As a child watching Star Blazers, I always thought that Desslok was simply the greatest villain ever.  He was, without a doubt, the most stylish evil dictator on television, and I loved the way he dispensed his fiendish justice with a flick of the wrist and a high-pitched laugh.  I got a real kick out of the way that he was cruel and aloof at the same time.  I spent quite a few 70's summer afternoons watching the show, then running up stairs to listen to my Village People albums.  Man, were those guys hilarious!  My brother and I would constantly talk about how, if we were in the group, he would want to be the cop and II would want to be that cool biker guy (cuz man, he was so cool!).  My dad would look at us funny, and then breathe a sigh of relief as we then fought over who would be Gene Simmons and who got to be Peter Criss when we played with our neighbors later......

Now, looking back, I wonder at the amazing levels of ignorance I apparently lived with.  I watch reruns of "American Bandstand" and watch the Village People sing the anthem, "San Francisco", and all I can think is, How could I not have noticed?  Was I that dumb?  Or did my parents intentionally not talk about such things to keep me good and ignorant?  And how did my dad think that a bunch of guys in kabuki make-up and spandex pants were preferable?

Go figure.

So what about Desslok?  I watch the videos, and just like my "revelations" about the Village People, I wonder why I didn't notice the extreme stereotypical evidence before.  It's all there, all the signs that would make your average 13 year old boy snicker and point.  I'm forced to admit that Desslok is certainly "en fuego", and he's here, so I should just get used to it.

To understand this better, let's think about how homosexuality has been handled in general in the entertainment industry in the last thirty years.  In the 80's, gay people on television were the butt of most jokes: Mr. Roper crucified Jack Tripper for his fake homosexuality, countless movies cast "the gay character" as this foppish object of ridicule, worthy only of our laughter and scorn, but never to be taken seriously (Lamar from Revenge of the Nerds comes quickly to mind).
 
Today on television, gay people are having the sort of television exposure I saw black people have in the 70's; most shows have one gay character, they are ALWAYS acerbically funny and stylish and good for a cutting one-liner, but that is about it.  We all saw what happened to Ellen; the tv audience likes their gay characters funny but non-threatening, like J.J Walker on Good Times, more of a minstrel show than a person.  The fact that Ellen was more than a one-dimensional stereotype was a little too much for America to handle, so she got axed (of course, her show wasn't very funny either, but that is beside the point!).

But what about the 70's?  It seems to me as I look back now (thank you, Nick at Night!), that homosexuality was a topic that was either taboo and never mentioned, or it was painted in the broadest terms with over-the-top characters who were so ridiculous they were barely human.

So was Desslok ahead of his time?  He was a strong male lead in a popular (IMHO) television show during the 70's, and he certainly pulled it off with panache.  Nothing was ever said (maybe the Gamilon army originated the "don't ask, don't tell" policy?), and very few references were ever made (I remember a lot of scenes with Desslok lounging around with nubile Gamilonian blond women; possibly the alien version of "beards"?) other than the stereotypical stuff, so either I am way off, or Desslok was leading the way all those years ago.  I choose the latter.

Does it bother me?  No.  Does it matter?  No.  But do I think about it?  Sure, but not really because of him.  I guess what I wonder about is, did my dad make a conscious decision not to talk about homosexuality with me as a child?  And if he did, was it out of bigotry, trying to hide from me what his Catholicism told him was evil, or was it actually an educated decision to allow me to make up my own mind about other people, people who are different from me either because of race, religion, or sexuality?

Whatever the case, I am pleased with the results.  I live my life and I let others live theirs.  And when I watch the news and see some close-minded politician is using his hatred in legislation against this group or that, or some religious leader is  condemning people because they don't pray the way he does, or some right-wing nutball (yes, you, Bill Bennet!) is telling me how to live, I can thank Desslok for subconsciously showing me the way to live all those years ago.  Thank you, Desslok, for allowing me to judge people on their merits (i.e. ability to crush the Star Force and rule Gamilon, etc.), not on their beliefs or sexuality.  Thanks to him, I am the bed-wetting liberal I am today, and I couldn't be happier!

What are your thoughts?  Yeah, nay, couldn't care less?  Let me know!  Email me with the icon below and tell me your thoughts on the subject.  All intelligent, thoughtful commentary will be considered and responded to in due time.