People who think this episode is heavy-handed, the moral is not just "racism is bad". It's about the absurdity of racism and its self-destructiveness, something certain people still dont understand
@@KingoftheJuice18 1:50 That fellow did a great job of acting. He is so very worked up; distraught, annoyed, and angry that the people who are not like him but are rather the mirror image of himself they are the reason life is not great for him. It is all those white on wrong side people's fault. Scapegoat like Hitler and the Jews. This actor reminds me of the way Hitler worked himself up into an intense state when he spoke. A+ for that actor lol fantastic very memorable performance.
@@KingoftheJuice18 I still remember watching this as a kid. The actor's intense, hateful tone when speaking and his facial expressions are terrific. Gorshin was a real pro. I agree. Nimoy and Shatner are seemingly holding in nervous laughter like saying, "take it easy, man; wtf?!". Gorshin's performance is so spot on and reminiscent of a raging lunatic.
Beautifully said. So much of my morals come from watching that show as a child and it has acted like a vaccine to protect me from all the rageful nonsense infecting the United States now.
@@TiberiusPine But based on your comment, you were not protected from having the perceptual view of what you are referring to as "nonsense". Clearly you missed the message from Mr. Spock.
@@gxlorp: The message from Spock was that they/we are all the same. If you think that is what people (particularly in America) believe now, you’re sadly mistaken, and it’s clearly you who missed the message.
Love he episode. It doesnt just say "hurr racism iz wrong." It used this right/left side as allegory to show how ridiculous, inconsequential and pointless these divide actually is. When looked through a dispassionate detached perspectivethat isnt tainted by subjective opinions (the perspective of kirk & spock), none of it makes any sense.
This is how it should be done. Rather than hese days where ots just preaching and telling everyone they are horrible racists when they have done anything.
Much the same was done about racism, in a more humorous way, on an episode of the TV show Third Rock From The Sun. The aliens can't even begin to understand what racism is. When told that one woman is black, an alien turns towards another woman(who is obviously not black) and asks, "and you are...?" The woman replies, "could I be any whiter?!?" The alien grows more and more frustrated and confused as the humans try to explain racism. Exasperated, he finally declares that he could understand dividing people on the basis of political philosophy, educational background, etc., "but skin pigmentation; give me a break!"
the part when the two aliens wrestle and nearly destroy the ship to the horror of the bridge crew makes them more similar than they like to admit. As Spock points out they are both extreme viewpoints of the same spectrum and no logic can come out of whatever they say. They are not only opposed physically but also due to view points that can never converge. The Commissioner is a law and order man who cannot understand Lokai's people but is blindly dedicated to his government's story about them, while Lokai is the kind of person who can never be satisfied with the status quo and will always create anarchy even in peacetime. the beta canon (novels) expand on this, with Seven of Nine time traveling back to their planet (and being Borg, also doesn't really understand why they discriminate). We learn that the side Commissioner Bele is on developed a weapon to kill Lokai's people only to release it prematurely, killing everyone on the planet. This is one of those "they will never learn" people
yeah he is both of my parent's favorite actor and I think he is awesome in all the stuff I saw him in as in Also Buck Rogers as Kellog "Plot to Kill a City". Lou Antonio is also a great actor in this, I also saw him in Night Gallery and Gunsmoke, he is also a director in Night Gallery he directed the one he was in.
He was also a misogynist and a sexist. Marina Sirtis called him a "dirty old man." Honestly go digging and you'll find some of the crew of TOS and TNG aren't as keen on him as popular belief would make you think. Gene was a great visionary, but a deeply flawed person.
The final form of the Cheronians, and the philosophical dimension to their appearance, was far more the work of Oliver Crawford and probably David Gerrold, who was doing some uncredited rewriting work for Star Trek that season, rather than Gene Roddenberry. Roddenberry's original idea was a very tired trope in which the Enterprise finds a planet where whites were enslaved by blacks, essentially role-reversal. Fortunately, saner heads prevailed.
Still, at the end of the day, all it comes down to is the tired old "group A hates group B because of what they look like" which is a very convenient political slogan but sadly one that has nothing to do with reality. People don't hate others because of their appearance, they hate them because of their *actions.* That's why hardly anybody in the West has any trouble with Asians whereas the negative sentiment towards blacks prevails-even though members of both these groups look completely different to whites. That's not PC to say that but I'm not one to say things that will score me points on Tumblr.
LordZontar "Fuck, another SOB ruining my perfectly convenient worldview... How do I counter him? Logical arguments? Like what, he's saying the truth after all... oh, I'll just badmouth him and maybe he won't reply."
There is no racism and that I see in the episode stop putting your spin on things that don't need to be changed no one called anyone out of their name on this episode
Gorshin was far more than an impressionist. Of course, he was the greatest Riddler--ever. But here, with his cadence of speech, his gestures, his facial expressions...everything he does, he rules this scene. That's how great he was. And it was an excellent episode, too!
Much better than John Astin, though not to take away from John Astin, he just wasn't suited to be the Riddler. He was a Medical Examiner on MacMillian and Wife and Gomez Addams on the Addams Family. A great actor.
This came out just before I was drafted in 1969. Although I have seen it many times, I have never forgotten that first viewing and the "comment" made by Frank Gorshin (actor/comedian) and shown here. I've been a Star Trek fan since day one. I'm getting older myself these days and I would liked to have thanked everyone who participated in the series. In lieu of not having done that earlier, I'll do it now as a remembrance to the great actors we have lost and those yet to come. Thankfully the series will be here for years yet to come. Thanks!!!
Racial tension and racism is a theme throughout all of the Star Trek franchise really, like the Vulcans and Klingons with their superiority complex over Humans, the Cardassians and their superiority complex over the Klingons and Bajorans, and the Romulans with their superiority complex over pretty much everybody.
+The Face of The Alphabet Depends on what you mean. The vulcans don't just having a superiority complex, they are difinitvely smarter and stronger... and the writers and fans will back me up on that.
