Star Trek: 10 Things You Didn't Know About General Chang

5. Real World Inspirations

Valerian Zorin
US Government via WikiCommons

One of the stand-out scenes in Star Trek VI is Kirk and McCoy's trial on Qo'noS. Colonel Worf acts on behalf of them as a defense attorney, while General Chang serves as prosecutor on behalf of the State.

As Chang gets more and more animated, he eventually loses his temper and roars at Kirk to answer him immediately, without waiting for the translation. This is directly inspired by US Ambassador Adlai Stevenson, who is marked on the right in the above photo, and Valerian Zorin, who is marked on the left.

During the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, Stevenson gave a presentation at the emergency session of the Security Council. He forcefully asked UN Representative Valerian Zorin if his country had installed missiles in Cuba. Zorin seemed reluctant to reply, so Stevenson then demanded that he not wait for the translation and answer him Yes or No.

This inspiration is apt as this Crisis was one of the tensest periods of history, when it looked like the US and the USSR may finally fire nuclear weapons at each other. Star Trek VI details the cessation of hostilities, with the Klingons standing in for the Russians and the Federation standing in for the US.

Contributor
Contributor

Seán is the host and head writer/presenter for TrekCulture, as well as a writer/presenter on WhoCulture and WhatCulture Horror. He has authored two novels, dozens of short stories, and hundreds of articles for WhatCulture. He holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from University College Dublin. As part of his work with TrekCulture, Seán has been invited to participate in collaborations with Roddenberry Entertainment, as well as contributing to several Star Trek community projects. An avid fan of Star Trek, Doctor Who, and the horror genre at large, Seán's expertise has helped develop these channels to the successes they are today. As host of the Ups & Downs series on TrekCulture, Seán has become internationally recognised for his positive yet critically informed approach to reviewing every episode of modern Star Trek, ensuring he is one of the go-to voices in the Trek community. Favourite Quote to describe himself: "I'm serious about what I do, just not always about the way that I do it"