A controversial Star Trek Into Darkness scene of Dr. Carol Marcus (Alice Eve) stripping to her underwear sparked responses from director J.J. Abrams and co-writer Damon Lindelof. The two worked together on ABC’s hit show Lost before joining forces on the sequel to Abrams’ 2009 blockbuster Star Trek reboot. Recent comments by Alice Eve, who is “proud” of her appearance in Star Trek Into Darkness and still finds the furor “confusing” have somewhat re-ignited the controversy.
For context, Alice Eve appeared in Star Trek Into Darkness as Dr. Carol Marcus, the daughter of one of the film’s villains, Admiral Alexander Marcus (Peter Weller). But she posed as Dr. Carol Wallace in order to sneak aboard the USS Enterprise without her father knowing. Spock (Zachary Quinto) quickly deduced her true identity but Carol’s expertise was essential in discovering that Admiral Marcus had hidden the genetically-engineered allies of Khan Noonien Singh (Benedict Cumberbatch) in missiles he planned to use to instigate a war with the Klingons. But before Carol could open one of the missiles and learn the truth, Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) followed her into a shuttlecraft she was prepping for launch. Despite Marcus asking Kirk to “turn around,” the young Captain sneaked a peek and ogled Carol in her underwear as she changed out of her uniform.
Star Trek Into Darkness wasn’t received as warmly by audiences as Star Trek 2009 but Carol Marcus’ underwear flash sparked a particular furor for being a gratuitous example of the male gaze. Director J.J. Abrams addressed the controversy during a 2013 appearance on Conan and he explained: “The intent was, it’s Kirk. He was always this sort of womanizing character.” Abrams also defended Carol in her underwear by noting that Kirk had a love scene where the Captain was also in his underwear. Abrams tried to blame his editing: “I don’t think I quite edited [Carol’s] scene in the right way,” but the director admitted, “Some people did feel like it was exploiting her. And while she is lovely, I can also see their point of view.”
Damon Lindelof responded to the Star Trek Into Darkness controversy on Twitter and he also tried to deflect the Carol Marcus underwear controversy by citing Kirk appearing in his underwear in the film. Still, Lindelof “copped to the fact that we should have done a better job of not being gratuitous in our representation of a barely clothed actress,” and he added, “I do not want to make light of something that some construe as misogynistic… I hear you, I take responsibility and will be more mindful in the future.” Though some feel as Star Trek’s architects, J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof’s mea culpa still come off as half-hearted, it’s understandable that they’re proud of Star Trek Into Darkness regardless of the controversy.
Star Trek Into Darkness was released in 2013 but throughout the decade, the #MeToo movement forced Hollywood to hold those in power who abused and victimized women. The anger over Alice Eve’s underwear scene was the Star Trek audience pushing back against an obviously gratuitous moment that only existed to titillate the audience at a time in the film where such a scene felt indefensibly out of context. J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof’s reactions to the controversy belied the fact that their intent was clearly to inject sex appeal into Star Trek Into Darkness, even if the moment was inappropriate.
In J.J. Abrams and Star Trek Into Darkness‘ defense, Kirk’s fondness for the opposite sex is an established part of his character, although Abrams’ heightened Kirk’s libido because of his youth. Further, Star Trek: The Original Series was sexually charged and Gene Roddenberry’s show frequently showcased scantily-clad women, both human and alien. William Shatner’s Captain Kirk also often appeared shirtless, so Star Trek Into Darkness was keeping with the source material’s canonical traditions. However, times were changing when Star Trek Into Darkness‘ controversy happened, and audiences felt Carol Marcus stripping to her underwear to be ogled by Captain Kirk robbed her of her agency. Ultimately, J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof agreed.
