Star Trek. Futurama. The Simpsons. Avatar: The Last Airbender. Bucknell.
Long ago the five nations lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Bucknell nation attacked. Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, could stop them, but when the world needed him most, he vanished. A hundred years passed, and the Bucknell Forum discovered the new Avatar, an airbender named George. And although his voiceover skills are great, he has a lot to learn before he’s ready to take on these Bucknellians. But I believe George can save Lewisburg.
The Avatar, aka George Takei, graced Lewisburg with his presence on the Weis Center’s stage last Tuesday, January 28th. He led a conversation on the theme of the 24-25 Bucknell Forum theme “World in Transition”, which aspires to reflect upon the dynamic and rapidly changing global landscape we are experiencing today. Takei has many notches under his belt, having been globally renowned for his role as Hikaru Sulu in the original Star Trek series, and flexing an acting career spanning six decades with appearances in more than 40 feature films and numerous television shows. For us younger audience members, George has played a significant role in our cartoon development , having done extensive voiceover work including appearances on The Simpsons, Futurama, and Avatar: The Last Airbender. (Shoutout to my Firebenders out there). He also provided narration for the PBS series The National Parks: America’s Best Idea and the Peabody Award-winning radio documentary Crossing East. His work across the galaxy then earned him a Grammy nomination in the Best Spoken Word or Non-musical Recording category for the film Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.
George, however, has had a pivotal role in the lives of us Bucknellians from the class of 2026. Upon admittance to Bucknell, the Class of 2026 was required to read Takei’s New York Times-bestselling graphic memoir They Called Us Enemy for our Common Reading. In this novel, George harkens back to his family’s wrongful imprisonment in Japanese-American internment camps during World War II. His personal history facing discrimination and racial hatred as a Japanese-American fuels his passion for activism, even stretching across his multiple identities and influencing his work as an LGBTQ+ rights and marriage equality activist.
Through his amazing voice acting skills, George enchanted the crowd as he recalled how the American soldiers rummaged through his home and ordered him, who was 5 years old at the time, and his family, including his younger brother, infant sister, and parents to leave everything they’ve ever known. They were then transported to a Japanese internment camp and deemed enemies of the American people because of their “allegiance to the Japanese Empire”, solely because of their race. This was supported and institutionalized by the issuing of Executive Order 9066 in 1942, by President Franklin Roosevelt, which authorized the forced removal of all persons deemed a threat (aka Asian Americans) to national security from the West Coast to “relocation centers” further inland – resulting in the incarceration of Japanese Americans. Executive Order 9066 targeted all Asian Americans due to the fear of increased Japanese espionage amidst the Pearl Harbor Attack of 1941. Their ethnicity deemed them ‘disloyal’ to the American government and a threat to the national security of America. As seen today with the implementation of book bans and the reverting of DEI policies; Executive Order 9066 similarly weaponized the law to obstruct Americans from rights to life, liberty, and property.
While the Japanese Americans were subjected to ‘Americanization’ through reciting our beloved Pledge of Allegiance each morning to instill in their minds a sense of loyalty to the country that has wrongfully imprisoned them and chartered them ‘enemy’, the barbed wire which incarcerated George, his family, and other Asian-Americans, also protected them from the violence beyond the gates that they would be subjected to from anti-Japanese war sentiments and nationalist propaganda in America. It was here George realized that this one nation, under God, was not indivisible with liberty and justice for all.
It’s hard coming to this reality at such a young age. Many people of color know this reality of feeling powerless and inferior in the face of hatred. However, George left audiences with inspiring words at the conclusion of his talk. He briefly talked about America’s current state of the world with the reintroduction of the Trump Administration to the Oval Office and encouraged listeners to continue expanding their knowledge as well as to spread love, solace, and hope within communities. We are stronger together than divided, and by spreading knowledge, we can remind each other of history while changing our future.
Some wise words from the Avatar, I’d say.
–Athaliah Elvis ’26