies for 'races' of humanity. If science fiction wants to address and combat racism, they will have to be brave and address racism on either a human-to-human or species 'x' to species 'x' level. It is good that science fiction authors are trying to instill anti-racist stances in there readers and viewers.

Now they just have to be plucky enough to do it the proper, but hard, way.

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Aliens Aren't Amerindians (or Europeans).

From the Vulcans and Klingons of Star Trek to the myriad aliens of Star Wars, to the Mimbari, Centauri, and Narns of Babylon 5, extraterrestrial non-humans, and human reactions to them, have been used to address racism toward racial minorities in the West, primarily the United States. Although borne of good intent, this tactic for combating racism is neither ideal nor the smartest option.

Firstly, the aliens with their corresponding 'race:'

Amerindians and Europeans
From Star Trek, the Romulans, although distant cousins of the Vulcans (itself suggestive of the mildly racist idea that Europeans and Asians have much more in common than they do with Africans), have an empire obviously based on the Roman Empire. They are run be a proconsul, a Senate, and their planet is named Romulus, which also happens to be the name of the mythological founder of Rome (there is also a Remus for the Romulans). The Romulans are passionate and driven to conquest. There House system roughly approximates the noble houses in European post-Roman history.

In Star Wars, including the so-called Expanded Universe, there are the Yuuzhan Vong, who--while also representing aspects of the Hindu caste system and Islamism--share a fair amount in common with the Maya and other Mesoamerican peoples, in their ritual mutilation of themselves and others, their considering human sacrifice an honor, in their religion, and with their 'oneness' and great skill with nature.

In Babylon 5, almost uniquely for science fiction, Europeans are given their own race apart from humans, the Centauri. Along with humans, the major species in Babylon 5 are the Mimbari (Asians), the Narn (Africans), and the Vorlons (who don't correspond to a human 'race'). The Centauri used to have a great empire and many subject races, one of whom were the Narn. They have since fallen into decline. They are the most similar in appearance to humans (Americans). They are an epicurean species who are prideful and artistic.

Summary
Amerindians and Europeans are the 'races' least represented by extraterrestrial aliens in science fiction. Amerindians because they are few in number, and relatively little has been uncovered about their pre-Spanish (or other European) cultures and ways of life. Europeans because they are often treated the same as 'white' Americans, who usually are represented by humans. Babylon 5 is a notable exception to this tendency.

[This is the third part of a four part series, concluding with an article on how these 'racial aliens' are used to address the concept of racism; this article is primarily to set-up how aliens are linked to human 'races,' while the last in the series will actually address the racism part. The next article will be the conclusion, discussing how science fiction is used to address 'racial' bigotry, and how it falls short.]

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History: The Roadmap to the Future--Latin America.

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The Science Fiction Channel + Technorium.
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Aliens Aren't Asians.

From the Vulcans and Klingons of Star Trek to the myriad aliens of Star Wars, to the Mimbari, Centauri, and Narns of Babylon 5, extraterrestrial non-humans, and human reactions to them, have been used to address racism toward racial minorities in the West, primarily the United States. Although borne of good intent, this tactic for combating racism is neither ideal nor the smartest option.

Firstly, the aliens with their corresponding 'race:'

Asians
From Star Trek, the foremost 'Asian' aliens are the Vulcans. The Vulcans physically have straight black hair (in later series, brown is also seen), sallow (yellow) skin, and slanted eye....brows. Socially, they are logical, and have an enormous degree of composure. Culturally, their writing system seems to be based on a cross between Chinese (vertical, with separating lines drawn onto the paper) and Indic script (flowing, with lines connecting words), while they meditate and practice martial arts. Other 'Asians' in Star Trek are the Andorians--with whom the Vulcans are often hostile--who play the part of the Palestinians (in this case, the Vulcans are the Israelis).

In Star Wars, including the so-called Expanded Universe, extraterrestrials bearing resemblance to Asian nations are also quite conspicuous. Duly criticized, was the portrayal of the Nemoidians as greedy, cowardly, immoral, business-oriented opportunists--charges often leveled at Chinese. Similarly, the critics pointed out that the Toydarian, Watto, played to Middle Eastern stereotypes. Also in the Middle Eastern vein--to some degree--are the Twi'leks and Hutts. Meanwhile, the Chiss are clearly a Chinese-Japanese mix, with the Vagarie being the Mongols. The Noghri bear a similitude to Filipinos. And the Yuuzhan Vong are used to address the South Asian caste system, Islamism, and East Asian warrior 'ethos.'

For Babylon 5, there are the Mimbari, a race that dresses in Chinese-Korean style garb, holds stereotypically Asian ethics, and is considered more advanced than, but more culturally stagnant than, humanity.

Summary
Overall, the 'Asian' aliens often tend to not get such a bad shtick, often considered to be more advanced technologically and more civilized than the humans (who--somewhat offensively--are practically synonymous with 'white' Westerners). Which is merely a manifestation of the actual world, where those of Asian descent are largely less mistreated in the West than those of African descent. As will be seen in the next part of this series, 'African' aliens do get a bad wrap.

[This is the first part of a four part series, concluding with an article on how these 'racial aliens' are used to address the concept of racism; this article is primarily to set-up how aliens are linked to human 'races,' while the last in the series will actually address the racism part. The next article will discuss 'African' aliens.]
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Found this article interesting? Check out:
The Vegetarian Diaries.

Or:
The Roadmap to the Future.
The Roadmap to the Future--Africa.
The Roadmap to the Future--Asia.
The Roadmap to the Future--Europe.
The Roadmap to the Future--Latin America.

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History: The Roadmap to the Future.
History: The Roadmap to the Future--Africa.
History: The Roadmap to the Future--Asia.
History: The Roadmap to the Future--Europe.
History: The Roadmap to the Future--Latin America.

Or:
The Science Fiction Channel + Technorium.
The Vegetarian Diaries + Biologeel.