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The fact that this kiss was considered “controversial” is nuts.
I read recently that there were at least two interracial kisses on TV before this one, one of them even involving William Shatner.
He got the better deal out of the two.
For a little context, the US Supreme Court decision Loving vs Virginia affirming the right to marry a person of a different race had only occurred the previous year. The country was very much still a place that treated black people as lesser, and the television content standards of the time implicitly countenanced that view. This kiss was a challenge to the established order.
I’m jealous. He was always kissing beautiful women.
Tis Ok if he bangs aliens but not kiss a black woman…lol
Yes, it was great yes it is iconic, but I would say around around the United States
RIP Nichelle
Fun fact, this was NOT the first interracial kiss on television. It wasn’t even William Shatners first interracial kiss on television. That was in 1958.
MURRRRRICA IS THE WORLD!!!
I used to watch this with my dad when I was little, it really kicked off my love of SF. He would tell me how groundbreaking it was during it’s first run but I never really understood until I was older. A black woman, a Russian dude, an Asian dude all working together as equals? Seems normal now (as it should) but back then it was pretty groundbreaking.
“I hate the new Star Trek, they just make it all political now. The original series wasn’t political!”
The original series:
Did you know that William Shatner is more or less single handedly responsible for that kiss?
Back then, filming was really expensive, especially for a low budget show like Star Trek. The producers didn’t want the kiss to happen, so Shatner made a deal with them that, of the two takes they were able to film, he would do one with the kiss and one without.
He shot the kiss take and then during the non kiss take, he acted like a fool and basically made the take unusable
For as much as an asshat as he can be, he has his redeeming qualities.
As a child of a bigot, I felt the significance of the episode.
It solidified my belief that Dad was an asshat.
Wasn’t until I read the comments that I understood why this kiss was so special. Might be because I’m European, or maybe because the world changed so much that an interracial kiss is nothing controversial no more. Anyway, good on mister Star Trek man!
Actually 1 yr before Nancy Sinatra kissed Sammy Davis on the Cheek on tv. It was no Shatner. But still the same reaction from some.
There’s an interview with Nichelle Nichols that’s excellent. She talks about that kiss from a very fascinating perspective on meaning implications and the problems she and Shatner had on set.
It’s not really the first interracial kiss though. Wild Wild West came earlier.
Kinda mind blowing that the tv shown was about humans exploring the depths of space someday in the future. Such content should be an indicator of the progression of the human spirit and a hopeful future without all the bigotry of the past.
And yet there was controversy.
Felt round the world? I know this was a big thing in the US but I dont think it was a thing in the rest of the world.
It’s worth mentioning that white male +black female was WAY less controversial that black male + white female. I have a pretty good sense of this largely from knowing my boomer grandfather my whole life
*USA
As an 11-year-old when I first saw this the color of their skin meant nothing to me when they kissed. It’s too bad everybody isn’t like that.
Mostly USA tbh
Round the world? The US was at that point one of the last countries to abolish apartheid. The world was already done waiting for the US to accept something as normal as this.
More like just the US because its 50 years behind everyone else
I mean, that was normal almost everywhere except the US lol