Whereas Spock gives a return look saying "I am hoping that your often irrational but yet surprisingly acute perspective from an emotional point of view might gain us some insight"
Are their things black on one side and white on the other? Do the women on Cheron have one black labium and one white labium? Or one black boob and one white boob? No, of course not. they're all dead.
This is one of the most clever episodes. Basically it says, people are fugged up. Race is a social construct and so is racism. This episodes says, even when people appear very similar, even when the differnces are slight, some people will always think they're better than others.
" Race is a social construct and so is racism." except it isnt and it is obvious to everyone with 2 brain cells and knowledge of elementary school level biology
I think he means race as it is generally used. Our race is called the Human Race. And the vast majority of the human race is mixed genetically on some level. And if you go back far enough we all come from the same initial source. UA-cam search Edward James Olmost at the UN. He explains it better.
It's a little more complicated than that. Yes all humans share common ancestry if you go back far enough....but then humans began to migrate in different directions, resulting in separation into different parts of the globe. This isolation, over thousands of years, resulted in the development of different physical characteristics, along with different cultures and values as well. It is possible to acknowledge and talk about these differences without discriminating against anyone. Just like it's possible to acknowledge the differences between men and women without discriminating against either.
“Lokai is white on the right side. All of his people are white on the right side.” “The Star-Bellied Sneetches had bellies with stars. The Plain-Bellied Sneetches had none upon thars.”
02:45 Just incredible how Kirk & Spock glance at Bele and each other as he explains the difference between his people and Lokai's. It's like they are utterly astonished that those differences matter at all.
thats one of the epic things about Star trek , a world where 2 men on the other side of the table from different planets hearing that both respond that way an in face consider themselves brothers
@@connormacleod4922 nonsense. It was just one of if not the first to get things in that direction so to speak. There is no such thing as "ahead of time" if people knew that the concepts of race and prejudice were stupid to begin with.
@@anthonygarcia8749 Racism never went away, in fact it's more popular than ever. If anything the writers were aback of their time, not ahead. Today segregation is becoming popular again in America, progressive universities are taking the lead. All this "we're the same" is boomer talk from a time when some confused Christian [[male]] stammered about not wanting his kids judged by the color of their skin or some rubbish. But guess what: Not caring about skin color and racial identity above everything else means that YOU have problems, not us normal folks. Finally society has realized it. And no amount of equal rights bla bla from senile conservatives is going to stop us this time.
Upon first viewing I didn't think it was that great an episode. What it had to say seemed a bit heavy-handed or silly. Upon reflection now, it's not one I want to see over and over, but I do like to see the scenes of their arguments, much like I enjoy the discussions with Khan in "Space Seed" though I don't think that's a great episode either. In college I bought a third of the episodes (27) on VHS. I'd say these two were second tier at best.
It really is written better than people give it credit for I think. This is exactly how bigots play it, first counting on the system to not even question them, then complain that their victims are working the system against them, then finally justifying everything with the outright loathing.
This is probably one of the great episodes within the Star Trex saga.. All the people within the episide were excellant and the story is so well written...
Only one side is doing a racism in any meaningful capacity. The other side pushing back against them are trying to end racism. Making both sides look equally bad only helps the bad side.
Yeah. Reminds me of Pleasantville. That place was in black and white, until some people began to display natural colours. ... They tried to cover it up with grey make-up. And it didn't take long for signs to appear at the bar, "no coloreds". Which was to be taken in the literal sense of the word in this case.
The part I fully expected to see included was “I once heard that people of your planets believe that they’re descended from .. Apes....”. @ 44:34 The way he dragged out the word Apes was just classic good acting.
Just watched this a few days ago.... As a kid it was pure entertainment, as an adult it is the genius of roddenberry shining through..... Star trek worked on many levels ❤️
@JayEey I think you're right. This reminds me of a similar argument on "Babylon 5" when Kosh says to G'kar "And will you continue until there are no more Centauri and no more Narn? If both sides are dead, no one will care who was right and who was wrong. It no longer matters who started it, G'Kar, it only matters now -- who is suffering."
Fascinating episode of Star Trek; when thoroughly thought over, this episode embodies racism and discrimination into two aliens: Bele and Lokai. While Bele , the ruling class, is black on the right side, Lokai the “inferior class” Is black on the left side, inflicting inequality, hatred, intolerance ; in fact the two alien beings displaying mirror characteristics.
One of the most amazing things about this iconic episode, and there are many, is when Spock suggests that the people of Sharon must have been mono-colored at one time. The actor Frank Gorshin who brilliantly portrays Commissioner Bele finds that notion abhorrent. That small part of the scene harkens back to children born of black and white parents. Those children don’t carry the skin tone of someone from Sharon, but one might say those children do have black and white cultures intertwined in one being.
It’s hard to believe that this race felt that much of a difference to fight one another. And what kills me is the fact that these two beings were running around the galaxy for 50,000 years?!? Almost as long as the human race has been around. And they let HATE get in the way of just working with each other to “better themselves as it were“ 50,000 years of pure hate?! I hope the Human Race does a better job of maintaining control of their hate. As far as I‘m concerned any planet that ignorant enough to kill each other off like this…well, the galaxy is better off without them.
True, most things are not so 'black and white' to pun the phrase. Racial tensions are usually just cultural tensions, and only the superficial aspect of race gets focused on. But I still think this ST episode had the right idea in making this species' internal conflict all about race, because I think the intention was to soely address racism as a thing. It can still exist independently in people even when there are no cultural biases present. Some people in the world genuinely just don't like those that look different from themselves.
Devin Drew Fuck you and your opinion, I won't let love change who I am. If someone is different in a way I don't like, I AM going to vent my anger on them.
+thcollegestudent You mean condoning the death of an entire race of TV people. So far, I've never ran across any race that ever did that to them self's or others. Besides, I made that quote out of a Star Trek book.
