 Book cover | |
| Author | George Takei |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Autobiography |
| Genre | Non-fiction |
| Publisher | Pocket Books |
Publication date | October 1994 |
| Media type | Hardcover |
| Pages | 352 |
| ISBN | 0-671-89008-5 |
| OCLC | 31049797 |
| 791.45/028/092 B 20 | |
| LC Class | PN2287.T138 A3 1994 |
To the Stars: The Autobiography of George Takei, Star Trek's Mr. Sulu is an autobiography by actor George Takei, first published by Pocket Books in 1994. Takei describes his early childhood and the time his family spent in Japanese American internment, and experiences which shaped his motivation towards political activism. He initially entered University of California, Berkeley with the plan to attend architecture school, but later told his parents he wanted to be an actor and graduated with a degree in drama. He discusses his early acting roles and his experiences on Star Trek, including conflicts with William Shatner. Takei was pleased when his character Sulu had a prominent role as Captain of the starship Excelsior in the movie Star Trek VI.
The book received positive reviews in Booklist, Publishers Weekly, and the Austin American-Statesman, and a journalist for the Los Angeles Times recommended the work as part of a holiday gift list. To the Stars was selected to be displayed for a month in the William J. Clinton Presidential Library.[1]
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Transcription
The creator of Star Trek, Gene Roddenberry, was a true visionary. The starship Enterprise was supposed to be souring through space in the 23rd century. By that time the crew of Enterprise reflected the philosophy that Gene Roddenberry had. Gene Roddenberry felt that the Enterprise was a metaphor for starship earth and the strength of this starship lay in its diversity. People of many different backgrounds, many different cultures, many different experiences, many different ethnicities coming together and working in concert as a team boldly going where no one had on before. And that was depicted in the make up of the crew. African-American women as the communications chief, the captain was a North American. The engineer was a European and my character Sulu was to represent Asia. The problem he had was to find a name for this Asian character from the 23rd century because every Asian surname is nationally specific. Tanaka is Japanese. Wong is Chinese. Kim is Korea. And 20th century Asia was turbulent with warfare, colonization, rebellion and he didn't want to suggest that. He wanted to depict and suggest a much more enlightened society. And he wanted to find a name that suggested all of Asia, Pan Asia and that was a real dilemma for him. He had a map of Asia pinned on the wall and he was staring at it trying to get some inspiration for the Asian character. And he found off the coast of the Philippines the Sulu Sea. And he thought ah, the waters of a sea touch all shores, embracing all of Asia. And that's how my character came to have the name Sulu. And so that's the kind of vision he had projecting into the 23rd century. However, I did very privately bring up the issue of gays and lesbians. And he was certainly, as a sophisticated man, mindful of that, but he said - in one episode we had a biracial kiss, Captain Kirk and Uhura had a kiss. That show was literally blacked out in the south, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia didn't air that; our ratings plummeted. It was the lowest rated episode that we had. And he said, "I'm treading a fine tight wire here. I'm dealing with issues of the time. I'm dealing with the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War, the Cold War and I need to be able to make that statement by staying on the air." He said, "If I dealt with that issue I wouldn't be able to deal with any issue because I would be canceled." And I understood that because I was still closeted at that time. I talked to him as a liberal rather than as a gay man and I understood his position on that. So that's the way Star Trek envisioned our future in the 23rd century, but I think we're getting closer to that utopian society that Gene Roddenberry visualized, much more rapidly than even the technology. We had this amazing technology on Star Trek. We had this device on our hip; walked all over the ship and whenever we wanted to talk to someone we would rip it off and start talking. Back in the '60s that was an astounding device. No wires attached to it? And now in the 21st century, early part of the 21st century, we not only talk to people but all the things that we do there, send text messages, watch movies, listen to music, it's amazing the kind of progress that we're making, both technologically an societally.
Contents
The book begins in the spring of 1942 as Takei and his family are on a train traveling towards the Rohwer War Relocation Center in Arkansas. Takei recounts the four years his family spent in Japanese American internment, his experiences there, and the aftermath of those experiences. The book also provides background and research into the 120,000 Japanese Americans who were interned in similar camps. Takei's parents were identified as "disloyals", and sent to the maximum security Tule Lake War Relocation Center in northern California. Takei's family left Tule Lake in 1946 and he describes their tough time readjusting to life after being in the internment camps. He excelled in his early studies and skipped the third grade. He recounts an incident from fourth grade where the teacher referred to him as "that little Jap boy", and the emotions he still carries looking back on that event.
