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Should'nt Worf be "human-washed?"

Posted: 2003-07-30 04:05pm
by TrailerParkJawa
Worf seems way too Klingon for someone that was raised on Earth by humans since the age of what, six ? He knows all about Klingon rituals, the language, etc. This does not reflect the immigrant experience Ive seen. If you are raised outside of your culture at a young age, you dont retain it. You pick up the attributes of the dominate culture around you.

Anyway, what does the board think. Should Worf be more like the only adopted non-white kid too grow up in a school of a hundred white folk? Or is it reasonable to expect he would have a healthy dose of his "cultural identity" And if that is the case, where the heck did he learn it?

Posted: 2003-07-30 04:41pm
by Gil Hamilton
Worf is psychotic. The problem is that Federation culture seems to think that who you are is determined by genetics, so if you are a Klingon, you must be a brutish, gung ho, raw meat eating warrior thug. So he's been raised on earth around humans, but the culture of Earth thinks that he should act "Klingon", so he tries his damnedest to act like it. This has had the understandable effect of making him think he's "trapped between two worlds" and make him, well, schizo when it comes to his behavior.

Posted: 2003-07-30 05:32pm
by Equinox2003
I think that Worf is somewhat human-washed. After all, while he does
know Klingon stuff, he does serve in Starfleet, which does things much
different than what goes on on Klingon ships.
For example, in the episode where Riker served on a Klingon ship,
There were things going on, such as fighting it out with a superior
if you want his job, something Worf never tried to do on the Enterprise.
His quarters look pretty much like the other quarters on the ship, other
than a statue of Kahless, it looks just like anybody elses quarters.
He looks pretty human-washed to me.

Posted: 2003-07-30 07:35pm
by Gil Hamilton
Equinox2003 wrote:I think that Worf is somewhat human-washed. After all, while he does
know Klingon stuff, he does serve in Starfleet, which does things much
different than what goes on on Klingon ships.
For example, in the episode where Riker served on a Klingon ship,
There were things going on, such as fighting it out with a superior
if you want his job, something Worf never tried to do on the Enterprise.
His quarters look pretty much like the other quarters on the ship, other
than a statue of Kahless, it looks just like anybody elses quarters.
He looks pretty human-washed to me.
You seem to have missed all the Worf centered episodes where he decides he wants to do things to make him more Klingon. Like the episode where he started getting freaked out and pissed to the point that it affected his performance at work for not being able to take part in some Klingon ritual where they jam him with cattleprods or all his spiels about acting like a proper Klingon. He is far from being human washed... he's just neurotic.

Posted: 2003-07-30 07:41pm
by Frank Hipper
Didn't his foster parents try and give him as Klingon an upbringing as they could? I thought ma even made him Blood Pie on occasion?

Posted: 2003-07-30 07:42pm
by neoolong
He probably wasn't accepted as a typical "human," culturally speaking. As a result he turned to his other side, the Klingon side to define himself.

The whole angst ridden identity trip common in Trek.

Posted: 2003-07-30 10:07pm
by Darth Wong
Klingon should have no trouble understanding human culture, although he might harbour an unhealthy fascination with Klingon culture. That's what really irks me about him; the recurrent claim that he's somehow incapable of identifying with human culture at all despite having been raised in it (remember Picard's infamous rant when Worf was paralyzed).

Posted: 2003-07-30 11:27pm
by kojikun
What baffles me is that people act as tho klingons are so alien, and vice versa. Klingons are more human then any one on the show admits.

Posted: 2003-07-31 02:15am
by TrailerParkJawa
Frank Hipper wrote:Didn't his foster parents try and give him as Klingon an upbringing as they could? I thought ma even made him Blood Pie on occasion?
I believe we heard his mom, say she tried to make him Blod Pie. And that they wanted him to learn about his culture. But it seems so phony to me.
It would be sorta like a white family teaching their adopted girl from China about her heritage by taking her to Uncle Chao's ( local fast food chinese resteraunt ).

I suppose the learning aids of the time would do a lot to be able to teach him. I just think he would probably turn out more like his son did in some of the DS9 episodes.

Posted: 2003-07-31 11:08am
by Grand Admiral Thrawn
Klingons view each other as humanized if they refuse to drink with their enemies and have sword fights for King, or if you have non-commital sex.

Posted: 2003-07-31 11:24am
by Tribun
The whole thing stinks.....

Really. That is a example of the worst writing of TNG.

Posted: 2003-07-31 04:48pm
by TrailerParkJawa
Grand Admiral Thrawn wrote:Klingons view each other as humanized if they refuse to drink with their enemies and have sword fights for King, or if you have non-commital sex.
Didnt we see one of women crew members on the Klingon ship Riker was serving on, wonder about having sex with him? Was that just talk or can they have free sex across the races but not with their own.

I wonder if Worf too Berlitz Klingon. :)

Posted: 2003-07-31 05:02pm
by Lord Pounder
Worf is an enigma as far as Kilingons go. It was discussed between him and Jadzia Dax once in DS9. He accused him of being too Klingon. He said it was becasue he had killed someone playing soccer. He reckoned that while he wanted to be all things Klingon he had to resatrain himself arround the fragile humans. Personaly i think he was a dissapointment as a human or a Klingon. He's to ugly to be Human and not a good enough drinker to be Klingon.

Posted: 2003-07-31 05:55pm
by Tribun
So Worf is atotal looser?

Not surprising for me.....

Posted: 2003-07-31 09:55pm
by Mutant Headcrab
Lord Pounder wrote:Worf is an enigma as far as Kilingons go. It was discussed between him and Jadzia Dax once in DS9. He accused him of being too Klingon. He said it was becasue he had killed someone playing soccer. He reckoned that while he wanted to be all things Klingon he had to resatrain himself arround the fragile humans. Personaly i think he was a dissapointment as a human or a Klingon. He's to ugly to be Human and not a good enough drinker to be Klingon.
I bet if he talked to Scotty, he could help with the drinking part. Remember that one TOS episode where Scotty gets an Andromedan drunk? :wink:

Posted: 2003-07-31 10:22pm
by Equinox2003
So Worf isa total loser?

Not surprising for me.....
Nice contribution to the discussion.... :roll: