MovieChat Forums > Star Trek (2009) Discussion > 23rd Century Mini Skirt

23rd Century Mini Skirt

posted 8 years ago by kmj-35654
16 replies | jump to latest

Why are Uhura and the female crew members in mini skirts and the male crew members in pants?? Considering that Star Trek takes place so far into the future that seems ridiculous and sexist. Would there not be more equality in the dress codes by then? I mean hundreds of years from now if the ladies are still in mini skirts it would make sense to at least show some of the male crew members wearing one also. Yes, if Uhura still has to wear a mini uniform, put Kirk in one also! LOL Or let the ladies wear pants. Either way, because Star Trek takes place in the 23rd Century for gosh sake!

[–] Kruleworld 8 years ago

I'm sure if you asked the crew (director, costume designer) they'd just brush it off as homage to the original series. Personally, if the world doesn't let women wear mini skirts, i'd be very disappointed. 😉

"He's dusted, busted and disgusted, but he's ok"

[–] kya1 8 years ago

Talking about equality in dress codes implies that skirts are not the same value as trousers, somehow. Some people would see it as just making distinctions between the sexes.

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[–] vicky_lc2001-1 8 years ago

If you'd like to see male crew members in a minidress, I highly recommend you watch the first season or first episode of TNG.

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[–] kmj-35654 8 years ago

Yes I remember seeing male crew members in a minidress in TNG. That seems more progressive. That's why they should as least show some of the males in a minidress uniform in the movies also. Especially if the females are still wearing them. It's really unlikely that by the 23rd century there would be distinction in the dress codes based on a person's sex. It seems that by then the uniforms would be more gender neutral.

[–] Return_of_the_STAR 8 years ago

It's sexist because the men can't wear shorts.

[–] kmj-35654 8 years ago

When I watch the new Star Trek movies and see the female characters going around in those short-sleeved minidress uniforms it seems so ridiculous! So archaic! It shows a lack of vision on the director and producer's part. But these films are made by men for a young male audience. So the girls are mainly there for "eye candy" no doubt.

[–] rj-27 8 years ago

It's not ridiculous if you consider the original series was filmed in the late 60's which had women in mini-skirts as the height of fashion.

If the original series had been "progressive" in their thinking - let's say like the BBC production of Space 1999 which had women in pantsuits along with the men, which just so happened to be in the height of fashion when it was produced in the mid 70's - then the movie would certainly have reflected that.

The point being, as with the development of the most beloved characters from the original TV show, the producers were attempting to be as faithful as possible without contradicting the important elements that made the TV show so endearing.

Democracy is the pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance. H.L. Mencken

[–] kmj-35654 8 years ago

Yes, I know in the original series the women wore miniskirts. The 60s era was a little before my time, but from what I understand, miniskirts worn by women in the late 1960s was considered to be progressive in that time period. That's no longer the case in 2009.

The producers have not been entirely faithful to the original series. They have made changes in the uniforms that the male characters wear. The male uniforms are not exactly the same as the uniforms worn by the men from the 1960s TV series. The 2009 Spock character is way more emotional than the original Spock. Uhura is kissing Spock? WTH? Now she is his sort of girlfriend??? LOL The Enterprise set in the film is very different from the the TV series. With all these changes and modifications, they certainly could have made the uniforms more gender neutral! LOL

I have nothing against miniskirts. But wouldn't it be ridiculous if the female military uniform in 2016 was a miniskirt and go-go boots? So the idea that only the female officers would wear that type of uniform in the 23rd century just seems very sexist and regressive.

[–] rj-27 8 years ago

You make some good points. The differences in uniform details also correspond to differences in interior ship details, presumably because the original series, costly as it was, still produced some cheesy looking set pieces.

As for Uhura's open infatuation with Spock, perhaps this is an allusion to some backstory romance that got resolved by the time they reached a different level of maturity when the original TV series takes place. I really don't know what the heck they are trying to do there. Maybe an attempt to show Spock's soft side? Which leads to....

Re Spock being more emotional: this is an interesting point and if you have a chance to see the original series pilot with Jeffery Hunter as the captain, don't miss it. You will definitely see a much more emotionally charged Spock in that pilot than you see by the time the actual series gets underway with William Shatner.

The only explanation that comes forward to me to account for the difference is, the writers wanted a more austere portrayal to add to the air of mystery about Spock and who he is as a person of authority and mixed ancestry, and set him apart in stark contrast to the bombastic nature of Kirk.

Democracy is the pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance. H.L. Mencken

[–] kmj-35654 8 years ago

I think the writers made Uhura infatuated with Spock because otherwise, the Uhura character( the only major female character), would have no purpose in a sci-fi action film like this. Other than standing around in a mini skirt of course! LOL

[–] ScrystaLz 8 years ago

Oh Uhura had a purpose alright, she was in charge of Communications and was the xenolinguistics expert, she had a very important role on the crew...the problem is the way they utilized and portrayed her character, the writers failed to highlight the importance of Uhura's role on the crew, and failed to really showcase her skills and abilities as the Communications officer and xenolinguistics expert...instead, the writers focused more on making her character just a love interest for Spock. Uhura is a very important member of the crew, and her character had a lot of potential to be a interesting character and showcasing her many skills as the communications and xenolinguistics expert...but instead, the writers mainly just cared about making her a love interest 😒

[–] kmj-35654 8 years ago

That's exactly what I meant. In a male dominated sci fi movie like Star Trek, the best the writers could do for the female lead is to turn her into "eye candy" and a sort of "love interest". It's difficult to take the female characters seriously when they are dressed like cheerleaders in the 23rd century!

[–] ScrystaLz 8 years ago

Well the original Uhura in TOS wasn't like that, she was originally portrayed as an independent woman who didn't need a man in her life, she just did her job and sometimes she mingled and sort of "flirted" with the other characters, but she was mainly portrayed as a career woman in TOS. She just did her job and they focused mainly on her role and her position on the crew in charge of communications and xenolinguistics.
But in this reboot, Uhura is mainly just portrayed as a love interest...whereas her career and her role on the crew takes a backseat...these writers are so backwards and don't know how to write a good female lead in a male-dominated franchise. Even though ST is very male-dominated, they could still write a good strong female character...even just downplay the Spock-Uhura relationship and put more focus and emphasis on Uhura's character alone, have her character grow and evolve on her own and highlighting her skills & abilities and the importance of her role on the team is enough. They don't necessarily have to break up Spock & Uhura, but just put more focus on Uhura's character on her own, personally I think the writers should put more emphasis on Uhura's character on her own while her relationship with Spock should be put on the backseat instead. And it's not like the Spock-Uhura couple is popular with fans anyway...in fact, most ST fans (both new and old) seem to dislike this couple...it's all the more reason to put less focus on this couple.

[–] rj-27 8 years ago

All I know is, it's not working for me.

I guess, and this is only a guess, they figure if a sexy black woman can't get Spock to have an emotional meltdown then no one can.

Democracy is the pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance. H.L. Mencken

[–] hyphens11 8 years ago

It's the impracticality of it that gets me. Like, not only sitting down at your station would it ride up in the back, but if you're working in Engineering or medical or something, it'll be hell to work comfortably and not be self-conscious.

I know it's a movie, but I just can't suspend my disbelief enough to be alright with the tiny skirts.

[–] CynicalDremer 8 years ago

Are you a woman? And why would you be self conscious? I'm a woman and I would love to wear mini skirts all the time. There is much more freedom of movement. Plus it's the future, who cares about the occasional flash of bum? I'm just not seeing anything sexist about it.