#brownfacing

[jacensolodjo]

"Really? It was the other way around for me. My mother was human. You must've grown up like I did, trapped between cultures." "I never felt trapped. I tried to experience the richness and diversity of the two worlds." "Perhaps you got the best of each."

[sweetface-the-dollbaby]

reblog if you’re a better person than lily orchard simply by not being lily orchard

[icedsodapop]

While it's great that Javier Bardem publicly supports Palestine even after being harassed for it a decade ago, I think it's incredibly telling about where we are at as a society that he got harassed and was allegedly blacklisted for supporting Palestine and not for supporting Woody Allen or doing Brownface in Dune.

(I know Lexi Alexander has personal stake since she's of Palestinian descent and he supports Palestine but like, come on Lexi...)

[worflesbian]

Klingons & Racialisation - the Long Post

This post is an overview of the racial coding of the Klingons from their first appearance to the present day, illustrated by quotes from Trek writers, actors and crew members taken from the Memory Alpha article Depicting Klingons, with my own interjected summaries and explanations. It is by no means comprehensive (I likely missed some stuff), and does not offer critical analysis of the quotes provided, but nonetheless is intended to demonstrate irreproachably the open fact that Klingons have always been intentionally written and designed as non-white -- something that fandom consistently fails to take into account when perpetuating racist stereotypes and reiterating racist canon content. I recommend reading the whole article for a more in-depth understanding of the subject, as well as seeking out the existing writing of fans of colour. This post is primarily for reference purposes so I've tried to limit my own analysis and opinions, but I do post those in my Klingon tag as well as more general headcanons and worldbuilding and I'm happy to answer any (good faith) questions this post may raise.

As always, if I have overstepped in any way as a white fan in making this post, I am grateful to be informed and will make any required changes.

Content warning for outdated and offensive language under the cut.

The Original Series

"There is some suggestion that the Klingons represent a Cold Warrior's view of China in the 1960s – swarthy, brutally repressive." (Star Trek Magazine issue 153, p. 66) "And I think he was basing a lot of it on the kind of attitude of the Japanese in World War II...." ("Errand of Mercy" Starfleet Access, TOS Season 1 Blu-ray) The script of "Errand of Mercy" introduces the Klingon look by saying, "We see the Klingons are Orientals," "Spray my hair black, give me a kind of swamp creature green olivey mud reptilian make-up, and we'll borrow some stuff from Fu Manchu, and put a long moustache and eyebrows on me." ("The Sword of Colicos", Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - The Official Poster Magazine, No. 8) "I think the makeup was called 'Mexican #1 or #2.' That was the name of the original makeup foundation – they actually had kind of racist names at the time, like 'Negro #1' and 'Mexican #2' – which was the basis for the original Star Trek makeups." (Star Trek Magazine issue 172, p. 59) "In the original series, all they wore was a dark face and their black hair," Michael Westmore observed. ("Michael Westmore's Aliens: Season Two", DS9 Season 2 DVD special features) The Klingons' appearance changed within the original Star Trek series; although dark makeup and heavy eyebrows were the norm, the Klingons of "The Trouble with Tribbles" were much lighter-skinned and more Human-like in appearance.... He noticed that they are not only less like Mongol warriors by having less of a swarthy appearance but also by being slightly not as fierce... ("The Trouble with Tribbles" Starfleet Access, TOS Season 2 Blu-ray) "...they were meant to represent the Communist foes of the United States specifically during the Vietnam War, which was being controversially fought at that time. (Star Trek: The Original Series 365, p. 222) "...let us never set up a situation whereby those adversaries of ours [Klingons] give any indication of ever being anything but highly aggressive and self-seeking opponents." (These Are the Voyages: TOS Season Three)

Here it is explicitly stated that the Klingons were based on various Asian cultures, with the USSR also being mentioned heavily in the article. This influence and the use of "yellowface" is covered more comprehensively in this youtube video Klingons & The History Of Racial Coding. However, the video has some notable gaps which I hope to cover in this post.

