Came across this article, and it’s a very interesting take on how Star Trek has changed with the times, and how modern audiences seem to have a harder time trusting institutions or imagining Trek’s utopia.
I’ve admittedly still only watched up through the 90s, but I’d definitely say that DS9 depicted a significantly more “morally gray” version of Starfleet than TOS or TNG.
I think the point the author is making is that the extent to which this idea gets explored is reflective of our society’s growing mistrust of institutions IRL, rather than suggesting the theme has never been explored.
It’s just another tired bit about how following orders and perfect institutions are what Star Trek is really about, to hell with any evidence to the contrary.
I’d argue that the theme is less about following orders and more We are all individually flawed and are at our best when we follow our shared values - which is represented by both Starfleet and the utopian setting as a whole.
I can see the argument (for fiction and real life), that as we trust institutions less, our focus becomes more on individual judgement rather than collectivist ideas. It also tracks for me that as this occurs in real life, our media would reflect individualism more and more.
That’s a good point. I think this contrast between individual (often flawed) human judgment vs collectivist ideals has always been a theme. In TOS, you see Kirk calming McCoy’s knee-jerk reactions almost every episode. In TNG, it was Yar or Worf. In DS9, probably Kira.
Even then, I would say the collectivist ideals (i.e. Starfleet regulations) were more often portrayed as overly-cumbersome in implementation, which leads to someone like Kirk violating the rules in place of the ideals that they stand for. For example, how many naïve (but well-meaning) diplomats do we see in TOS or TNG? However, rules being restrictive or imperfect in an effort to support larger agreed-upon morals can still be trusted, compared to corrupt power structures, which cannot.
Yeah, there’s a singular implied “universal morality” throughout Star Trek of accepting diversity and learning to not impose on other civilizations or each other on the basis of one’s biological differences or culture, even for Klingons! I’d say the rest is hard to define and subjective, as @ValueSubtracted said above, but post-scarcity and free agency in life to follow your passions has to be pretty close!
This is why I love TNG so much. Even though TOS is the original that laid the groundwork for everything, TNG took that “boundless optimism” and ran with it. Watching TNG inspires me to continue to self-improve and encourage it in others.
Black mirror is a lot like a modern Twilight Zone, which early Star Trek was significantly influenced by, and now a fan who directed an episode inspired by Trek gets to do actual Trek?
It almost feels unnecessary to rave about “The City on the Edge of Forever” (S1E28) again, since it has been praised as one of the all-time best episodes of Star Trek for like 50+ years now, but I just rewatched it and want to specifically talk about how much I love the character Edith Keeler....
I suppose not… but part of me still wishes they had been able to save her. Although I recognize that it wouldn’t have been as good of a story if they had.
It really does feel a little rushed how she shoots off those ideas rapid-fire in the soup kitchen scene. It’s like they were trying to cram it in. I wish we could have gotten more, like a two-parter episode or something. Even so, I think they do a good job of making you feel like Kirk and Spock have been stuck there for days by the end of it.
Are We All Too Cynical for Star Trek? ( plus.thebulwark.com )
Came across this article, and it’s a very interesting take on how Star Trek has changed with the times, and how modern audiences seem to have a harder time trusting institutions or imagining Trek’s utopia.
He's more beak than bird ( startrek.website )
Thanks to all who gave me advice on mounting my dedication plaque. Here it is in its rightful place! ( lemmy.world )
People are watching ( startrek.website )
Cross platform compatibility ( startrek.website )
If you're cold, they're cold. Let them in. ( startrek.website )
Fierce ( startrek.website )
And when you're a cat, you want be a cat. ( startrek.website )
New Star Trek Movie Director Is A Fan And Directed The ‘Black Mirror’ Trek Episode “USS Callister” ( trekmovie.com )
Can't play today ( startrek.website )
Adorable chaos ( startrek.website )
TrekMovie.com: Patrick Stewart Reveals New Star Trek Movie Script Featuring Jean-Luc Picard Is In The Works ( trekmovie.com )
Still a good dog that needs pets ( startrek.website )
Walter Koenig was bitterly disappointed about his role in Star Trek VI ( redshirtsalwaysdie.com )
It could be anywhere ( startrek.website )
I would watch sports if this were a regular thing ( startrek.website )
Trying to be his idol ( startrek.website )
No need for a star this year. ( startrek.website )
An old Hallmark commercial for Star Trek Christmas ornaments, with Leonard Nimoy (1992) ( youtu.be )
Here’s another one with Romulans from 1995....
Pup in training ( startrek.website )
Sometimes a little murder is ok. ( startrek.website )
It's important that you look at this bison ( startrek.website )
Please bear with me while I geek out about Edith Keeler in "The City on the Edge of Forever" for a moment.
It almost feels unnecessary to rave about “The City on the Edge of Forever” (S1E28) again, since it has been praised as one of the all-time best episodes of Star Trek for like 50+ years now, but I just rewatched it and want to specifically talk about how much I love the character Edith Keeler....
Majestic ( startrek.website )
The Capycycle ( startrek.website )
A cat trap ( startrek.website )
May even continue a couple more weeks ( startrek.website )