This is what makes the original series so timeless...we are STILL dealing with the issues that they were trying to educate us about...we just cannot learn from our past...so sad
Races ARE different. Look at Europe. Look at Africa. Look at the Euro cities with lots of Africans moved there. Look at those cities beforehand. REALITY.
Highly underrated actor in Frank Gorshin. Could do comedy and drama with equal ease. Probably the best of the TV series Batman villains who brought the right amount of humor and menace to the Riddler.
This scene can be taken as an analogy sure, but it also stands on its own two feet in relationship the the story. It makes perfect sense that the characters would say and feel these things. It isn't forced down the audience's throat with prejudice. The message being we're all the same, and should strive for the better of all. Something this current society should learn from.
This is the first episode I remember from my 6-year old self watching Star Trek. It struck me so hard, the reveal of what caused the hatred. This episode is probably the reason Star Trek has been a philosophy for me my whole life. It gave me some hope to hold on to.
Younger viewers may not understand the context under which this was filmed in the 1960s, riots over Civil Rights were happening across many major cities in the USA at the time. Racial tensions were still very high when this episode aired. It is a simple allegory about race, but still very powerful.
00:01 Just want to say how much I love this view of the Enterprise. No need for CGI, in my opinion, and no need for a camera to spin around the ship either. Just a great and beautiful shot.
One of the best TOS episodes. The title alone. The fucking look spok and kirk gives when he explains "no no, he's white and black I'm black and white". The futility of it all.
Was awesome episode in time of civil rights and was smart to wait well into episode before mention of the difference likely few noticed before was mentioned.
When I first saw this episode in the UK (on a black and white TV) on its first release I was about 6 years old and even though I clearly didn't understand its full meaning its depth and sharp observation was deeply imprinted on me and with age it has only become a more potent commentary on racism in all its forms. I LOVE the looks expressed between Kirk and Spock what a wonderful piece of acting
People must understand that this episode was made during the most troubling times of race riots and civil rights uprising of the late 20th century, i.e.the '60s. I saw this episode in the late '70s and thought Frank Gorshin's character Bele was an absolute idiot! I will not debate what constitutes a race vs an ethnic people here, but I will certainly reference this episode on my own channel. I mean, really? I am black on the 'Right' side? Do you see his wish for ethnic cleansing against Loci's people? For him only the destruction of peoples that are white on the "Right" side can rectify the planet Cheron. Sounds like he is appealing for Federation approved genocide to me. Good thing that he never got what he wanted! Peace Out!
***** They did? Wow, I have to watch that episode again, it's been so long, I've forgotten many of the details. My comment was based on the video posted on UA-cam. Thanks for cluing me in, ;)
Yep... they get back to find their world in ashes due to catastrophic race war, Kirk offers them both asylum, since they have nothing to return to and there's no point in continuing their conflict, but they beam down instead to presumably finish one another off. "It makes no sense...!" Uhura exclaims, shocked and bewildered. Sulu says "Their world is dead... does it even matter anymore which of them was right?"Spock shakes his head with subtle sadness. "All that matters to them now, is their hate." Uhura asks "Do you suppose it's all they ever had?" Spock says "No.... but it is all they have left". Those are powerful words even now, but at a time of major race riots and bloody social upheavals they must have been downright chilling. The episode wasn't merely a condemnation of racism, it was a stark warning about the bloody consequences of such conflicts if they do not end in forgetting the past and making peace as equals.
I like how Kirk says “took” instead of “stole.” Even though he knows he most likely stole it, Kirk is a member of the utopian society, where the suspect is innocent until proven guilty, and not one second before. Any suspicion beforehand is saved for the privacy of a jury room. Not even a private citizen goes so far as to voice otherwise in the presence of a foreigner.
Spock & Kirk's befuddled reaction to what Loki (played here brilliantly by Frank Gorshin) really believes as a profound truth here is classic...Roddenberry a genius
This lesson extends beyond racism. People also have different beliefs and sexual orientations. Hate toward others because they are different is illogical.
Because some believe that to change who they are is a loss. A capitulation and sacrifice, or a even a violation, of all they have been up to then. It is ego death, and they fear the loss of self and identity as much as they would fear the end of life.
I can just imagine aliens coming to earth and being just as perplexed. "You are both bipedal, you both have an endoskeleton, and you both have those weird manipulators on the ends of your forelimbs that you call 'fingers'. I fail to see the difference." "Isn't it obvious? His skin is brown and mine is pink." "... okay? Honestly, you all look like the larval form of a Tlexician dung fly to me. No offence."
When this aired in 1969 in rural Texas I had lived in white flight Levittown Pa for most of my life and and had only come to the rural south in 1967 and I had only seen one black family (and no hispanics) in my life in Pa where I knew their last name. At 15 and little money, Vietnam, Civil Rights, Drugs, etc were not issues to me or anyone that I knew so this show had no impact on me until later after syndication in the seventies. In 1969. Not even the Uhura and Kirk forced kiss on Television had any impact. Star Trek did influence people positively but it took syndication and constant watching by college students after syndication that made an impact. I did not even see movies like Guess who is coming to dinner until the late 70's on TV. Then came the 80's and DVD players and my world opened up as I started watching movies I had never seen before from the 1930's to the present.
Thanks for posting!--Still relevant after 50 years sigh! Notice that particular Sol Kaplan theme that plays when Beel explains the silly difference between Lokai and himself. That theme always I think means twisted disorder in a society
the first time I've seen progressivism in a science fiction series. The irony in this series is that commissioner Beele was just as radical as Loki. Two opposite extreme points of view.
@@johnhuddleston8647 also, did you come back to your own post years later to give yourself a thousand upvotes? Bravo for your self-esteem, I guess, lol!
@@scottmatheson3346 Not quite. Actually, this is actually outdated. Progressivism is actually much worse. When you guys are not killing babies, you're having sex with them. So yeah!!! You're actually much worse than Gene Roddenberry portrayed you to be!!