Post-TOS (movies)

The Star Trek III portrayal of Klingons took inspiration from Japanese history. "Harve [Bennett] had the notion that the Klingons were like Samurai warriors," explained linguist Marc Okrand. (Star Trek: Communicator issue 114, p. 27) Robert Fletcher agreed with Bennett, later saying of the Klingons, "I always liked to think of them as authoritarian, almost feudal, like Japan had been." (The Making of the Trek Films, UK 3rd ed., p. 52) Regarding the make-up, Michael Westmore observed, "Until now, Klingons were brown. Some had a bony ridge running down the middle of their foreheads, long black wigs and facial hair." (Star Trek: The Next Generation Makeup FX Journal, p. 28) "I thought it was an ideal way for us to have our closure too, because the Klingons for us have always been the Communist Block, the Evil Empire. It just made sense to do that story." (The Making of the Trek Films, UK 3rd ed., p. 100) "Gene was really bothered by the Klingons in VI [....] [They] were, in his words, 'too civilized, too decent, too much of the good guys in the story.' [....] [The Klingon detente] was not the way Gene would have handled it. He would have reversed it, he would have had the Klingons being the ones who couldn't handle the peace, with the Federation saying, 'Come on, let's try and work this out.'" (Star Trek Movie Memories, hardback ed., p. 289) "The story never explored the Klingon culture the way I'd hoped it would [....] I was hoping for greater insight into the Klingons." (I Am Spock) Nimoy hoped, in specific, that the movie would provide some important insight into why the Klingons had "always been so angry, such nasty, vicious murderers." Nimoy wanted the insightful knowledge to be an intellectually transformational force, changing the thinking of Kirk and the audience. (Star Trek Movie Memories, hardback ed., pp. 287-288) In an interview in the DS9 Season 7 DVD, Robert O'Reilly observed that a long-running joke among actors who have played Klingons is that they do not want to appear in the Star Trek films as, he believes, the only purpose of a Klingon in one of the films was to be killed off.

Although these last three quotes may not seem relevant, I believe they highlight an important facet of the racialisation of the Klingons. It reads as though Gene Roddenberry was against depicting the Klingons in a more sympathetic light than the Federation, and considering that the Klingons are intended to be non-white, refusing to give depth or motive to their anger in favour of keeping them "nasty, vicious murderers" comes across as fairly racist, especially when these kind of reductive and harmful stereotypes could've been challenged as Nimoy suggests. The treatment of Klingons as disposable villains is also concerning in this context.

The Next Generation

African-American actors were often cast as Klingons in TNG and subsequent Star Trek productions. This practice wasn't racially motivated but was instead carried out because it lessened makeup time, as the performers already had a brown complexion without having to have their skin painted that color. (Stardate Revisited: The Origin of Star Trek: TNG, Part 2: Launch, TNG Season 1 Blu-ray) Tony Todd, who portrayed the recurring Klingon character Kurn, stated, "I don't look at the Klingons necessarily as African-Americans, but it's about tapping into something–they're certainly an alienated people, so maybe that's why African-American actors can identify with those characters. But that doesn't mean it's exclusive to them." (Star Trek: Communicator issue 116, p. 54) Michael Westmore actually changed the Klingon facial design in numerous ways, though. He stated, "I added a Shakespearean style of facial hair and a forehead bone structure based on dinosaur vertebrae and I was able to modify motion picture Klingons for television." (Star Trek: Aliens & Artifacts, p. 59) In "A Matter Of Honor", the Klingons were intended to be used to shed some light on a common social problem prevalent at the time of the episode's making. This was, namely, what it was like to be the only person of either white or black skin coloration while surrounded by people of the other color. The Klingons were selected to illustrate this theme as a spin on the usual arrangement of a predominantly Human crew serving aboard the Enterprise-D alongside Worf. (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, p. 176) Two historical societies, the Samurai and Vikings, served as other inspirations, Moore perceiving about Klingon culture, "There was the calm, elegant reserve associated with the Samurai but there was the 'party-down' like the Vikings." (Star Trek: Communicator issue 114, p. 58) "I stopped thinking of the Klingons as the Cold War adversary," he explained. "I didn't think it fit [....] The place where the Russians were when I was doing the Klingon shows just wasn't as relevant any more." (Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 1, Issue 19, pp. 64-65) "The Klingons are not evil, tyrannical pirates bent only on pillage and plunder. They have a strict, almost unyielding code of ethics and honor and take their responsibilities as rulers seriously." Following a description of the Klingon homeworld, the memo continued by saying, "Klingon society could most closely be compared to that of Sparta or feudal Japan." ("Sins of the Father" audio commentary, TNG Season 3 Blu-ray) Having recently seen the film Malcolm X, he imagined the Klingons in the "Birthright" duology as metaphors for black people. (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, p. 274; Star Trek: Communicator issue 105, p. 16) "There's a certain way you have to carry yourself. You have to really be able to project the violence and the anger [....] All you have to do is think of the Spartans. They say, 'They'd rather have you come home dead on your shield than come home a coward.' [18]

