Posted on 05/26/2018 11:00:40 AM PDT by Rummyfan
It has become commonplace to lament that we don’t have a common culture any more—a repertoire of art that we can all enjoy regardless of our political loyalties. Well, maybe it’s because we have a lot of people trying to mark off parts of the culture as their tribal territory, off-limits to partisan enemies.
I thought of this when someone sent me a link to a recent podcast for science-fiction fans, in which political commenter Ana Marie Cox puzzles over the fact that Ted Cruz is a big Star Trek fan. (To save you some trouble, it’s about 28 minutes in.) Why is this such a mystery? “The original Star Trek universe, for its time even, was pretty social justice warrior-y.”
Try not to spit out your coffee. To paraphrase Dr. Carol Marcus, Jim Kirk was many things, but he was never a social justice warrior.
Cox is partly just trying to flog her own science-fiction column, which features, from what I can tell here, ridiculous political over-analysis of pop-culture sci-fi. But this also reflects how PC didacticism is becoming the mainstream culture’s official theory of art, a topic I’ve been railing about a lot recently. Certainly, if you watch Star Trek and your main takeaway is that it’s a good advertisement for lefty politics—because, as the podcast host puts it, “there’s no money, and everybody’s super-liberal”—you’re really missing the point.
(Excerpt) Read more at thefederalist.com ...
Star Trek was canceled shortly after Coon left the show in the second season and reluctantly renewed for the abysmal third season.
The First season of TNG is the purest vision of Roddenberry's vision, after which; he was again removed from the day to day running of the show by Rick Berman.
It’s funny how alike ‘Trek and ‘West feel at times. West and Kirk could be brothers. Artemis Gordon is McCoy with a bit of Spock and Scotty thrown in.
Anybody notice that all the characters in Star Trek are officers,the only two enlisted i can remember is Rand and O Brian.
I’ve read various theories about that. I just take it for granted that the writers have no clue and everyone on the ship not a regular character is a lieutenant by default or until explained to be otherwise.
Is Yeoman an enlisted rank? There were other yeomen besides Yeoman Rand....I want to say that they were all women.
If ya wore a red shirt; ya didn’t live long enough to become an officer!
>>Yeah, Jimmy boy got his share alright but poor Spock only every 7 years. No wonder he was so strong!
http://www.seinfeldscripts.com/TheAbstinence.htm
George: What is Tungsten or Wolfram?
Alex Trebek: We were looking for ‘What is Tungsten, or Wolfram’.
Jerry: Is this a repeat?
George: No, no, no. Just lately, I’ve been thinking a lot clearer. Like this afternoon, (To television) what is chicken Kiev, (Back to Jerry) I really enjoyed watching a documentary with Louise.
Jerry: Louise! That’s what’s doin’ it. You’re no longer pre-occupied with sex, so your mind is able to focus.
George: You think?
Jerry: Yeah. I mean, let’s say this is your brain. (Holds lettuce head) Okay, from what I know about you, your brain consists of two parts: the intellect, represented here (Pulls off tiny piece of lettuce), and the part obsessed with sex. (Shows large piece) Now granted, you have extracted an astonishing amount from this little scrap. But with no-sex-Louise, this previously useless lump, is now functioning for the first time in its existence. (Eats tiny piece of lettuce)
George: Oh my God. I just remembered where I left my retainer in second grade. I’ll see ya. (He throws finished Rubik’s cube to Jerry and he exits. Kramer enters)...
—
George: Excuse me, darling, do I detect a Portuguese accent?
Waitress: Si
George: Das kaffes un salat e grand por favor.
Waitress: Mute pragalas senor
George: Eh, don’t mention it.
Elaine: Portuguese?
George: Yeah, my cleaning lady’s Portuguese. I must’ve picked it up.
Elaine: How come he’s gettin’ so smart? I stopped having sex with Ben three days ago and I don’t know no Portuguese?
Jerry: Are you all right?
Elaine: I don’t know. It’s just the last coupla days my mind has been, not good.
Jerry: Wait a second, I know what’s happening. The no sex thing is having a reverse effect on you.
Elaine: What? What are you talking about?
Jerry: To a woman, sex is like the garbage man. You just take for granted the fact that any time you put some trash out on the street, a guy in a jumpsuit’s gonna come along and pick it up. But now, it’s like a garbage strike. The bags are piling up in your head. The sidewalk is blocked. Nothing’s getting through. You’re stupid.