Being owned as property for centuries by an equal, then treated like a lesser human being once "freed" is likely to cause "radical" behavior. Made worse when quietly kneeling in protest once, is considered just as egregious to those who were never in their situation.
As other posts here have stated, critics took issue with this episode as being "heavy handed" and too moralistic in its delivery. I wonder what the same critics think about the episode based on today's attitudes and constructs. Given the changes and the new focus on social morays in the series, I wondered why Star Trek The Next Generation didn't bring back these characters for an update on their conflict. The actors were STILL alive then. They kept their conflict going for centuries in The Original Series. Less than another 100 years could be factored into the story. The background on the characters could be fleshed out with flashbacks to the original episode. Deep Space 9 did it with Tribbles after all.
My Mom & I watched the show on Friday eves, I think. I remember the series moved to later time slots over its duration. Good thing I was getting older just to stay up! I was already reading sci-fi that greatly informed my view of the world, & S-T was no different. I took the vision seriously, that if we humans aren't collectively stupid, don't totally fuck it up, & crucially learn for the better, then we all stand a chance.
One of my all time favorite TOS episodes....................Fantastic and socially redeemable. I bet it made fans of the late sixties rethink predudice. To this day I have found Trekies to be the most open minded, intelligent people I have ever met. Great upload.............
I vaguely recall reading in one of the Star Trek (TNG?) novels that Lokai and Bele were still alive, each occupying their planet's north and south poles; as far away from each other as one could possibly get.
The minister's failure to recognize due process is an embarrassment. Whatever his views on Loki's actions and politics, his refusal to respect any jurisdiction but his own shows that he is unworthy of a diplomatic post.
Frank Gorshin got that drip tho. Not surprising as he was the first person to popularize the Riddler and the reason he is so popular today. But he also gave the drippler his signature suit
People who think this episode is heavy-handed, the moral is not just "racism is bad". It's about the absurdity of racism and its self-destructiveness, something certain people still dont understand
What!!!?? Cant you see it? Are you blind? He is white on the right side! The right side, for God's sake. He is not like me, he is an animal.
Well said.
@@KingoftheJuice18 1:50 That fellow did a great job of acting. He is so very worked up; distraught, annoyed, and angry that the people who are not like him but are rather the mirror image of himself they are the reason life is not great for him. It is all those white on wrong side people's fault. Scapegoat like Hitler and the Jews.
This actor reminds me of the way Hitler worked himself up into an intense state when he spoke. A+ for that actor lol fantastic very memorable performance.
@@nycinstyle That actor was the very talented Frank Gorshin who also played The Riddler in the 1960s Batman TV series.
@@KingoftheJuice18 I still remember watching this as a kid. The actor's intense, hateful tone when speaking and his facial expressions are terrific.
Gorshin was a real pro. I agree. Nimoy and Shatner are seemingly holding in nervous laughter like saying, "take it easy, man; wtf?!". Gorshin's performance is so spot on and reminiscent of a raging lunatic.
The older I get, the more fortunate I feel that I grew up with Star Trek.
Beautifully said. So much of my morals come from watching that show as a child and it has acted like a vaccine to protect me from all the rageful nonsense infecting the United States now.
Amen.
You and me both, I still remember watching this scene when I was about 10 or 11.
@@TiberiusPine But based on your comment, you were not protected from having the perceptual view of what you are referring to as "nonsense". Clearly you missed the message from Mr. Spock.
@@gxlorp: The message from Spock was that they/we are all the same. If you think that is what people (particularly in America) believe now, you’re sadly mistaken, and it’s clearly you who missed the message.
Love he episode. It doesnt just say "hurr racism iz wrong." It used this right/left side as allegory to show how ridiculous, inconsequential and pointless these divide actually is. When looked through a dispassionate detached perspectivethat isnt tainted by subjective opinions (the perspective of kirk & spock), none of it makes any sense.
This is how it should be done. Rather than hese days where ots just preaching and telling everyone they are horrible racists when they have done anything.
Much the same was done about racism, in a more humorous way, on an episode of the TV show Third Rock From The Sun. The aliens can't even begin to understand what racism is. When told that one woman is black, an alien turns towards another woman(who is obviously not black) and asks, "and you are...?" The woman replies, "could I be any whiter?!?"
The alien grows more and more frustrated and confused as the humans try to explain racism. Exasperated, he finally declares that he could understand dividing people on the basis of political philosophy, educational background, etc., "but skin pigmentation; give me a break!"
the part when the two aliens wrestle and nearly destroy the ship to the horror of the bridge crew makes them more similar than they like to admit. As Spock points out they are both extreme viewpoints of the same spectrum and no logic can come out of whatever they say. They are not only opposed physically but also due to view points that can never converge. The Commissioner is a law and order man who cannot understand Lokai's people but is blindly dedicated to his government's story about them, while Lokai is the kind of person who can never be satisfied with the status quo and will always create anarchy even in peacetime.
the beta canon (novels) expand on this, with Seven of Nine time traveling back to their planet (and being Borg, also doesn't really understand why they discriminate). We learn that the side Commissioner Bele is on developed a weapon to kill Lokai's people only to release it prematurely, killing everyone on the planet. This is one of those "they will never learn" people
Why do White people “tan”?
@@zhain0 you sound like a crybaby.
The Riddler as Two-Face
RIP Frank Gorshin, what a talent. Grew up watching his performances on Batman as the Riddler, even though it was a little before my time.
A couple of cast members from the 1960s Batman were in Star Trek TOS, Julie Newmar, Yvonne Craig and Lee Meriwether. Casts of Catwoman and Batgirl.
yeah he is both of my parent's favorite actor and I think he is awesome in all the stuff I saw him in as in Also Buck Rogers as Kellog "Plot to Kill a City". Lou Antonio is also a great actor in this, I also saw him in Night Gallery and Gunsmoke, he is also a director in Night Gallery he directed the one he was in.
