So I’m watching TOS for the first time… (have alreay watched all show from TNG to DISC quite a while ago and yes, my fav is DS9 followed by TNG) and have just started “The Enemy Within”
Idk why but my shitpost-ridden brain instantly went “wait… d-did they make Kirk hot?”
that’s it, that’s the post. It’s mostly a /hj (I hope (?))
(just has the vibe of queercoding a villain having the opposite effect)
EDIT: I have now seen the following sexual assault scene, wtf
… because they had to make him distinguishable from normal Kirk but hadn’t yet settled on the convention of just giving him a goatee?
Could also have been to make the difference more subtle, since they’re different parts of the same person, rather than being two separate people like the goatee counterparts are.
They were going for gasps.
Gives him dark eyes, as opposed to the bright/spotlit eyes on good Kirk? So you can immediately tell there’s a difference between the two.
Idk why but my shitpost-ridden brain instantly went “wait… d-did they make Kirk hot?”
Depending on your taste/sexuality, they arguably do that most of the time. The man seems to have shirts made of tissue paper.
Eye shadow makes you more attractive, it’s just a fact.
Queercoding villains to make them seem dangerous and deviant to the people of the time (and those that are still stuck in that time). Admittedly, the people making that decision probably weren’t conscious of that being why they thought eyeliner made him look villainous.
For me it’s a simple makeup effect to show unmitigated sleep loss from the intrusive voices.
It’s also a subtle change that you recognize but don’t really see, more feel.
It also makes him stand out more. Where regular/good Kirk has a spotlight on his eyes (like Morticia Addams), Evil Kirk has darkened eyes instead.
Is Ming the Merciless an example of this?
No but Ming the Fabulous is.
The abominable Dr. Phibes also loves his makeup.
Makes sense, tho as you said I wouldn’t suggest bad intentions/faith of anyone in the team behind Star Trek (except fucking Berman, obsly), since I see it as a deeply progressive (not in the lib way) show
Also this doggo is absolutely adorable in that costume
I haven’t seen that episode, but now forever in my mind Evil Kirk is redeemed by the unstoppable power of doggy love. “I hate everything! Except maybe this dog. Actually, this dog rocks…do I really hate everything?”
A large part of how we read emotions in other people is by looking at subtleties in their eyes. How open or closed, changes in shape that give away if they’re telling the truth, etc.
In media, they often use dark makeup around the eyes, a shadow, or something like dark sunglasses as shorthand to show that a character is mysterious and hard to read, therefore possibly dangerous.
but that just makes them hotter lol
Probably the same reason that they make vampires sexy - the allure of the forbidden. Mr. Evil Kirk is the poisoned fruit.
I’m sorry daddy, I have been a bad girlforgive me father for I have sinned
Btw that sexual assault scene is even more fucked up when you learn that Grace Lee Whitney was sexually assaulted by an unnamed executive associated with the series…
You gotta pay the troll toll
wdym?
He’s going for gasps. Laughs are cheap.
So you know he’s evil without a goatee.
…cause he’s F-A-B-U-LOUS!
I’m imagining William Shatner stumbling on this thread and having a fit of villanous laughter.