This is where I feel the video essay previously mentioned falls short -- in the next gen era, Klingons are now explicitly black-coded. While some Asian cultural influences are still cited, they learn more towards the historical and are intermixed with other historical European influences (Spartans, Vikings, Shakespeare) rather than being fueled by contemporary prejudices towards the political enemies of the US as they were in the TOS era.

Deep Space Nine

Fields also generally based the Klingon group on American Western prototypes from the film The Magnificent Seven or, to a lesser extent, Japanese prototypes from The Magnificent Seven's movie source material, Seven Samurai. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion (pp. 131-132)) "So, the hair [...] was permed. So, it had more of a curl instead of the straight type look, and by perming it, they were able to kind of give them larger, bigger hair, so it was more like a mane." ("Michael Westmore's Aliens: Season Two", DS9 Season 2 DVD special features) "I don't know how you could equate Klingons with what's going on in the world today," he admitted. "I think the intention was to make them like samurai. That hairdo they gave them is very much a samurai hairdo. A lot of the fight sequences, the moves with the bat'telh, are very much taken out of the Asian martial arts [....] It's very romantic you know, these three old guys, the Klingon over-the-hill gang." (The Official Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Magazine issue 15, pp. 17-18) "It was different for them to get into this makeup, because [...] [the makeup was more elaborate and] the beards were bigger, and they were greyer, and they had curls to them, and the moustaches, they had the Fu Manchu look to them. So, they weren't used to sitting that long to be a Klingon." ("Michael Westmore's Aliens: Season Two", DS9 Season 2 DVD special features) For recreating some old-style Klingons in "Trials and Tribble-ations", the Klingon-playing actors had to be made up with the same swarthy, shiny brown makeup as used in the original series. (The Magic of Tribbles: The Making of Trials and Tribble-ations) ...he had them unite in song, thinking this was "just the kind of thing that Klingons do" because they are, in his opinion, similar to Vikings. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion (p. 449)) "I always saw the Klingons as a combination of Japanese Samurai who haven't had their morning coffee (or tea!) and African Zulu warriors." [25]

In DS9 the only inspirations cited seem to be historical, once again leaning towards feudal Japan and the Vikings. Interestingly although the Klingons here are predominantly dark-skinned, I don't think that J.G. Hertzler, who is white, had his skin significantly darkened to play Martok (at least, not compared to the obvious brown makeup worn by other white actors playing Klingons). Having a white actor play a Klingon without dark makeup could've set a precedent decreasing the use of such practices later on, but no one seems to have picked up on it.