This episode was pure genius. Gene Roddenberry was really a philosopher and a social activist in the guise of an entertainer.
He was also a misogynist and a sexist. Marina Sirtis called him a "dirty old man." Honestly go digging and you'll find some of the crew of TOS and TNG aren't as keen on him as popular belief would make you think. Gene was a great visionary, but a deeply flawed person.
The final form of the Cheronians, and the philosophical dimension to their appearance, was far more the work of Oliver Crawford and probably David Gerrold, who was doing some uncredited rewriting work for Star Trek that season, rather than Gene Roddenberry. Roddenberry's original idea was a very tired trope in which the Enterprise finds a planet where whites were enslaved by blacks, essentially role-reversal. Fortunately, saner heads prevailed.
Still, at the end of the day, all it comes down to is the tired old "group A hates group B because of what they look like" which is a very convenient political slogan but sadly one that has nothing to do with reality. People don't hate others because of their appearance, they hate them because of their *actions.* That's why hardly anybody in the West has any trouble with Asians whereas the negative sentiment towards blacks prevails-even though members of both these groups look completely different to whites.
That's not PC to say that but I'm not one to say things that will score me points on Tumblr.
You do realise you're totally full of bullshit, don't you Yarpen?
LordZontar "Fuck, another SOB ruining my perfectly convenient worldview... How do I counter him? Logical arguments? Like what, he's saying the truth after all... oh, I'll just badmouth him and maybe he won't reply."
I fucking love the look Spock and Kirk give each other at 2:48, like wtf, is wrong with this dude.
And the one ten seconds later "... Ah, so /that's/ what's wrong with him. Hoooo boy."
Thats a 'get the fuck off of my ship' moment
This episode makes a simple but brilliant point against racism by highlighting the stupidity of the concept.
Star Trek rules!
How come Blacks make the best sprinters and NBA players?
@@matthewplaysgames4752 How come Whites make best Hockey players and bowlers?
racism is not stupid.
There is no racism and that I see in the episode stop putting your spin on things that don't need to be changed no one called anyone out of their name on this episode
Tell that to everyone hating white people.
Are they overcome with rage everytime they look in a mirror?
Well put.
😆
The only civilization to ever invent the video camera and waterproof flat screen display before the mirror.
🤣🤣🤣
YOU win a cookie!
Gorshin was far more than an impressionist. Of course, he was the greatest Riddler--ever. But here, with his cadence of speech, his gestures, his facial expressions...everything he does, he rules this scene. That's how great he was. And it was an excellent episode, too!
Frank Gorshin, best Riddler ever.
Much better than John Astin, though not to take away from John Astin, he just wasn't suited to be the Riddler. He was a Medical Examiner on MacMillian and Wife and Gomez Addams on the Addams Family. A great actor.
This came out just before I was drafted in 1969. Although I have seen it many times, I have never forgotten that first viewing and the "comment" made by Frank Gorshin (actor/comedian) and shown here. I've been a Star Trek fan since day one. I'm getting older myself these days and I would liked to have thanked everyone who participated in the series. In lieu of not having done that earlier, I'll do it now as a remembrance to the great actors we have lost and those yet to come. Thankfully the series will be here for years yet to come. Thanks!!!
Thank you for your service, Sir.
Done you guys didn't get a proper one.
*WELCOME HOME*
America owes you a debt of gratitude. 😎🙏🏽🙏🏻💪🏾💪🏻😎
@@vetb882 🤡
Racial tension and racism is a theme throughout all of the Star Trek franchise really, like the Vulcans and Klingons with their superiority complex over Humans, the Cardassians and their superiority complex over the Klingons and Bajorans, and the Romulans with their superiority complex over pretty much everybody.
+The Face of The Alphabet
Depends on what you mean. The vulcans don't just having a superiority complex, they are difinitvely smarter and stronger... and the writers and fans will back me up on that.
i don't think anyone would dispute the clear superiority the Vulcan people have over humans and most other common trek races.
The Face of The Alphabet
they are not entirely superior... they do have flaws.
I mean, can you even call them "racist" when they dont belong to the same species?
ntdonat A superiority complex is not the same as actually being superior
lol Kirk keeps looking at Spock, "Explain this like you do everything...help me out here..."
And Spock's just like "Naw, I got nothin'."
Whereas Spock gives a return look saying "I am hoping that your often irrational but yet surprisingly acute perspective from an emotional point of view might gain us some insight"
So if members of these races interbred, would the kids be checker-boarded or multi-striped?
Oh Hue!
No half white below the waist..LOL
Actually, I've since heard from semi-official sources that the two races were NOT inter-fertile.
DefiantBoris LOL! Great pun!
Are their things black on one side and white on the other?
Do the women on Cheron have one black labium and one white labium? Or one black boob and one white boob?
No, of course not. they're all dead.
This is one of the most clever episodes. Basically it says, people are fugged up. Race is a social construct and so is racism. This episodes says, even when people appear very similar, even when the differnces are slight, some people will always think they're better than others.
That is so true.
" Race is a social construct and so is racism." except it isnt and it is obvious to everyone with 2 brain cells and knowledge of elementary school level biology
I think he means race as it is generally used. Our race is called the Human Race. And the vast majority of the human race is mixed genetically on some level. And if you go back far enough we all come from the same initial source. UA-cam search Edward James Olmost at the UN. He explains it better.
It's a little more complicated than that. Yes all humans share common ancestry if you go back far enough....but then humans began to migrate in different directions, resulting in separation into different parts of the globe. This isolation, over thousands of years, resulted in the development of different physical characteristics, along with different cultures and values as well. It is possible to acknowledge and talk about these differences without discriminating against anyone. Just like it's possible to acknowledge the differences between men and women without discriminating against either.
The key words in this entire video are "inferior breed."
“Lokai is white on the right side. All of his people are white on the right side.”
