Star Trek: Open
a Channel, A Woman’s Trek – Nana Visitor (2024)
I waited for this book
for a while. Initially, I heard that
Nana Visitor, the actor who played the part of Kira Nerys on Star Trek: Deep
Space Nine, intended to write a book about her experiences on the show. I caught updates from the publishing industry
detailing her efforts to get the book made, and how it grew from a personal
account into an exploration of what it means to be a woman in Star Trek, from
the OG days of the 1960’s to the most current iterations of the franchise. Hearing about Visitor’s interviews with many
of the women from Star Trek increased my desire to read this book. Thank Mario for the wonderful Inter-Library
Loan program, since it allowed me to get this book sent to me from the
University of Oklahoma. I was ecstatic
when I received it and instantly devoured it.
Long-time readers of RXTT’s
Book Journey will likely know I am a huge Star Trek fan, especially my single
favorite television show of all time, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9). Nana Visitor is one of the leads on DS9, with
her character, Major Kira Nerys, serving as the second-in-command of a large,
unwieldy, and chaotic space station. It is through her character that we learn
about the horrors suffered by the people of Bajor and how outsiders perceive
the United Federation of Planets. Her
character is integral from beginning to end.
The character of Kira
Nerys, alongside that of Captain Benjamin Lafayette Sisko, is critical to
understanding the central themes of DS9.
The first theme, and the most prominent throughout the series run, deals
with how trauma affects us, how we deal with it, and how we manage to move on
and continue living afterwards. This is
evident in Kira, a former freedom fighter/terrorist (depends on who you ask),
forced to reckon with a lifetime of degraded living under totalitarian rule and
how it affects her and her people during the “peace” that follows. It, like all trauma, touches every single
aspect of her life and being. The same
is true for Capt. Sisko, who we meet just after his wife is killed in a huge
space battle, forcing him and his son Jake to escape with their lives. The repercussions of this loss shape Sisko
throughout the series, much like the Cardassian occupation shaped every aspect
of Kira Nerys’ character. It was a
groundbreaking role for Visitor, whose career previously found her in steady work
playing the girlfriend, the ex-girlfriend, the wife, the bothered secretary,
etc., all roles with very little emotional or intellectual heft.
In an effort to
understand the dynamics of being a woman in the world of Star Trek, Nana
Visitor explores the original creation of Star Trek, and the ways which the
otherwise progressive show existed in a world where casual misogyny, the
“casting couch” mentality, and abusive producers still ran the show. To frame this story, Visitor discusses the
person besides Gene Roddenberry most responsible for the very existence of Star
Trek, comedy superstar Lucille Ball. It
was her DesiLu studios, which she ran alone after the illness of her husband,
that green-lit Star Trek, and it was her efforts to keep it on the air that
Visitor explores. For each series,
Visitor devotes a few chapters to exploring the lives and work of the
individual actresses, including the most important woman on the original show,
Nichelle Nichols. Nichelle was not only
a representational force for African-American women, but for all women. In a world where women were still expected to
serve in very limited and traditional roles, seeing a woman of color serve as
the fourth in command of a starship was huge.
Visitor pulls no punches
and allows her subjects the bluntness they need
to describe the uncomfortable and terrifying situations these women
endured just to be considered for a television show. Every single one of them has had to deal with
lecherous producers, men forcing themselves on them, sexist writing,
overly-familiar co-stars, etc. Some,
with help from their loved ones, navigated these treacherous waters without too
much horror, but most did not. From the
endless critiques of your appearance to the implication that if you do not do
what is asked of you without questions you would be replaced by another “pretty
face,” Hollywood has long been a bastion for asshole men and a trap for many a
young woman. After years of insultingly
simplistic roles, the role of Kira Nerys helped Nana Visitor create a very
real, very flawed, very human character, a character whose lines and actions do
not rely on her femininity to succeed, something which she is rightfully very
proud of.
