J.J. Abrams: ‘It’s About Time’ For A Gay Character In ‘Star Trek’; Huffington Post, 7/14/16

Bill Bradley, Huffington Post; J.J. Abrams: ‘It’s About Time’ For A Gay Character In ‘Star Trek’ :

"“It’s about time that there’s a gay character in this universe,” the director told HuffPost.

“It is done, as you saw, in a way that is not in the story of the movie, which is one of my favorite things about it. It’s beside the point. I feel that George Takei’s reaction ― I’m sure has more to do with George Takei, and the baggage he brings to the proceedings. I think it may be his perception of having played a character a certain way. It might mean something personally to him. I have nothing but respect for the man, but I think it’s a preposterous thing for, of all people, a ‘Star Trek’ actor — who’s come out himself — to say that Gene Roddenberry wouldn’t have wanted this.”

Abrams, in fact, believed the “Star Trek” creator would have applauded the decision over Sulu.

“One of the many things I admire about [Roddenberry] was … how he was so about inclusivity, and I can’t imagine that he would not have wanted one of these characters, if he had been allowed ― which, of course, he would never have been allowed to in that era ― [to] have them be gay.”"

Sulu, “Star Trek” and queer sci-fi: LGBT diversity has been there all along—now it’s gone mainstream; Salon, 7/12/16

Scott Eric Kaufman, Salon; Sulu, “Star Trek” and queer sci-fi: LGBT diversity has been there all along—now it’s gone mainstream:

"Which is, of course, the most significant issue — how to represent historically underrepresented communities, especially when doing so within the confines of a franchise that, however progressive it was when originally produced, was still originally produced in America during the 1960s. Should members of the LGBTQ community be treated as deviations from the “norm” who require acceptance, or simply as people whose sexuality or gender identification is a fundamental, if incidental, fact of who they are?

Roberts clearly argues that it should be the latter, whereas Takei believes that the character of Sulu will be fundamentally altered — an “unfortunate” revision of his original conception — if he happens to homosexual in the new film. In this respect, Takei is out of step with how science fiction has evolved since Roddenberry first envisioned life aboard the Starship Enterprise, at least inasmuch as straightness is no longer considered the default among characters whose sexuality isn’t a central feature of the narrative."

John Cho’s Sulu is Gay in ‘Star Trek Beyond’; Comic Book Resources, 7/7/16

Kevin Melrose, Comic Book Resoruces; John Cho’s Sulu is Gay in ‘Star Trek Beyond’ :

"In a nod to series veteran George Takei, John Cho’s Sulu will be revealed as gay in the upcoming “Star Trek Beyond.” He will be the first openly gay character in the franchise’s 50-year history."

George Takei Guides ‘Allegiance,’ a Musical, Not a Starship; New York Times, 10/27/15

Laura Collins-Hughes, New York Times; George Takei Guides ‘Allegiance,’ a Musical, Not a Starship:

"During the war, the government relocated about 120,000 West Coast Japanese-Americans to internment camps in what Mr. Takei called “an act of pure, irrational, mad, racist hysteria.” Raising awareness about the issue is his “life mission,” he said in that smooth baritone, so familiar from Starfleet chatter aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise...

He still chokes up when he recalls a vicious bit of adolescent venom for which he never apologized: accusing his father of leading the family “like sheep to slaughter by taking us into the internment camp.”

But his father didn’t want an alienated son with a victim mentality, Mr. Takei said; he wanted a child who was engaged in shaping American democracy. So he took young George down to Adlai Stevenson’s presidential campaign office and had him volunteer to help. He’s been a liberal activist ever since, viewing various forms of bigotry as all of a piece."

George Takei on the lack of LGBT representation in Star Trek; Entertainment Weekly, 8/9/15

Entertainment Weekly; George Takei on the lack of LGBT representation in Star Trek:

"In a new video for Big Think, George Takei reveals he onced asked Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry why the original TV series didn’t feature LGBT characters.

“I did very privately bring up the issue of gays and lesbians,” said Takei, who played Sulu on the long-running sci-fi series. “And he was certainly, as a sophisticated man, mindful of that, but he said — in one episode we had a biracial kiss, Captain Kirk and Uhura had a kiss.”

That episode was “Plato’s Stepchildren,” which aired in 1968. The characters played by William Shatner and Nichelle Nichols locked lips while under the psionic thrall of controlling aliens. “That show was literally blacked out in the South — Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia didn’t air that; our ratings plummeted,” Takei continued. “It was the lowest-rated episode that we had. And [Roddenberry] said, ‘I’m treading a fine tight wire here. I’m dealing with issues of the time. I’m dealing with the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, and I need to be able to make that statement by staying on the air.’ He said, ‘If I dealt with that issue I wouldn’t be able to deal with any issue because I would be canceled.’”

Roddenberry succeeded in bringing diversity to the program in other ways. For example, Takei went into detail on how his character got the name of Sulu. As he described, the crew of the Enterprise was meant to embody the various cultures of the world, and Takei’s character represented Asia."

George Takei Is Still Guiding the Ship; New York Times, 6/13/14

Michael Schulman, New York Times; George Takei Is Still Guiding the Ship:

"Given Mr. Takei’s cheeky advocacy, it is hard to believe that he came out publicly just nine years ago. For that, his admirers can thank Arnold Schwarzenegger, who, when he was governor of California, vetoed a marriage-equality bill. Watching the news on TV at home, Mr. Takei felt his blood boil.

“We agreed that I had to speak out, which meant my voice had to be authentic,” he said in an interview with his husband in their Midtown Manhattan apartment."