Alice Eve's underwear sets the Internet on fire

Radical feminists and the PC police (political correctness police) have had their panties in a bunch over Alice Eve's underwear scene in Star Trek Into Darkness. (STID) Recently, STID co-writer Damon Lindelof through Twitter apologized for the scene which he deemed gratuitous. This has started more controversy on the Internet as radical feminists and the PC police have rallied to the cause that naughty pictures are bad. Thanks Damon. It's bad enough you brought us season six of Lost but now you've reignited a controversy that shouldn't exist.

Star Trek Into Sexiness

I wrote about this controversy earlier this month but thanks to Damon Lindelof, actress Alice Eve's underwear or bikini has set the radicals who hate naughty pictures on fire. First, we need to look and see if the naughty scene in STID is something out of the norm  for Star Trek.   The answer is no. Star Trek as a science fiction franchise had a bunch of sexy scenes going all the way back to the original series. I mean who can forget actress Sherry Jackson's barely there strips of clothing  in "What are Little Girls Made Of?" to the sexual nature of smearing decontamination gel on T'Pol's (Jolene Blalock) scantily clad body in the last series, Enterprise . (Episode "Broken Bow") And the eye candy wasn't confined to woman. Men were also scantily clad in Star Trek. See how many times that Kirk (William Shatner) had his shirt ripped off. That was  a  big joke in the Star Trek parody, Galaxy Quest. (1999)

But why all this sexiness? Look, let's not be naive. Part of it is to appeal to a male audience. But that's too simple an answer for Star Trek. One of Star Trek's biggest themes is the human condition. And part of being human is the act of sex. It's a powerful force. It can be ugly when sex is the result of coercion. It can also be beautiful.     It can be the expression of love between two people. It is also how we were brought to this world.

Spoiler Ahead. But was the scene of Alice Eve in her underwear gratuitous? (Pictured.) Well, the answer is yes and no. Alice Eve plays Dr. Carol Marcus. In the Star Trek universe, she will be Kirk's lover and bear his child. (Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan, 1982) In Star Trek Into Darkness, Dr. Marcus and Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) enter a shuttle so Marcus can prepare to land on a moon and  open up a mysterious torpedo safely. She changes  from her mini-dress into a jump suit. Now this is important. Kirk doesn't order her to change into her jump suit. She voluntarily strips in his presence. So, no sexual harassment here. But is this shot necessary? Not really. Probably, designed to appeal to teenage males who are the main audience of summer tentpole movies. But is it totally gratuitous? No. In a short, playful scene, Kirk gives Marcus the once over. The scene shows that Kirk is sexually attracted to Marcus. And it's likely going to lead to a future sexual encounter between the two. I mean how do you think, that Kirk's son David is going to be created?

No Man's Land.

If you get a chance to read the Internet comments on articles about Alice Eve's underwear, you will get a dose of radical feminism. First, let me say I'm no conservative, I'm a liberal who believes in the Lilly Ledbetter Act, a woman's right to choose, pay equity for women etc. But some of these radical feminists want to force their vision on art. They like to submit their movies to the Bechdel test. For a film to pass the test, there must be a scene with two women who have a conversation and the conversation must be about something other than a man. Kind of sucks the fun out of a movie doesn't it?

But what does it say about radical feminism? They hate men. Since men are eliminated from the conversation, half of humanity are removed from the human condition. And the test would eliminate conversations that are not just about a woman's relationship with a men. It would eliminate a conversation about a men that has nothing to do with a personal relationship between the women. For example, if Uhura and Marcus wanted to talk about how they can rescue Kirk, then the conversation would not pass the test. Men don't exist. It's a form of censorship. It forces ideas on writers that don't belong to them.

I find the scene of Alice Eve in her underwear to be appealing. She's a beautiful woman. So, sue me. Alice Eve is a human being who has feelings, and aspirations. There is nothing wrong for any person to find the scene pleasing. Just don't take that paintbrush to label those people who find her attractive as sexist. Unless you know the person, you can't tell whether he or she is a sexist.

Trailer with the naughty scene.