Why does pleasure have to be seen as guilty? My friend Annie Sprinkle is always always talking about in her sexy performances that Americans are way too hung up on thinking of pleasure as something to be guilty about. Maybe it's those crazy pilgrims who came over on the Mayflower exerting their influence on us almost 400 years later. Just because they were prudes about sex and pleasure why do they still have to ruin the fun for the rest of us? Why can't we just revel in being joyful, stimulated or excited? Well, it's because sometimes we feel kind of dorky and fear we'll be mocked!
I don't care. I'm ready to come out of the closet, the Star Trek closet that is! My guilty pleasure is watching the television series developed by Gene Rodenberry that began in the 1960s. Star Trek shows remain a remarkable depiction of a promising future where humans and people not quite like us worked together, learned from each other and explored the universe for self-growth. They did it for the sheer fascination of it. All the plots of the shows are allegories to modern day woes like racism, homophobia, multiculturalism and the role of technology in our lives.
After a particularly stressful day, nothing soothes me like a good episode of Star Trek: Voyager. It's not just the story line or the characters that I enjoy, it's also the techy sounds, beeps and background noise they add to the shows. It's hypnotic.
One of the episodes that really strikes a chord with me is when the half-klingon, half-human B'Elanna Torres gets caught by aliens who separate her into two people, one Klingon and one human. The episode focuses mostly on the human B'Elanna's struggle to embrace her wilder untamed Klingon self, until she finally realizes that she needs both of her selves to survive.
It was difficult for me being of mixed cultures growing up in Puerto Rico. Not just being gay, but being a blue eyed white kid in a predominantly brown skinned culture wasn't always easy. I've always felt like and outsider in my own country, as well as anywhere else I live. Like B'Elana, I've fought with my Puerto Rican side and my American side. Someday I'll reconcile them.
So there you have it, my guilty pleasure. I also like making slash collages of one of the greatest gay couples of all time Kirk and Spock. I hope you enjoy the campy fun and please don't give any tribbles to Richard Gere- they never the same again.
Just for fun, here is a sexy gay photo montage of one of the greatest gay couples in science fiction, Captain Kirk (William Shatner) and First Science Officer Spock (Leonard Nemoy):
I vividly remember watching the first episode on our old black and white TV in the basement rec room of my childhood home. It's one of those memories that will stay with me forever.
You're not the only one with that guilty pleasure. Great post!
The thing I really enjoy about Fausto's commentary (here and on FoF) is that it is personal, insightful, and full of feeling. What is more, in his interviews, he is able to bring out these qualities in his guests (unless they are Tay Zonday, then it is a bit more challenging).
Anyhow, great post Fausto. It was very authentic and refreshing.
I particularly like how you name drop. You're famous and fascinating. Lame post, Fausto.