Text 269, 122 rader
Skriven 2004-12-04 20:56:00 av John Johnson (1:278/230)
Ärende: "Awakening"
===================


Why many, including myself, got to like about Trek was its multi-layered 
approach.  Why we kept on watching the same ep over and over, because we 
saw different aspects each time.  The FX, the relationships, the science, 
the politics, the philosophy, the psychology

It has had a number of controversial eps.  TOS had its civil rights, 
anti-war, counter cultural eps.  Many about having tolerance for others 
that might not look like, think or feel like you.

Tech, story line and the politics of Trek are always open for discussion. 
Why they did the eps in the first place.

One statement that got to me was there is no place for that on Trek, the 
list and the episodes.  But not politics in general but criticisms of the 
Bush administration.  Thats just down right silly.

I get my fill of political discussion of current events elsewhere so have 
no great desire to engage in it everywhere but there are very important 
issues to the very survival of our Nation and the world that can't be ignored.


The monolithic corporate structure controls vast elements of our 
society.  They have no morals, except short term quarterly profits.  They 
buy anyone, Democrats, Republicans they can to further their goals.

Today many are aligned with reactionary Republicans and the far right 
fundamentalist "Christians" and have pretty much locked in control of all 
three branches of the government and the media.  Yet you find that they 
continue to approach the world as if they are some persecuted 
minority.  They continue to attack anyone that would pose a threat or would 
even disagree, viciously, in a very intolerant and totalitarian manner.' 
O'Reily', the Rush Limbauh types as well as some of the left, where you 
don't get discussion or honest debate but have talking points of propaganda 
thrown at you.

All of this is antithetical to Trek


>----- Original Message -----
>From: "John Johnson" <change@pacbell.net>
> > Trek is not just about the technology, the history, the YATIs (all fun and
> > interesting) but the general thrust of Gene Rodenberry's vision.  No check
> > list of ideological points but a general view of how a responsible power
> > should act. A realization that life is a complicated affair, made up of
> > psychologies, histories, science,  love,  politics, etc., not your normal
> > shoot em up black and white cop show.
>
>Yes, and, like all fiction -- and science fiction in particular, it's about
>much more.  Good fiction (heck, good *art*) is supposed to have a message, a
>meaning.  Or, in other words, provide food for thought.  Science fiction has
>especially delved into this area, using allegory and extrapolation to show
>us the potential good and bad in just about anything.
>
>That could mean telling a story about a child's love becoming an obsession
>(DS9's "The Visitor"), a cautionary tale about the dangers of technology
>(TOS' "The Ultimate Computer"), the definition of life in an ever changing
>universe (TNG's "The Measure of a Man"), or to shine a spotlight on the
>desire to explore (VOYAGER's "One Small Ship").  Sometimes the point is
>blatantly obvious, as was the case with "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield"
>(focusing hatred on what makes us different can destroy us) or "Force of
>Nature" (pollution can be destructive to the environment), but often those
>elements can be under the surface or open to interpretation.  After all, one
>of the major underlying themes of "The Trouble with Tribble" is providing
>relief for a planet experiencing famine, but what most people think of is
>the humor.  And a really good morality tale will have no easy answers, such
>as when Kirk tried to restore a balance of power by arming Tyree's people
>against the Klingon-supplied hill-people ("A Private Little War") or when
>Sisko decided to try to get the Romulans involved in the Dominion War
>regardless of the means ("In the Pale Moonlight") or when Janeway decided to
>restore Neelix and Tuvok by splitting Tuvix ("Tuvix").  You get the idea,
>but I could go on and on delving into these examples.  And, even in those
>cop shows, a certain amount of these themes exist, although certainly being
>grounded in the here and now and limited to one particular topic (crime)
>generally means these messages aren't necessarily as visible.
>
>That said, while I certainly believe that Trek can and even should explore
>all these themes and more -- and that viewers should think over the things
>said regardless of how they feel about a particular topic, I also think that
>while a certain amount of these things are going to leak into a forum like
>this, the main thrust has to be on the Trek content itself.  It's one thing,
>for example, to argue whether Archer should have clone Trip in "Similitude"
>(which, interestingly, we really didn't do), but quite another to argue
>about real world cloning (though certainly some of the same ethical
>arguements apply).  That's one the main reasons I didn't get involved in the
>big political discussion about Iraq, as almost everyone acknowledged it was
>off-topic.  Sure, I have an opinion, but this isn't particularly the place
>for it.  Maybe if I had more time, I'd get into such a thing in private
>e-mail, but I can barely keep with the little response to my reviews, much
>less something as ambitious as that.
>
>As far as the Vulcan arc itself, certainly elements of it have a "ripped
>from the headlines" feel to them, but whether that has as much meaning or
>not, I don't know.  The biggest part of the storyline, though, has been the
>persecution of the Syrrannites.  I suppose that could be seen as an allegory
>to the modern Middle East, where a certain amount of hardliners shut out the
>more moderate voices.  But such things can be found throughout history, such
>as the Roman Empire (as shown in TOS' "Bread and Circuses").  Of course, all
>of this is simplified greatly, as in the real world, katras can't be sent
>from person to person and no religion has a Kir'Shara...
>
>Kevin

John Johnson
Change-Links Progressive Newspaper
change@pacbell.net or change-links@change-links.org
http://www.change-links.org
Subscribe to our list server. Email  change-links-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
(818) 982-1412
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