I'm not Spock.In an odd coincidence, this week saw the 80th birthdays of two of science fiction's best known faces: William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy.
But if I'm not, who is? And if I'm not Spock, who am I?
Leonard Nimoy, I Am Not Spock
It's impossible to deny that it's been a difficult path for both of these actors: Star Trek may well be the most frightening cautionary tale in existence in regards to typecasting. No doubt every actor who is offered a part with the potential for the same degree of role identification must take a moment to wonder if they will suffer the same fate as the cast of Star Trek. And over the years that fate, that astonishing identification with the roles of Kirk and Spock, has been a burden that both Shatner and Nimoy have struggled with, railed against, returned to, joked about, profited from, and, I think, ultimately accepted.
But let's have a science fiction moment here. Let's imagine an alternate time line where Star Trek never happened. Where would these two men be today? Would William Shatner be performing King Lear as his swan song after over fifty years as a fixture on the Shakespearian stage at Stratford in Ontario? Would Leonard Nimoy have pursued his interest in photography to the exclusion of his acting career?
If nothing else, Spock and Kirk gave Nimoy and Shatner an opportunity to leave a mark on our society that very few pop culture figures can match. I think it's fair to say that, thanks to Star Trek, these two men have probably done more to popularize the exploration of space than all the NASA missions put together.
Bill, Leonard - on behalf of all of us, thank you, and, well, maybe we're all a bit sorry too. But still, thanks.
- Sid
P.S. I strongly recommend I Am Not Spock, Nimoy's 1977 autobiographical examination of his life before, during and after playing the role of Spock on television. There's a sequel entitled I Am Spock which I didn't find to be as interesting, but feel free to read both.
You have slash in the title, and as I'm curious and in research right now, perhaps you know what these two think of actual slash fanfiction they, well, inspired? I hadn't found any interviews but I would love to know.
ReplyDeleteIt's an interesting question. I dug around a bit, and found a 2008 interview(http://www.ugo.com/tv/william-shatner-interview-2008) containing the following exchange:
ReplyDeleteUGO: Are you familiar with the phenomenon of "Slash Fiction?"
WS: Slash?
UGO: It's a sub-genre of literature, if you will, that was created, in a way, because of Captain Kirk. It comes from the phrase "Kirk/Spock." Or "K/S". It's people who write their own fan versions of the show. And that's fine...amateur writers having a good time. But of course there's always some who take it to a prurient level. And there is a whole subdivision of love stories between Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock. And it's expanded to everything with rabid fanbases. Harry Potter or, heck, the Simpsons. Have you ever heard of this?
WS: I've never heard of the word "slash," but I have heard of the writings. And I think it's basically wish-fulfillment. I think the fans see themselves in the hypothetical erotic behavior.
I'm almost positive that Nimoy doesn't address the topic of K/S in either of his autobiographies, and a quick search through my digital copy of I Am Spock didn't find any references (but admittedly it was a pretty quick search).
There are innumerable references online to Shatner, Nimoy and Roddenberry all being familiar with and tolerant of K/S fanfic. A few of them reference a Roddenberry quote from Shatner's biography, and something from the "The Making of ST: TMP", both regarding the Kirk/Spock relationship, but I didn't see any specific quotes from Nimoy or Shatner.
I suspect you'll have to dig through a LOT of interviews to strike gold on this topic, but logic (no joke intended) suggests that you're more likely to find references in more recent interviews ("recent" being the last 25 or 30 years) - slash would probably be more of a topic in the internet era.
Good luck!
- Sid
Thanks! It'd be very interesting to find something... when I'll have a bit of free time.
ReplyDelete(sorry, I've just dug out in the corner of the tabs this one opened and remembered I forgot to answer you, haha)