The movie I'm talking about is Star Trek: The Motion Picture. The film, set in the 23rd century, is about newly appointed Admiral Kirk and his crew as they regain control of the Enterprise to stop a force that is threatening Earth. While problematic with regards to gender issues, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, along with the original television show and other films, used aliens and the futuristic as a tool to examine issues of race and sexuality in a way that did not had really been explored. before in such a mainstream way. I will discuss issues of race, gender, and sexuality one at a time, first discussing them generally as they pertain to the original television series and the films, and then relating them specifically to Star Trek: The Film. Star Trek's treatment of race was particularly revolutionary for those times. In fact, in its third season, Star Trek: The Original Series features the first on-screen interracial kiss in an episode titled "Plato's Stepchildren." The kiss wasn't romantic in any way because the characters were literally forced to kiss, and there's even doubt that Shatner and Nichols were actually kissing in the scene, but for the most part it was more about the moment, the pure fact. that Captain Kirk kissed a black woman (Shock! Horror!) and what it meant, rather than being about the actual kiss. The series also advanced racial dialogue in less obvious ways; the series often had aliens representative of some racial issues going on in that time period. In an alien species, each person had half a black face and half a white face, and some members had complications and discrimination based on which side was black or white (Bernardi, ...... half of the card .... .. made huge strides in creating an interesting and unique perspective on issues related to race and relationships/sexuality, for the most part, but was sorely lacking when it came to gender issues, even as it attempted to become more progressive on that front as well. I've discussed all of these issues in the context of the Trek franchise as a whole and particularly in the context of Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Works CitedBernardi, Daniel ""Star Trek" in the 1960s: Liberal-Humanism and the Production of Race." 25. JSTOR. Web.Greven, David. Gender and Sexuality in Star Trek: Allegories of Desire in Television Series and Film. Jefferson, NC: McFarland &, 2009. Print.Hassler, Donald M. and Clyde Wilcox “Gender Identity in Political Science Fiction.” Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina, 1997. Print.