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Star Trek is certainly very limited. There is a reason that reboots have been a bit lacking. The things that made Star Trek great weren't the technology and act

by foxyv 5y ago

Star Trek is certainly very limited. There is a reason that reboots have been a bit lacking. The things that made Star Trek great weren't the technology and action so much as the philosophy and how people reacted to it. For instance: the rights of androids, teleportation, non-human intelligence, religion, animal rights, racism, xenophobia, and environmentalism. Star Trek took modern issues and juxtaposed them against an advanced society without the pressures that made them so pressing. Racism between humans seems ridiculous in the face of wars that could destroy or subjugate our entire species and unlimited resources. Taking care of a planet makes so much sense when you have nearly unlimited clean energy and the ability to destroy a solar system in a moment. Killing animals for meat seems barbaric when you can fabricate perfect facsimiles of meat without killing. Star Trek technology inspired dreams of a better society. Not just better technology.

krapp 5y ago
Star Trek's utopian vision feels cheap and unearned. They paper over the difficulty of justifying their "post-scarcity" philosophy by ignoring basic human nature and having magitech wish-granting black boxes and free energy. There's nothing aspirational about that, by definition we can't get there from here. It doesn't help that, as the franchise went on, humanity became basically one of the most powerful species in the galaxy. They go from the Borg presenting an existential threat to the entire Federation with a single cube to Janeway one-shotting them. DS9 and the Dominion Arc at least put humanity on its back footing, but for the most part, humans are at the top of the food chain. I prefer the way B5 portrays similar themes - humanity has a definite presence in galactic affairs, but as a newcomer surrounded by civilizations far older and more powerful, and more adept at the dark arts of war and politics. There are no free lunches, no replicators, no teleporters. Humanity has to struggle, sometimes red in tooth and claw, to climb every rung of the ladder from ape to angel. Optimism and unity win out not because humanity has evolved beyond its base nature, but as a result of the constant struggle against that nature.
- foxyv 5y ago
  > Star Trek's utopian vision feels cheap and unearned. Yeah, this is pretty much a perfect description of later seasons. I think people instantly picked up on this and checked out. When they ended Voyager like that it was a kick in the teeth.

by foxyv 5y ago

krapp 5y ago

Star Trek's utopian vision feels cheap and unearned. They paper over the difficulty of justifying their "post-scarcity" philosophy by ignoring basic human nature and having magitech wish-granting black boxes and free energy. There's nothing aspirational about that, by definition we can't get there from here. It doesn't help that, as the franchise went on, humanity became basically one of the most powerful species in the galaxy. They go from the Borg presenting an existential threat to the entire Federation with a single cube to Janeway one-shotting them. DS9 and the Dominion Arc at least put humanity on its back footing, but for the most part, humans are at the top of the food chain. I prefer the way B5 portrays similar themes - humanity has a definite presence in galactic affairs, but as a newcomer surrounded by civilizations far older and more powerful, and more adept at the dark arts of war and politics. There are no free lunches, no replicators, no teleporters. Humanity has to struggle, sometimes red in tooth and claw, to climb every rung of the ladder from ape to angel. Optimism and unity win out not because humanity has evolved beyond its base nature, but as a result of the constant struggle against that nature.

foxyv 5y ago
> Star Trek's utopian vision feels cheap and unearned. Yeah, this is pretty much a perfect description of later seasons. I think people instantly picked up on this and checked out. When they ended Voyager like that it was a kick in the teeth.