Visitor not only speaks
to the various actresses from Trek, but she also re-watched a lot of the older
and current shows. In doing so she
witnessed how, even in an era of feminism and women’s sovereignty, like the
late 80’s and early 90’s, strong women characters were still mainly written as
tropes. For example, one of the
characters, Keiko Ishikawa, married a minor Next Generation character, Miles
O’Brien. They both subsequently appeared
on DS9. While the character or Keiko was
written as a deeply intelligent and forthright botanist, she was rarely, if ever,
shown on TNG doing botany. Instead, she
was forced to act out endless “worried wife” or “angry wife” tropes.
On TNG, the Doctor was
portrayed by the super-talented Gates McFadden, but whereas the original
series’ Doctor McCoy was given license to behave as any doctor does, Dr.
Crusher’s character, while initially a groundbreaking representation for women,
was often used solely as the "mother” or as a potential love interest of
the Captain. Even in the supposedly
progressive shows, the standard misogyny and sexism applied. This is especially evident in the character
of Counselor Troi on Next Generation.
Initially serving as pure eye candy, it took years for the writers room
to catch on to what makes the character of Deanna Troi so intriguing. As detailed by Nana Visitor, once an actress
is placed in one of the very few “boxes” allowed for them, it was nearly impossible
to escape. Once a “beauty” always a
“beauty.” Once seen as a plucky and
sexless “friend,” it is always thus.
These simplistic tropes continue on television to this day. Shit don’t change.
While all of this is extremely
interesting to me, my favorite parts of this book are where Nana Visitor
discusses her own life and career. She
is blunt and honest in describing the many transgressions she endured by either
changing herself, altering her mannerisms, or just behaving in the way that
male society seemed to expect. Each
time, a little part of her died within her, but she endured it as the costs of
the life she chose. It is impossible to
see just how callous and predatory those around you are until you get some
distance from it, both emotional and physical.
In one of the most moving and disturbing sections, Nana discusses how
she was kidnapped and assaulted sometime between seasons 2 and 3 of DS9, how
she forced herself to testify against her attackers even though she was warned
that bad publicity would ruin her career, and how it took her over twenty years
to come to grips with the events of that horrible night. It is a testament to
her willpower and life-force that Nana Visitor rebuilt herself, something many
of the women she spoke to have had to do, some more than once.
It is also a testament to Nana Visitor that, in the decades following the airing of Deep Space Nine, she has become something of a den-mother, or a loving aunt, to many Star Trek fanatics. This is something that mirrors the character Kira Nerys’ arc on the show. At the end of DS9, we see Kira Nerys and Jake Sisko staring out of a window at the wormhole outside. She is left in charge of the station, and life goes on. In the DS9 documentary, What You Leave Behind, the writers posit a future where Kira Nerys grows wiser and becomes a spiritual leader for the Bajoran people, Nana Visitor also grew wiser and became an emotional and spiritual leader for us Trek fanatics. It is a beautiful thing and I sincerely hope that Nana grasps the amount of care and love people have for her, and for the character she brought to life. Her care for us, as fans, is evident in this amazing book.
There is nothing easy about being a woman in this world, which makes it all the more admirable that Nana, and all the women she interviews, created characters and stories which honestly and permanently affected the audience. Countless women went into science because they saw Lt. Uhura kicking ass on the bridge of the Enterprise. Countless women saw Dr. Crusher as a great example of how to be a success and a great mother, without sacrificing her ideals. Countless women saw the strength, resiliency and leadership inherent in Kira Nerys and found a role model for survival. Even more women saw Captain Janeway lead a crew into and out of the wilderness, and felt inspired by her confidence and capability. Representation matters. We believe what we see. For all the faults a TV show like Star Trek can and does have, the merits are beyond measure. In 1966, Star Trek showed us a post-cold-war world where Russians and Chinese shared in the adventure, where women served alongside men, where people of color were portrayed as Admirals! It was and remains one of the finest bits of television out there, showing the world that our shared humanity is a far greater thing than our perceived differences. Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations. IDIC is the prevailing theme of all Star Trek, and I am very glad that Nana Visitor took the time and effort to craft this great tribute to the women of Star Trek and the characters they brought to life. It is a beautiful book.
(This book can be purchased here: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Star-Trek-Open-a-Channel-A-Womans-Trek/Nana-Visitor/Star-Trek/9798886633016 )
