Okay so, I've pondered long and hard as to what my first blog post should be. I decided to start with Star Trek, as it's the first show I EVER remember watching. Seriously, my Dad would have it on at naptime - the Voyager theme still sends me straight off to sleep which is unfortunate when I actually want to watch it now as an adult.
I wanted to talk about why Star Trek is so important. Sure, it's seen the world over as the OG fandom, full of nerds who dress up of a weekend and carry phasers like they'd carry a purse. But it's a strong fandom too, one that has been through a lot and woe-betide you if you ever say anything wrong or put a toe out of line. Literally, Trekkies are worse than Potterheads. I don't pretend to be an expert, I've watched the show and the films and I've done a bit of research but I'm in noway a hardcore Trekkie and don't claim to be. Set your phasers to stun, people.
I'd like to talk mostly about my opinion of the series, of why I think it's important. I was born in 1994, so TOS was a long long time before I was even aware of what life is, and to be honest the first time I properly paid attention was when the film came out in 2009. I know the regeneration films of 2009, 2013 and 2016 respectively have been met with much anger and controversy amongst the hardcore Trekkie community, but I'd like to take a moment to talk about their merit. They brought the franchise to a whole new generation, just like Next Generation in the 80s and Deep Space 9 and Voyager in the 90s did. Star Trek is a tour-de-force that cannot and will not be reckoned with or tamed.
So why is it so important? As a film and television scholar I've pondered this question long and hard. I'm going to focus mostly on the Original Series as that's the one that started it all. I'm going to focus on the exploits of James Tiberius Kirk, Mr Spock, Nyota Uhura, Hikaro Sulu, Dr Leonard McCoy, Montgomery Scott and Pavel Chekov. I've done reading around the subject and the main reason I can find for its popularity is the hope that it brings, especially in the 1960s when the world was gripped with uncertainty. These brave starmen and women were exploring civilisations far aside from our own, for better or for worse, boldly going where none had gone before. It embodies the sharing and friendship of different races coming together for a common goal. The villains were not anything that had been seen before, and in a country gripped by civil rights and race wars this was an important message. Not only was the cast diverse but they were all equal, a fete that was stressed during the show. Actresses such as Whoopi Goldberg have spoken about how shows like Star Trek gave her the confidence to pursue acting, as Uhura proved to her that anything was possible for anybody of any colour. Ron McNair, a now deceased astronaut, saw that anyone of any colour could be an astronaut, that a black boy from the back of nowhere (sic) could become an astronaut.
"I remember watching the original 'Star Trek' series and, like many of my NASA coworkers, was inspired by the idea of people from all nations coming together to explore space." - Astronaut Michael Barratt.
There are many more reasons why Star Trek was so influential aside from diversity of race:
* The communicators used, forward thinking devices with NO WIRES, were actually billed amongst the inspiration for the modern mobile phones. So yes, everyone has Star Trek to thank for that.
* The companionship between Captain Kirk and Mr Spock - as EQUALS, not master and sidekick - was one that was practically unseen. With Spock's logic and Kirk's act-first, think-later attitude they made two halves of one person.
* There is never money exchanging hands. Gene Roddenberry wanted to create a future world where wealth was not the main form of currency, but knowledge.
Need I go on?
"Live long, and prosper" - Mr Spock
I wanted to talk about why Star Trek is so important. Sure, it's seen the world over as the OG fandom, full of nerds who dress up of a weekend and carry phasers like they'd carry a purse. But it's a strong fandom too, one that has been through a lot and woe-betide you if you ever say anything wrong or put a toe out of line. Literally, Trekkies are worse than Potterheads. I don't pretend to be an expert, I've watched the show and the films and I've done a bit of research but I'm in noway a hardcore Trekkie and don't claim to be. Set your phasers to stun, people.
I'd like to talk mostly about my opinion of the series, of why I think it's important. I was born in 1994, so TOS was a long long time before I was even aware of what life is, and to be honest the first time I properly paid attention was when the film came out in 2009. I know the regeneration films of 2009, 2013 and 2016 respectively have been met with much anger and controversy amongst the hardcore Trekkie community, but I'd like to take a moment to talk about their merit. They brought the franchise to a whole new generation, just like Next Generation in the 80s and Deep Space 9 and Voyager in the 90s did. Star Trek is a tour-de-force that cannot and will not be reckoned with or tamed.
So why is it so important? As a film and television scholar I've pondered this question long and hard. I'm going to focus mostly on the Original Series as that's the one that started it all. I'm going to focus on the exploits of James Tiberius Kirk, Mr Spock, Nyota Uhura, Hikaro Sulu, Dr Leonard McCoy, Montgomery Scott and Pavel Chekov. I've done reading around the subject and the main reason I can find for its popularity is the hope that it brings, especially in the 1960s when the world was gripped with uncertainty. These brave starmen and women were exploring civilisations far aside from our own, for better or for worse, boldly going where none had gone before. It embodies the sharing and friendship of different races coming together for a common goal. The villains were not anything that had been seen before, and in a country gripped by civil rights and race wars this was an important message. Not only was the cast diverse but they were all equal, a fete that was stressed during the show. Actresses such as Whoopi Goldberg have spoken about how shows like Star Trek gave her the confidence to pursue acting, as Uhura proved to her that anything was possible for anybody of any colour. Ron McNair, a now deceased astronaut, saw that anyone of any colour could be an astronaut, that a black boy from the back of nowhere (sic) could become an astronaut.
"I remember watching the original 'Star Trek' series and, like many of my NASA coworkers, was inspired by the idea of people from all nations coming together to explore space." - Astronaut Michael Barratt.
There are many more reasons why Star Trek was so influential aside from diversity of race:
* The communicators used, forward thinking devices with NO WIRES, were actually billed amongst the inspiration for the modern mobile phones. So yes, everyone has Star Trek to thank for that.
* The companionship between Captain Kirk and Mr Spock - as EQUALS, not master and sidekick - was one that was practically unseen. With Spock's logic and Kirk's act-first, think-later attitude they made two halves of one person.
* There is never money exchanging hands. Gene Roddenberry wanted to create a future world where wealth was not the main form of currency, but knowledge.
Need I go on?
"Live long, and prosper" - Mr Spock
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