“The Star-Bellied Sneetches had bellies with stars.
The Plain-Bellied Sneetches had none upon thars.”
02:45 Just incredible how Kirk & Spock glance at Bele and each other as he explains the difference between his people and Lokai's. It's like they are utterly astonished that those differences matter at all.
thats one of the epic things about Star trek , a world where 2 men on the other side of the table from different planets hearing that both respond that way an in face consider themselves brothers
They likely didn’t even notice themselves that Lokai and the Commissioner had inverted skin tones to each side of each other
Way under appreciated. At the time it was made. Spocked
Both Kirk and Spock have a "I don't get it" expression. Spock's logic must have been like, "to use a human phrase....WTF."
This is one of the best episodes of Star Trek! It was definitely ahead of it's time! :)
"Ahead of its time"? Hardly. It came along exactly when it did, right on time.
@@billwhite9703 it's a bit of both.
@@connormacleod4922 nonsense. It was just one of if not the first to get things in that direction so to speak. There is no such thing as "ahead of time" if people knew that the concepts of race and prejudice were stupid to begin with.
@@anthonygarcia8749 Racism never went away, in fact it's more popular than ever. If anything the writers were aback of their time, not ahead. Today segregation is becoming popular again in America, progressive universities are taking the lead. All this "we're the same" is boomer talk from a time when some confused Christian [[male]] stammered about not wanting his kids judged by the color of their skin or some rubbish. But guess what: Not caring about skin color and racial identity above everything else means that YOU have problems, not us normal folks. Finally society has realized it. And no amount of equal rights bla bla from senile conservatives is going to stop us this time.
Upon first viewing I didn't think it was that great an episode. What it had to say seemed a bit heavy-handed or silly.
Upon reflection now, it's not one I want to see over and over, but I do like to see the scenes of their arguments, much like I enjoy the discussions with Khan in "Space Seed" though I don't think that's a great episode either. In college I bought a third of the episodes (27) on VHS. I'd say these two were second tier at best.
I love the pace of this scene.
Lythya it's excellent.
It really is written better than people give it credit for I think. This is exactly how bigots play it, first counting on the system to not even question them, then complain that their victims are working the system against them, then finally justifying everything with the outright loathing.
A brilliant, brilliant episode. Star Trek took on issues that were highly controversial at the time. Sadly, many of those issues are still on-going.
yeah, like your weight, tubby.
Is that the riddler?
Yes, same actor. :-)
Good eye! Yes it is
+ajay999999 Yes, and this role plus others such as Seton Kellogg in "Buck Rogers: The Plot To Kill A City" display Gorshin's superb versatility.
Yes that is Frank Gorshin
One of them, John Astin also played the "Riddler" on the 60's Batman sitcom.
William Shatner with Frank Gorshin. Pure greatness.
This is probably one of the great episodes within the Star Trex saga.. All the people within the episide were excellant and the story is so well written...
I find Gorshin's performance half-offensive.
Which half?
An EXCELLENT episode that RACISM BY ALL SIDES CAN lead to total annihilation.🖖
"by all sides..." uh huh
Only one side is doing a racism in any meaningful capacity. The other side pushing back against them are trying to end racism. Making both sides look equally bad only helps the bad side.
I bet segregation on his planet was downright nuts! Try entering a bar that says,"Whites/left side only"
Yeah. Reminds me of Pleasantville. That place was in black and white, until some people began to display natural colours. ... They tried to cover it up with grey make-up. And it didn't take long for signs to appear at the bar, "no coloreds". Which was to be taken in the literal sense of the word in this case.
lmaaoooooooooooo
@@australianhuntanstuff LOL you poor soul.. The joke went over your head. Whoooosh.
@@Petra44YT Damn, that sounds crazy! Going to put that on my watch list 😉
@@axel4196 it's a good watch.
The part I fully expected to see included was “I once heard that people of your planets believe that they’re descended from .. Apes....”. @ 44:34 The way he dragged out the word Apes was just classic good acting.
Just watched this a few days ago.... As a kid it was pure entertainment, as an adult it is the genius of roddenberry shining through..... Star trek worked on many levels ❤️
The best ever dramatization of the fact that race is a social construct
I watched this scene once every few years. As nothing beats the genius of ideas behind this episode/scene.
I was fortunate enough to see Frank Gorshin play George Burns on Broadway shortly before his (Gorshin's) death. He was an incredible actor.
@JayEey I think you're right. This reminds me of a similar argument on "Babylon 5" when Kosh says to G'kar "And will you continue until there are no more Centauri and no more Narn? If both sides are dead, no one will care who was right and who was wrong. It no longer matters who started it, G'Kar, it only matters now -- who is suffering."
Fascinating episode of Star Trek; when thoroughly thought over, this episode embodies racism and discrimination
into two aliens: Bele and Lokai. While Bele , the ruling class, is black on the right side, Lokai the “inferior class”
Is black on the left side, inflicting inequality, hatred, intolerance ; in fact the two alien beings displaying
mirror characteristics.
If only the Half black/white concept was used on Adam West's Batman show. We would have gotten Two-Face that wouldn't scare the viewers.
One of the most amazing things about this iconic episode, and there are many, is when Spock suggests that the people of Sharon must have been mono-colored at one time. The actor Frank Gorshin who brilliantly portrays Commissioner Bele finds that notion abhorrent. That small part of the scene harkens back to children born of black and white parents. Those children don’t carry the skin tone of someone from Sharon, but one might say those children do have black and white cultures intertwined in one being.
This episode of Star Trek explains racism better than any politician ever could. And it does it better by entertaining us with the truth of hate.
I wonder how those people would react to a clown
Or to a black guy
It’s hard to believe that this race felt that much of a difference to fight one another. And what kills me is the fact that these two beings were running around the galaxy for 50,000 years?!? Almost as long as the human race has been around. And they let HATE get in the way of just working with each other to “better themselves as it were“ 50,000 years of pure hate?! I hope the Human Race does a better job of maintaining control of their hate. As far as I‘m concerned any planet that ignorant enough to kill each other off like this…well, the galaxy is better off without them.
