Author: Jonathan Lane

Last time, we began by taking a brief look at the history of the word “woke.” (You can read the full history here.) Although “woke” began as a positive word connoting being aware of racial injustice, in the last half-decade, “woke” has been co-opted into a toxic, negative insult, implying (from conservatives) an overly liberal and progressive view of race relations and inequality and (from liberals) an overcompensation to try to mitigate implied social injustice.

Whatever the meaning, some detractors of STAR TREK: DISCOVERY have begun to deploy the word “woke” in criticizing the show. But what exactly are they talking about? Is it the diversity of characters of different races, ethnicities, sexual orientations, and gender identities? Or is there something about the plots or the storytelling that is supposedly “woke”?

In order to get a better understanding of what the critics mean when they call Discovery “woke,” I reached out to fans on four different large-size Star Trek Facebook groups(this group, this group, this group, and this group) and asked for examples of what they consider “woke” beyond just the characters themselves.

Unfortunately, almost no one offered specific examples—only broad brush strokes which didn’t help define (for me, at least) what it was about Discovery (beyond the characters) that was “woke.” Indeed, the only specific complaints I received were a bit absurd: one person who thought there was way too much kissing and another who assumed, from watching the third season Discovery episode “People of Earth,” that “Africans took over Earth and do not welcome non-Africans home.” And among his proof was that Earth ships resembled elephants. (Seriously, I screen capped the comment!)

Anyway, with nothing else that I could take seriously as an example of what made Discovery “woke,” I could only assume it was indeed some combination of the races/ethnicities of the actors and/or the sexual orientations/gender identities of the characters.

So I took a closer look at the actors themselves. There is a general perception out there among certain fans that Discovery portrays an overly diverse cast in terms of race and ethnicity. The bridge crew is certainly “colorful,” and the current main cast features two Blacks, one Hispanic, and one half-Asian. Of course, it also features four white actors (I still consider Tilly part of the main cast). That’s 50% white.

But I took it a step further and looked at the casting of ALL actors who’ve appeared with significant speaking roles in at least two episodes dating back to the start of the series. The results were staggeringly skewed toward white actors and actresses (35 total) versus Black actors (8 total) and those of Latino, Asian and other/unknown ethnicities (also 8 total).

So with 2/3 of the total actors on the show being white, why it is that so many viewers mistakenly believe that the Discovery cast is so much more diverse than it actually is…?

How many times have you seen someone on social media complaining that STAR TREK: DISCOVERY is too “woke”? People seem to use “woke” as though it were some kind of four-letter word!

But what does “woke” actually mean, and more importantly, is Discovery truly “woke”…or do certain people just think that it is?

The word “woke” first came to prominence within the Black community in the 1940s, an African-American slang term that initially meant being informed about systemic racism in America. It was a positive word, indicating awareness of things that tended to be “off the radar” for many Americans at the time.

By 2016, the newly-formed Black Lives Matter movement began to use the phrase and hashtag #StayWoke as a way calling attention to what they maintained was widespread mistreatment of Black suspects by law enforcement. By 2017, the word “woke” was added to the Oxford English Dictionary, defined as “being ‘aware’ or ‘well-informed’ in a political or cultural sense.”

So far, so good. Nothing wrong with being “woke”…yet.

However, like other terms that started out as positive—such as “politically correct” and “social justice warrior”—the word “woke” was eventually corrupted and turned into something derogatory and toxic…specifically by the alt-right and other conservative groups. It became a crass insult directed primarily at liberals and progressives who were ridiculed for everything from “cancel culture” to “critical race theory” in their desire to stand up for what they believed were marginalized and persecuted groups and minorities both within America and beyond.

Gradually, those on the left stopped using “woke” as a positive. Today, even liberals and progressives employ “woke” to call out actions that are mocked for overcompensating in trying to provide fairness and equal representation beyond what seems reasonable and appropriate. One example is the recent trend by the left to introduce the plural word “Latinx” into common usage because because the plural “Latinos” leaves out women (even though Spanish speakers actually prefer the original plural since that’s the way the Spanish language works).

WHAT SPECIFICALLY IS “WOKE” ABOUT ST: DISCOVERY?

Back in May of 2018, as CBS was pushing for Emmy consideration for the premiere season of Star Trek: Discovery, Entertainment Weekly called the new prequel show the “…boldest and most woke series yet.” CBS quickly plastered that pull quote as a headline on Discovery‘s media press kit. Obviously, the word “woke” hadn’t yet fallen from grace.

That was then…