The novelization of TMP is a beautiful thing. Might I present, for your entertainment, a long list of meta:
The Original Roddenberry Footnote @ fanlore
Beyond T'hy'la: Slash Analysis of the Star Trek: The Motion Picture Novel by bigmamag
“The Footnote,” by Judith Gran
Retro Review: Star Trek: The Motion Picture
The lovers rumor by demonicvulcan (the footnote is actually a meme tho)
Vulcan Mind Link – Analysis Part 5/5 by Pywren
The Usage of the Word “T’hy’la” or Lack thereof by Pywren
What does it all mean? In the novel, Gene came up with the word t’hy’la and defined it as friend, brother, lover. On the same page as that definition, a hilarious footnote was written from Jim’s POV about that word, which was complete lip service and wound up neither denying nor confirming anything.
That being said, here are some things for consideration:
1. Why would Gene even bother making up a word that meant “friend, brother, lover” if all of them didn’t apply? T’hy’la could have just as easily meant friend or brother. The word lover never even had to come into the equation. But it did. The fact that it did means everything.
2. So, let’s just pretend for a moment that Gene didn’t see or support the love between Jim and Spock (he did; quotes included below)…and that he did want to drop the hammer, sending a clear message of “no homo, bro.” Gene was no idiot. If that was the case, again, the word lover would never have made it into that definition. But it did.
So let’s next say, whoops! He messed up. He simply added that word in for the hell of it, just to deny it at the bottom of the same page. Inserting a footnote from James Kirk’s POV is more telling than anything.
He could have easily done something like:
* Editor’s Note: While t’hy’la means friend, brother, lover, the “lover” aspect does not apply to Kirk and Spock.
But he didn’t. Instead, it was a long-winded, twisty-turny, nonsensical response told in Jim’s voice that actually confirms:
a. For all that his bluffing skills saved his ass in the past, Jim is a shitty liar about this particular topic.
b. He experienced sexual gratification from other sexes besides female (since he would have nothing to compare when he uses the word “best”.)
In those links I added above, you’ll find in-depth analysis of the entire quote because there’s evidence backing up both of these points and more.
3. Anyone (like Mr. Gerrold) who says the footnote was included to discourage K/S hasn’t read the rest of the novel, seen the movie, or understood Gene’s values or intentions. There is nothing in the footnote that outright confirms or denies their involvement with each other.
So why was it included? It was written to appease the entire audience: people who support the K/S relationship and those who oppose it. Smart move! Because this was what divided the fanbase into threes: people in the “yes homo”, “platonic love only”, and “no homo” camps.
Gene was very aware of what was going on in fannish circles back during this time. He knew people shipped it. He knew people saw the love between them. If he wanted to discourage this, I promise you that:
a. The word t’hy’la wouldn’t even exist
b. TMP would have had a very, VERY different storyline.
c. There would be no parallels drawn between Jim with Spock and Decker with Ilia.
d. There would have been female interests for both Jim and Spock, or at least one of them. This is a classic lazy writing tactic that we see used over and over and over in movies.
e. He would have gone out of his way to ensure their relationship was a very clear cut friendship. (aka: no TWOK glass scene, no The Search for Spock.) Literally every single TOS movie would have been much, much different.
So. That’s the footnote. A simple paragraph that means so many things to so many people, written in such a hilarious way that it means nothing at all on its own.
Quotes that prove Gene was accepting of both platonic and non-platonic love between Jim and Spock: [x] [x]
turnnoffyourmind
germansingergirl
andulkaphoto
yousharknotpass
dailybridgerton
dededos
areudirty