True, most things are not so 'black and white' to pun the phrase. Racial tensions are usually just cultural tensions, and only the superficial aspect of race gets focused on. But I still think this ST episode had the right idea in making this species' internal conflict all about race, because I think the intention was to soely address racism as a thing. It can still exist independently in people even when there are no cultural biases present. Some people in the world genuinely just don't like those that look different from themselves.
Devin Drew Fuck you and your opinion, I won't let love change who I am. If someone is different in a way I don't like, I AM going to vent my anger on them.
+Alexander Lysberg More is the pity.
+Devin Drew So close, right up until you condoned the death of an entire race of people.
+thcollegestudent You mean condoning the death of an entire race of TV people. So far, I've never ran across any race that ever did that to them self's or others. Besides, I made that quote out of a Star Trek book.
Frank Gorshin was such a good character actor.
Trek was so ahead of its time.
Still is, sadly.
This is what makes the original series so timeless...we are STILL dealing with the issues that they were trying to educate us about...we just cannot learn from our past...so sad
Races ARE different. Look at Europe. Look at Africa. Look at the Euro cities with lots of Africans moved there. Look at those cities beforehand. REALITY.
2:56
Classic Kirk "WTF?"
Star Trek TOS was ahead of its time when it came to lessons and learning.
Charon is In the southern part of the galaxy. Wink, wink.
Highly underrated actor in Frank Gorshin. Could do comedy and drama with equal ease. Probably the best of the TV series Batman villains who brought the right amount of humor and menace to the Riddler.
Ugh - monocoloured people! Absolutely ugh! Completely irrational!
I love how dismissive he is and appalled he gets at the thought.
This scene can be taken as an analogy sure, but it also stands on its own two feet in relationship the the story. It makes perfect sense that the characters would say and feel these things. It isn't forced down the audience's throat with prejudice. The message being we're all the same, and should strive for the better of all. Something this current society should learn from.
This is the first episode I remember from my 6-year old self watching Star Trek. It struck me so hard, the reveal of what caused the hatred. This episode is probably the reason Star Trek has been a philosophy for me my whole life. It gave me some hope to hold on to.
Younger viewers may not understand the context under which this was filmed in the 1960s, riots over Civil Rights were happening across many major cities in the USA at the time. Racial tensions were still very high when this episode aired. It is a simple allegory about race, but still very powerful.
those effects, are stunning
This was thought out really well. Even back then it would seem arbitrary. Fucking genius!
Hey. That's the Riddler!
As the owner of a pair of Border Collies - I can confirm that this is 100% accurate
Oooh, it was cut off too soon. The part about how originally they were the same color is crucial to the scene.
00:01 Just want to say how much I love this view of the Enterprise. No need for CGI, in my opinion, and no need for a camera to spin around the ship either. Just a great and beautiful shot.
One of the best TOS episodes. The title alone. The fucking look spok and kirk gives when he explains "no no, he's white and black I'm black and white". The futility of it all.
Woooow... this is BRILLIANTLY done!
There can be no progress without deviation from the norm -- Frank Zappa
Came here from the protests to watch this scene again.
David Bloyd How many times will we make this mistake...
2021...this is now..wow..we are here!!
Just watched that for the 1st time. That's really good episode. :)
Man, I've just remembered that Leonard Nimoy is actually dead. Fuck.
😢
😥 Leonard Nimoy rest in peace as you were
Was awesome episode in time of civil rights and was smart to wait well into episode before mention of the difference likely few noticed before was mentioned.
This is my favorite episode!
All they had left was their hatred for each other on a destroyed planet….
Kinda’ hits home……here on Earth…
Wishing you all well.
My favorite season 3 episode!!
When I first saw this episode in the UK (on a black and white TV) on its first release I was about 6 years old and even though I clearly didn't understand its full meaning its depth and sharp observation was deeply imprinted on me and with age it has only become a more potent commentary on racism in all its forms. I LOVE the looks expressed between Kirk and Spock what a wonderful piece of acting
People must understand that this episode was made during the most troubling times of race riots and civil rights uprising of the late 20th century, i.e.the '60s. I saw this episode in the late '70s and thought Frank Gorshin's character Bele was an absolute idiot! I will not debate what constitutes a race vs an ethnic people here, but I will certainly reference this episode on my own channel. I mean, really? I am black on the 'Right' side? Do you see his wish for ethnic cleansing against Loci's people? For him only the destruction of peoples that are white on the "Right" side can rectify the planet Cheron. Sounds like he is appealing for Federation approved genocide to me. Good thing that he never got what he wanted! Peace Out!
It doesn't really matter. The alien world was already dead, they had all murdered each other long ago.
*****
They did? Wow, I have to watch that episode again, it's been so long, I've forgotten many of the details. My comment was based on the video posted on UA-cam. Thanks for cluing me in, ;)
Yep... they get back to find their world in ashes due to catastrophic race war, Kirk offers them both asylum, since they have nothing to return to and there's no point in continuing their conflict, but they beam down instead to presumably finish one another off.
"It makes no sense...!" Uhura exclaims, shocked and bewildered. Sulu says "Their world is dead... does it even matter anymore which of them was right?"Spock shakes his head with subtle sadness. "All that matters to them now, is their hate." Uhura asks "Do you suppose it's all they ever had?" Spock says "No.... but it is all they have left".
Those are powerful words even now, but at a time of major race riots and bloody social upheavals they must have been downright chilling. The episode wasn't merely a condemnation of racism, it was a stark warning about the bloody consequences of such conflicts if they do not end in forgetting the past and making peace as equals.
I like how Kirk says “took” instead of “stole.” Even though he knows he most likely stole it, Kirk is a member of the utopian society, where the suspect is innocent until proven guilty, and not one second before. Any suspicion beforehand is saved for the privacy of a jury room. Not even a private citizen goes so far as to voice otherwise in the presence of a foreigner.