Takei describes the labor of picking strawberries as a teenager, and how this gave him new understanding of the word "backbreaking". While working, Takei discovered a plan by other Japanese American strawberry farmers to cheat Mexican laborers that had been working with them, and he went and confronted the Japanese American workers to demand that the Mexicans be paid the same. This event gave him an understanding of the importance of activism and the difference that an individual can make. He later became motivated to get more involved in activism and representing others, running for elected office in junior high and high school, volunteering for civic, state and federal political campaigns, and ultimately running himself unsuccessfully for a Los Angeles City Council seat vacated by Tom Bradley in 1973.
Takei entered architecture school at University of California, Berkeley, but told his parents during his freshman year that he wanted to become an actor. His parents told him they would support him if he first got a college degree, and he went on to obtain a degree in theater arts from UC Berkeley. Takei played a Japanese soldier wrongly accused of the murder of his fiancée at a production of Made in Japan at Playhouse 90. He received some acting advice from Harry Guardino during a live TV performance of the play. He went on to receive roles on Perry Mason and Return from the River Kwai, and in a civil rights play called Fly Blackbird!.
He recounts a chance encounter with William Shatner shortly after filming the pilot to Star Trek, where at first Shatner did not recognize him. He also recounts other tensions between himself and Shatner. Takei played character Nim in John Wayne's The Green Berets, and when he returned to Star Trek found that some of his lines had been given to a new character, Pavel Chekov, played by Walter Koenig. He recounts his jealousy at hearing this news. Takei describes the filming of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and his attempts to inject more substance into his character of Sulu. When he heard that there was a plan to replace the original Star Trek cast with new crew members for Star Trek V, Takei rallied fans at twelve consecutive Star Trek conventions, and Paramount Studios dropped plans to change the crew. In Star Trek VI, Takei's character Sulu is Captain of the starship Excelsior, and plays an integral role in rescuing the starship Enterprise.
Reception
Ray Olson gave the book a favorable review in Booklist, commenting that Takei describes incidents in the book in "an anecdotal style that sounds as if he's honed it at many a Trekkers' convention".[2] Olson concluded his review with: "So boldly go and read his book."[2] A review in Publishers Weekly notes: "this lively memoir reveals the author's upbeat but pragmatic nature".[3] The work received a positive review in Transpacific, where it was described as "compelling".[4] The reviewer commented: "In fact, this unlikely celebrity book may well turn out to be the richest, most satisfying yet written on the Asian American experience."[4] The Austin American-Statesman described the book as an "eloquent recollection" of Takei's life in internment camps and later experiences as an actor.[5]
Susan King of the Los Angeles Times recommended the book as part of a holiday gift list.[6] In November 2003, the book was selected to be among books displayed in the William J. Clinton Presidential Library for the month.[1] Takei wrote an inscription in the book addressed to Clinton: "Dear President Clinton, with whom I share an Arkansas boyhood. Live long and prosper."[1]
References
- ^ a b c "Star Trek actor's book on Clinton's library shelf". The Hamilton Spectator. Associated Press. 2003-11-15. p. G23.
- ^ a b Olson, Ray (1994-09-15). "To the Stars: The Autobiography of George Takei, Star Trek's Mr. Sulu". Booklist. American Library Association. 91 (2): 97.
- ^ Staff (1994-08-29). "To the Stars: The Autobiography of George Takei". Publishers Weekly. Cahners Business Information. 241 (35): 58.
- ^ a b Staff (October 1994). "To the Stars". Transpacific. Transpacific Media. 9 (6): 86–91.
- ^ Goldsmith, Steven (1994-10-15). "Takei takes helm in autobiography - 'Mr. Sulu' of 'Star Trek' gives eloquent recollection of life in wartime camps and career in the stars". Austin American-Statesman. p. E11.
- ^ King, Susan (Los Angeles Times) (1994-12-18). "For that rare TV fan who can read". Austin American-Statesman. p. 25.
External links
- Takei, George. "George Takei Biography". The Official Site of George Takei - www.georgetakei.com. Hosato Enterprises, Inc. Archived from the original on 2001-09-22.
- To the Stars: The Autobiography of George Takei title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
This page was last edited on 25 January 2024, at 20:55