Enterprise

The Klingons of ENT: "Sleeping Dogs" were based on the crew of the Russian submarine Kursk. "For me," said Dekker, "the point was to acknowledge the Klingons as 'people' – to find them in a clear position of distress [....] The idea to 'humanize' their plight was mine, and it wasn't anything I thought about as far as canon. It just seemed right." (Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection, issue 41, pp. 10-12) In the final draft script of "Affliction", the altered Klingons were initially referred to as "fierce-looking aliens" and were further described thus; "The aliens have a swarthy complexion, and dark facial hair... they could easily be mistaken for Humans. We'll eventually learn these are Klinqons... but their cranial ridges have disappeared."

At this point in time it seems the Klingons had essentially done a 180 from one-dimensional villains to sympathetic fan favourites, while still retaining the skin-darkening aspect of their makeup and "barbaric" characterisation. Although this is not mentioned in the article's section on the Abrams films, the images provided do demonstrate a level of skin darkening for the Klingons' brief appearance in Into Darkness.

The final section of the article is incomplete, meaning I don't have a lot of information for Discovery's redesign of the Klingons. The sources I can find cite ancient civilisations such as the Byzantines as well as Islamic architecture as inspiration for the set design, with a baroque influence on the costumes. I have heard rumours that the crew of Discovery have cited North African cultures as their inspiration for the Klingons but I can't currently find a source for this. Despite the lack of direct quotes, it's visibly clear that the Klingon makeup is still darkening the skin of white actors, although this time also to non-human blue and purple colours, as well as altering certain features in a racialised way. To elaborate: Mary Chieffo, who plays L'Rell on Discovery, is white and has a very thin nose and small lips, but in costume these are broadened in a way that seems imitative of African ethnic features.

As of the making of this post (early August 2023) I haven't seen any of Strange New Worlds, but from some cursory research its latest episode (Subspace Rhapsody) seems to have put a white actor (Bruce Horak) in brown makeup to play a Klingon. I am deeply disappointed that on a television set in 2023 people can still be darkening an actors skin like this without questioning the racial implications of what they're doing.

Thank you for reading to the end of this post. Please feel free to link to it if you found it useful enough to cite in another context. I would like to reiterate that I am white and while this is an issue I care deeply about it is not one I have an emic understanding of, and if anything I've said here is inappropriate I would be very grateful to be made aware.

[sjbattleangel]

DAMNIT! Courtney's has been kicked off! AGAIN! Lily and her horde of simps keep on abusing the system to silence Courtney from speaking out and seeking justice. We won't let Lily and her simps win. We'll keep on standing with Courtney. To re-enact a scene from Spider-Man 2:

Lily (with her bootlickers and sockpuppets): 'They're mine!' User: 'You want to get to them, you got to go through me.' User: 'And me.' User: 'Me too.'

We're with you, Court!

[senso1954]

lawrence of arabia (1962), dir. david lean

[opinated-user]

LO, after being told by Native people multiple times that that the culture will forever be more important than any ancesters she could have from any Nation, so it's really direspectful for her to claim to be part of that group while having no real or meaningful connection to it beyond buying cheap dreamcatchers and burning sage during streams, after admiting that she in fact has never had any contact with the Nation outside of one funeral: sleep. LO, after Courtney said that her grandpa wasn't Cherokee: now hold on a damn moment! do you all see how nonsensical this is, right? it doesn't matter if her grandpa was Cherokee or not. that's not the point of any of this. the point is that LO will try to claim an ethnicity while openly telling people that she does not have to be part of the culture at all in order to do that. the point is that LO is so arrogant and racist that she believes that saying "but my grandpa is totally Cherokee!" is enough to be a Native person. it's not. you actually need to form a bond with those people, to talk to them, to make them part of your life. they aren't just pretty accesories for you to use because you want to feel more especial than all other white people who do a similar thing. blood quantum is a bullshit measurement of someone's identity born of racist ideas, yes. which is why someone like LO shouldn't even touch that topic because she has exactly the kind of colonizer mindset in which she believes that as long she wants to be Cherokee, then that is enough and she never has to actually be part of that group or uphold their tradition or participate on their encounters or do anything than sit and say "my grandpa Cherokee". that was the point of that segment in KP's video.