Spock & Kirk's befuddled reaction to what Loki (played here brilliantly by Frank Gorshin) really believes as a profound truth here is classic...Roddenberry a genius
This is Bele, unless you believe Lokai always refers to himself in the third person.
@@jjohnston94
The fact that he confused the two makes his argument more relevant.
Actually, F. Gorshin's portrayal was of Bele, and the other actor's (whose name I cans L can't remember) was Lokai in this episode.
Can't help but recognize "The Riddler's" voice.
on one episode kirk told someone at the helm that he could leave his racism in his quarters
This lesson extends beyond racism. People also have different beliefs and sexual orientations. Hate toward others because they are different is illogical.
"Change is the essential process of all existence" Well said Mr. Spock. If change is inevitable, why do so many fear it?
Because some believe that to change who they are is a loss. A capitulation and sacrifice, or a even a violation, of all they have been up to then. It is ego death, and they fear the loss of self and identity as much as they would fear the end of life.
I can just imagine aliens coming to earth and being just as perplexed.
"You are both bipedal, you both have an endoskeleton, and you both have those weird manipulators on the ends of your forelimbs that you call 'fingers'. I fail to see the difference."
"Isn't it obvious? His skin is brown and mine is pink."
"... okay? Honestly, you all look like the larval form of a Tlexician dung fly to me. No offence."
"This Side of Paradise" ~ ST's take on pot ~ Spock turns in to a loved up hippie swinging in the trees
Brilliant acting by Frank Gorshin.
When this aired in 1969 in rural Texas I had lived in white flight Levittown Pa for most of my life and and had only come to the rural south in 1967 and I had only seen one black family (and no hispanics) in my life in Pa where I knew their last name. At 15 and little money, Vietnam, Civil Rights, Drugs, etc were not issues to me or anyone that I knew so this show had no impact on me until later after syndication in the seventies. In 1969. Not even the Uhura and Kirk forced kiss on Television had any impact. Star Trek did influence people positively but it took syndication and constant watching by college students after syndication that made an impact. I did not even see movies like Guess who is coming to dinner until the late 70's on TV. Then came the 80's and DVD players and my world opened up as I started watching movies I had never seen before from the 1930's to the present.
Thanks for posting!--Still relevant after 50 years sigh! Notice that particular Sol Kaplan theme that plays when Beel explains the silly difference between Lokai and himself. That theme always I think means twisted disorder in a society
This is such a great episode
2:42 says it all.
the first time I've seen progressivism in a science fiction series. The irony in this series is that commissioner Beele was just as radical as Loki. Two opposite extreme points of view.
@@johnhuddleston8647 you are projecting.
@@johnhuddleston8647 also, did you come back to your own post years later to give yourself a thousand upvotes? Bravo for your self-esteem, I guess, lol!
@@scottmatheson3346 Not quite. Actually, this is actually outdated. Progressivism is actually much worse. When you guys are not killing babies, you're having sex with them. So yeah!!! You're actually much worse than Gene Roddenberry portrayed you to be!!
Being owned as property for centuries by an equal, then treated like a lesser human being once "freed" is likely to cause "radical" behavior. Made worse when quietly kneeling in protest once, is considered just as egregious to those who were never in their situation.
@@stevencramsie9172 Could you do me a favor and enlighten me please. What was the end result of this episode??
I love this episode .
As other posts here have stated, critics took issue with this episode as being "heavy handed" and too moralistic in its delivery. I wonder what the same critics think about the episode based on today's attitudes and constructs.
Given the changes and the new focus on social morays in the series, I wondered why Star Trek The Next Generation didn't bring back these characters for an update on their conflict. The actors were STILL alive then. They kept their conflict going for centuries in The Original Series. Less than another 100 years could be factored into the story. The background on the characters could be fleshed out with flashbacks to the original episode. Deep Space 9 did it with Tribbles after all.
Gorshin was dead by then, no? and it's impossible to imagine any 2 other actors in these roles imho, but in theory would have been fascinating.
How spooky that this episode remains relevant today...
My Mom & I watched the show on Friday eves, I think. I remember the series moved to later time slots over its duration. Good thing I was getting older just to stay up! I was already reading sci-fi that greatly informed my view of the world, & S-T was no different. I took the vision seriously, that if we humans aren't collectively stupid, don't totally fuck it up, & crucially learn for the better, then we all stand a chance.
I love how both Spock and Kirk look equally confused during the "I am black on the right side" bit.
WE do not KNOW that Lodi has DONE that.
OWN3D!!!!1
This episode is more relevant now than ever before.
One of my all time favorite TOS episodes....................Fantastic and socially redeemable. I bet it made fans of the late sixties rethink predudice.
To this day I have found Trekies to be the most open minded, intelligent people I have ever met.
Great upload.............
IF only Trekies ran the world - seriously.
I vaguely recall reading in one of the Star Trek (TNG?) novels that Lokai and Bele were still alive, each occupying their planet's north and south poles; as far away from each other as one could possibly get.
No Time Like the Past. Read that recently. Not the worst bit of time-travel fanfic I've read.
Take notes Star Trek Discovery
i just rewatched this nite before last..
The minister's failure to recognize due process is an embarrassment. Whatever his views on Loki's actions and politics, his refusal to respect any jurisdiction but his own shows that he is unworthy of a diplomatic post.
That's Frank Gorshin. He was a comic who's most popular role was that of the Riddler
Let's not forget the enjoyment of watching a couple of over-the-top actors like William Shatner and Frank Gorshin play off of each other. :)
Frank Gorshin got that drip tho. Not surprising as he was the first person to popularize the Riddler and the reason he is so popular today. But he also gave the drippler his signature suit
It's worth all the scrolling to get to this.
It won't be long when they'll be deleting this episode from this series.
It's an anti-racism message.