BLACK VULCAN FAQ
Kate Orman
*** CONTENTS
0. Quick introduction.
1. Isn't a black Vulcan a continuity mistake?
2. Aren't Paramount being "politically correct" by having a black Vulcan
in "Voyager"?
3. Isn't Tuvok a "token black"?
4. Vulcans have green blood. Wouldn't dark-skinned Vulcans be green, not
brown?
5. But why would Vulcans come in black and white and so on, the way that
humans do? Isn't that a bit unlikely?
6. Wasn't "Entertainment Tonight" silly when it called Tuvok
"the first African-American Vulcan"?
***0. Quick Introduction
Every day, someone posts a couple of questions about Tuvok, Voyager's
dark-skinned Vulcan played by Tim Russ. Hence, I thought it would be
useful to bang together this brief FAQ. I'll be posting it about once a
week, and emailing it to anyone I spot asking one the questions below.
Comments are very welcome, whatever your opinion. Also, I'd like to add
further quotes from interviews etc which back up the statements below -
type some in and email me! Cheers.
***1. Isn't a black Vulcan a continuity mistake?
No. Spock's midwife (STV) was black, and Vulcans of various shades can be
seen in the background of scenes in STIII.
***2. Aren't Paramount being "politically correct" by having a black
Vulcan in "Voyager"?
No.
"Politically correct" is a slippery term, but let's assume that people who
ask this mean that the Trek producers are just trying to "cater to the
interests of a minority" by including a Vulcan who's black. They only
hired Tim Russ for the role because *he's* black.
This doesn't seem to be the case.
Firstly, by all accounts, the producers didn't set out to cast an
African-American actor as Tuvok. The role was intended for an older, white
actor, but no-one suitable could be found.
Secondly, the producers have been trying to find a regular role for Russ
for years. He was a runner-up for the part of Geordi, and would have been
a regular cast member in DS9, but the character was written out at the
last moment. (He *did* appear as one of the terrorists in "Starship Mine",
as a Klingon in "Invasive Procedures", and can be briefly seen aboard the
Enterprise-B in "Generations".)
From this, it appears that Tim Russ was cast entirely on his merits as an
actor; his colour was irrelevant. (As a personal note, I have to say that
I think he does a knock-out job!)
You might like to think about it this way. Wasn't Robert Duncan McNeil
only cast to cater to a particular minority - white men? :-)
(In a Cinescape interview, Russ said: "In terms of being politically
correct, they want to bring in the majority of the population to watch,
and people like to see themselves on television. If a minority sees a
minority, he'll watch it. People can identify with these characters - and
beyond demographics, this is supposed to be the 24th Century, by which
time [race and gender] are no longer factors.")
***3. Isn't Tuvok a "token black"?
No. He's a major character.
***4. Vulcans have green blood. Wouldn't dark-skinned Vulcans be green,
not brown?
Are dark-skinned humans red? :-)
Spock, a light-skinned half-Vulcan, had a greenish tinge because there was
little pigmentation in his skin to block our view of the green blood in
his skin capillaries. (Similarly, light-skinned humans look pink.) The
pigment in Tuvok's skin "hides" the colour of his blood.
***5. But why would Vulcans come in black and white and so on, the way
that humans do? Isn't that a bit unlikely?
Well, we know that Romulans - who are very closely related to Vulcans -
come in similar flavours to humans. We've seen a black Romulan ("The
Pegasus") and an Asian-looking Romulan (STV).
Also, humans and Vulcans do share a common ancestry ("The Chase"). So, if
you can accept that people whose blood is based on copper can breed with
people whose blood is based on iron, you can probably *also* believe that
Vulcans have similar racial variations to humans. :-)
You might like to think of it this way: what are the odds of an alien
species evolving to produce someone who looks remarkably like Leonard
Nimoy? :-)
***6. Wasn't "Entertainment Tonight" silly when it called Tuvok "the first
African-American Vulcan"?
Yes.
Tuvok's a full Vulcan, so it's pretty unlikely he comes from America. Or
Africa. :-) It would have been more accurate to say, "the first Vulcan to
be played by an African-American".
***Again, comments and suggestions are very welcome, whatever your
opinion!
Reference: Tim Russ interview, Cinescape February 1995.
--
___
Kate Orman
"What she may do with a word or two is much too grim to tell."
- Jack Prelutsky, "The Witch"