[troythecatfish]

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[perlukafarinn]

Rating Star Trek TOS costumes because why not! (part 3)

The Squire of Gothos (1x17). I wish I had half as much fun doing anything as this dandy did fucking with the crew of the Enterprise. The costume is fun and very cheap-looking but that goes without saying when it comes to TOS. Sure wish they'd given him pants that matched though, 7/10.

Arena (1x18). If you don't like this costume then chances are you take TOS too seriously. Just look at it! This is camp, mama. His stiff plastic face, his lifeless eyes, his gratuitously buff body, that shiny little dress and fingerless leather gloves. Whoever they had wearing that thing in the blaring California sun was braver than any US marine. I love him, 100/10.

Court Martial (1x20) I'm into the 23rd century schoolgirl vibe of it all but this costume looks cheap even by TOS standards and something about the cut is very awkward. 4/10.

Also from Court Martial and man the costuming department was letting these ladies down. Areel is a classy broad but this dress is not it; it just kind of looks like a giant handkerchief. 5/10.

The Return of the Archons (1x21). Silly little outfit brigade reporting for duty! They look like they're in a school play 😭😭 Adorable with just a hint of dashing, 8/10.

A Taste of Armageddon (1x23). Someone needs to tell this man he's wearing a potato sack, though judging by his expression he already knows. 1/10.

These costumes are incredibly goofy but my favorite part is the background actors desperately clinging to their dignity, a battle that was lost the minute they put those hats on. 7/10.

[yesokayiknow]

continuing my dr who watch with the crusades. i'm sure this episode from the 1960s set in 12th century palestine is incredibly nuanced and respectful of people of colour. now i'll take a large sip of water

[lillianvalorchard]

Self-portrait. Honest!

Now if I can just find that cooking oil and skin-bronzer-

SUGAR!!!

[theboyatthebustop]

And people say we conquered racism a long time ago

[sweetface-the-dollbaby]

your a furry, your one to talk about lily orchard, one of the greatest trans creators of all time.

HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH

HAH I SAY

Last I checked she’s the one who MOLESTED HER SISTER not me lmao

also if this is lily herself (which considering lily’s reputation with sock puppeteering and sending anons harassing people I don’t doubt)

GO TO PRISON AND STOP BROWNFACING LMAO‼️‼️‼️‼️

I HATE YOUR ASS LILY

FUCKING HAH

Also *you’re

[icedsodapop]

Sure guy! Go support Dune 2 starring Zionist rat-man ✌🏼 and White pple in Brownface ✌🏼

[lilyvalerieorchard]

For @saiscribbles, @britts-galaxy-brain, @ilovekimpossiblealot and others:

The complete fixed art of Lily (so far):

Feel free to reblog me with more brownfacing art you want me to fix!

[sjbattleangel]

Apparently, Lily has created an account on BlueSky, brownfacing avatar and all.

On there, I found that she had said some pretty alarming stuff:

'...The way people lash out at creators over the tiniest things and start turning their lives into own personal soap opera.'

Like your pathetic, obsessive hatred of Rebecca Sugar, ND Stevenson, Dana Terrace, Bryke and other creators to the point where you nonstop scream for their blood.

"...the kind of tantrum we'd expect to from an abused, overstimulated 2 year old."

So that how you saw Courtney as she was being abused by Cameron!? That she was tantrum-throwing toddler who should've shut-up and enjoyed her abuse?

You are a monster.

But the most vilest thing?

'1,700 Criminal Allegations, 0 Convictions.'

She's not hiding it. She knows she sexually abused Courtney and many others. And since she's never been caught, she's become so smug, being able to get away with her crimes for so long, she's rubbing in our faces.

The least bit of justice I could serve was fixing her brownface avatar. (Again!)

As I've said a gazillion times before, Lily: You are not, never have been, never will be Indigenous!