Star Trek Producers Address Diversity and Inclusion at Television Academy Foundation Seminar
Three Star Trek producers have appeared at the Television Academy Foundation’s Faculty Seminar, discussing Star Trek and 50 years of diversity and inclusion. Alex Kurtzman, Michelle Paradise and Jenny Lumet took part in the seminar yesterday, and the Television Academy live-tweeted the action.
The Television Academy Foundation is the charitable arm of the Television Academy, producers of the Emmys. The foundation aims to shape the future of television by helping educate and nurture students in the television industry. Yesterday’s talk was part of the foundation’s Faculty Seminar Conference, in which television industry experts talk to media arts educators from across the country.
What a treat as we kick off Day 2 of the Television Academy Foundation Faculty Seminar with #ThePowerofTV @StarTrek 50 Years of Diversity & Inclusion with @Alex_Kurtzman #JennyLumet and @michelleparadis (@startrekcbs #startrekpicard) #StarTrek #TeachingTelevision pic.twitter.com/9ymX4Vgbql
— Television Academy (@TelevisionAcad) November 5, 2019
Kurtzman, Paradise and Lumet were part of the Power of TV session, and they discussed the role of diversity and inclusion in the Star Trek franchise, both in front of, and behind the cameras.
According to the Television Academy, when asked what makes inclusion on Star Trek remain special decade after decade, “[Kurtzman] notes, since the beginning the racial, gender or sexual orientation identities of characters has generally never been discussed; they just exist as they do in the real world.”
They also noted that “The decision to have Culber and Stamets be in a same-sex relationship was done before the actors even came into play. It was important to producers to be able to do a deep-dive into their relationship by simply letting it exist.”
Paradise spoke about the culture in the writers’ room. “The goal has always been to have the Star Trek room be a ‘safe space’,” she said. “They want people to be comfortable ‘raising their hand’ to speak up because we all have blinders to a degree because not everyone has had the same experience.”
The Television Academy Foundation’s Faculty Seminar Conference is still going on, through Thursday. You can follow along with the other lectures on Twitter, using the hashtag #TeachingTelevision.