Elaine: I don’t understand.
Jerry: Exactly...
Saavik was the result of a forced union between a Vulcan captive and a Roman jailor on the planet of Hellguard.
Maybe they should do some reading on arguments for personal liberty and the horrors of Communist states.
Everybody on the Enterprise is the equivalent of a NASA astronaut. They are all officers, all college graduates.
That’s how a lot Star Trek went after that. Every new character competed for bragging rights about having the most hellish upbringing/childhood while still graduating at the top of their class from Starfleet Academy.
Ana Marie Cox has obviously never seen FR.
It’s funny she would describe (at least the original) Trek as “Social Justice Warrior-y.” That’s far from how I saw it and still see it. It was about resolving problems (if at all possible) when they occurred. That’s what Conservatives are about.
SJWism is the polar opposite. For them, it’s about wronging rights. Creating problems where there weren’t any. Creating divisions. Causing strife and hate wherever they go. The Trek universe (at least before the current batch of ultra-PC garbage) was about a color-blind society. That’s the goal of Conservatism. That is NOT the goal of SJW/PCers. The end result of their ideology is best reflected in “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield” between Bele and Lokai, forever locked into hate over skin color that ultimately ends with the death of their planet and themselves.
Even Kirk & Crew didn’t want to stick around for the two of them to kill each other or to try to resolve something between them, because they knew there was nothing more they could do. Logic and reason was no longer possible. Why there’s no logic or reason in dealing with the evil that is SJW/PC. Add to that, if you gave all these SJWs their own planet, free from that nasty Conservative influence, I guarantee you within a century, they would destroy themselves over who was the more pure SJW (like the Mohammadans). If there were any of them left, perhaps hiding in caves away from the cities, they’d probably be Conservative.
Can’t boycott a show I watched many times before.
But it was provocative for it’s day.
Lucy and the Beaver’s mom, Mrs Cleaver didn’t wear her skirts that short. And Petticoat Junction’s girl’s were pretty but their clothes weren’t skimpy. Gunsmoke didn’t have hippies that went around calling their elders “Herberts’ and promoting anti war dogma.
The Romulans were “stand-in” for the Soviets.
No, they weren’t as “in your face’ about their agenda as they are today but it was there if you paid attention.
LOL
Not so much when the show came out, though. The idea and the show were considered to be liberal (in a mild, JFK sort of way).
It was about resolving problems (if at all possible) when they occurred. That’s what Conservatives are about.
Kirk was the rationalist come to set things in order -- as you say, to resolve problems. At the time, liberals saw themselves in that way.
Fifty years later, the White guy come to solve people's problems is in for a lot of grief from all the people with grievances.
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I was going to say that there weren't "social justice warriors" fifty years ago, but then I remembered that in a real way there were. Somehow, the atmosphere was very different.
I think the difference between then and now is that most people in positions of authority were White men, and those who weren't white or male weren't making any kind of challenge to what were regarded as the prevailing values of society.
It's different now and it was even different by the end of the 1960s. There's been a real sense of revolt against anything identified with the old order. Nowadays, if you still want to solve problems, you better not be a White man.
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There was a tension built into the show (and maybe into liberalism, too) from the beginning. Kirk wasn't supposed to interfere in what was happening on all those planets, but he always found a way to get involved. Sort of like how people start out being "tolerant" and "non-judgmental" but end up making a judgment and taking sides in the end.
Prime Directive
In Star Trek it is the General Order 1 of the Starfleet and an oath every Starfleet Personnel has to take and uphold, even if it means death to them or their crew.As the right of each sentient species to live in accordance with its normal cultural evolution is considered sacred, no Starfleet personnel, Federation citizen and/or representative may interfere with the normal and healthy development of alien life and culture.
This is what often made the Prime Directive ineffective, since broad interpretive powers by Kirk would deem many cultures to be neither normal nor healthy.
Of course, it shows how radicalized our society has become that a “liberal” ideology of 50+ years ago is now seen as “Conservative.” Of course, it’s also why I refuse to call “liberalism” today that, it’s pure totalitarianism and evil. Communist-Fascist.
As I cited in the previous post, the Prime Directive was written so broadly that almost any society deemed to have “problems” could allow for Kirk to interfere.
Landru!
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