I was thinking this weekend about how awkward it was that Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them insists that Americans call muggles “no-maj.” First off, it just doesn’t sound like an abbreviation we’d use, and it sounds even worse in plural. But I finally realized the more important point: it’s too direct. Especially for the time period, Americans would never have been that straightforward in talking about a topic that sensitive. And so I would like to submit, in the spirit of early twentieth-century slang, a list of possible euphemisms we may have used for muggles:
He washes his dishes with a cloth.
He pays in nickels and dimes.
He rides the trolley to work.
He takes his boots to the cobbler.
He’s grateful for Mr. Edison.
He’s one of Grisham’s boys. (here imagining that Grisham was a prominent wizard who famously fathered no magic children)
He dances on the ground.
He writes with a pen.
He’s fond of a two-piece suit.
He’s more King Arthur than Merlin.
He’s got to wind his pocket watch.
He gets his wax from bees.
His wife darns his socks.
He treats his ailments with tonics.
His portraits stay put.
His broom is only for sweeping.
I’m having a little too much fun with this, so if you have any to add, please send them over.
roddenberry straight up said that if the morals of the 23rd century allowed for it then spock and kirk’s relationship would have been romantic.
time for some gay math:
if sulu = gay
then spirk = real
Can I just…
“if the morals of the 23rd century allowed for it”
As if he’s assuming homosexuality will still be one of the most controversial issues in the year 2233 when there are aliens and shit all over the place? Like absolutely no progress will have been made..??? Like news flash, 21st century morals allow for it, you’re just a shitty person bye
I agree that Roddenberry was most definitely NOT a saint, but he had no way of knowing what progress would have been made and by what time. The morals of the 21st century also aren’t the same everywhere, Mozambique only JUST decriminalised homosexuality, gay men are being slaughtered in Chechnya, my Australian girlfriend got chucked out of home only two years ago. Change doesn’t happen overnight, we don’t know how long it will take.
I think if we look at what he said in the context of when he said it we can come to a different conclusion. It’s not necessarily a question of whether or not we will be a more accepting and loving species in the 23rd century, but instead it is one of whether or not we were in the 20th.
Newsflash! We weren’t, and Roddenberry knew this. What we see even in progressive media is still limited by our regressive society. If star trek was unbound by our own societal limitations I have no doubt in my mind that we would have a blatantly canon spirk in a heartbeat. We also wouldn’t have to wait 50+ years for a canon gay Sulu.
For a show that gave us a powerful interracial cast, complete with women in high command, a proud Russian man during the height of the Cold War, a black woman during one of the most violent chapters of the Civil Rights Movement, and the first on screen interracial kiss in television history, for the producers and the censors at the time to also approve a blatantly gay couple would have the show laughed out of Hollywood at best. The Lavender Scare was at its height during this time, too, and although I hate the message of being happy with what you’ve got and accepting stagnation, for the time we got the best we possibly could. All we can do is demand better now from the reboot.
Leaving tungle.hell like rats on the Titanic 