Later series did have *some* successes. DS9 had the first same-sex kiss on network television or some such, although the story was a complicated one and it wasn't about Teh Gay, exactly; the fact that they were both women wasn't part of the problem with the relationship.
You are right about the first interracial kiss. It was a curious thing. Roddenberry didn't see it should be a big deal. However, he was pretty much the only one: "... they were so concerned about how controversial it was that we played too hard against it. Bill fought it as if he didn't want to kiss me... I thought it lost all its impact the way we played it." - Nichelle Nichols. (Yes, I dug out my Star Trek essay for easy references.)
I'm not sure how much I agree with her. Kirk would have resisted because he was being forced, and dude don't play that, and because it didn't really suit his captainly dignity to be compelled to kiss his Communications Officer. Still.
TOS did, though, have a lot more to work with in some ways. The Civil Rights movement and the attendant upheaval was a big issue at the time, where there are fewer overwhelming issues these days to take on. And, too, I think the networks are *more* timid, not less.
TOS actually did make a difference to a lot of people, which is more than most science fictions can really say. One more quotation out of my essay for you: "Civil rights came of age in the sixties, and so did I - right here in the South. You can pretty well imagine my environment, so let's say that Spock and Star Trek did as much to change my views as my watching civil rights workers being hosed down and badgered with police dogs." - Leslie Thompson.
A work of fiction is likely to be subject to certain flaws of unexamined assumptions and hereditary baggage of privilege it can't overcome, either because enlightenment is a process the creators may not have completed or because commercial success, or even the ability to produce the work, may require some forms be observed. (This was a big problem of the original Star Trek's.) The thing is... the effort is worth making, and if you're trying, you can still make a difference.
Which doesn't excuse, at all, people who should know better. I will give Star Trek a pass on a lot of stuff that, these days, is extremely problematic from a racial or feminist perspective. (Although the heavily negative portrayal of Klingons isn't really on that list. Klingons were bad guys, but still given some redeeming virtues in some episodes, and also, were played by white guys and were sufficiently human-like in appearance that one Klingon passes as human in "The Trouble With Tribbles". Nothing about them suggested black, really. Next Gen and later almost all Klingons were played by black guys and it gets iffier, BUT they were made more noble. DS9 undid a lot of this, but TNG played them as Different From Us But Kind Of Heroic And Awesome. Then again, Later DS9 sucked for a range of reasons.)
I haven't read to the end of Harry Potter but by the sounds of things Rowling is firmly in a People Who Should Know Better category.
As for TMIGE: yeah. I do think the book is very flawed. I just think they're one of the more interesting, and better-thought-out, alien setups out there. It kind of starts better than it ends, since the end of the book kind of falls in on itself, sadly.
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You are right about the first interracial kiss. It was a curious thing. Roddenberry didn't see it should be a big deal. However, he was pretty much the only one: "... they were so concerned about how controversial it was that we played too hard against it. Bill fought it as if he didn't want to kiss me... I thought it lost all its impact the way we played it." - Nichelle Nichols. (Yes, I dug out my Star Trek essay for easy references.)
I'm not sure how much I agree with her. Kirk would have resisted because he was being forced, and dude don't play that, and because it didn't really suit his captainly dignity to be compelled to kiss his Communications Officer. Still.
TOS did, though, have a lot more to work with in some ways. The Civil Rights movement and the attendant upheaval was a big issue at the time, where there are fewer overwhelming issues these days to take on. And, too, I think the networks are *more* timid, not less.
TOS actually did make a difference to a lot of people, which is more than most science fictions can really say. One more quotation out of my essay for you: "Civil rights came of age in the sixties, and so did I - right here in the South. You can pretty well imagine my environment, so let's say that Spock and Star Trek did as much to change my views as my watching civil rights workers being hosed down and badgered with police dogs." - Leslie Thompson.
A work of fiction is likely to be subject to certain flaws of unexamined assumptions and hereditary baggage of privilege it can't overcome, either because enlightenment is a process the creators may not have completed or because commercial success, or even the ability to produce the work, may require some forms be observed. (This was a big problem of the original Star Trek's.) The thing is... the effort is worth making, and if you're trying, you can still make a difference.
Which doesn't excuse, at all, people who should know better. I will give Star Trek a pass on a lot of stuff that, these days, is extremely problematic from a racial or feminist perspective. (Although the heavily negative portrayal of Klingons isn't really on that list. Klingons were bad guys, but still given some redeeming virtues in some episodes, and also, were played by white guys and were sufficiently human-like in appearance that one Klingon passes as human in "The Trouble With Tribbles". Nothing about them suggested black, really. Next Gen and later almost all Klingons were played by black guys and it gets iffier, BUT they were made more noble. DS9 undid a lot of this, but TNG played them as Different From Us But Kind Of Heroic And Awesome. Then again, Later DS9 sucked for a range of reasons.)
I haven't read to the end of Harry Potter but by the sounds of things Rowling is firmly in a People Who Should Know Better category.
As for TMIGE: yeah. I do think the book is very flawed. I just think they're one of the more interesting, and better-thought-out, alien setups out there. It kind of starts better than it ends, since the end of the book kind of falls in on itself, sadly.