test content
Logo
What is the Arc Client?
Install Arc
What does ST mean to you?
captclazorus
Member Posts: 377 Arc User
I know I'm going to sound like your 8th grade grammar teacher on a national holiday, but here it goes anyway.
What does Star Trek mean to you?
To me personally, though I disagree with the secular, sensual, irreligious, and evolutionist natures of ST, I find it allows me to think broadly. I feel that ST allows me to explore astonishing possibilities. And I guess it is suitable for it to be set in a universe where the Big Bang and Darwinism are more than just theories. In that perspective, we have a universe with infinite possibility.
It also allows for some great story-telling. It presents a fake history of the future.
It also gives us the ability to think about how humanity could better itself. (though I wouldn't recommend the way the United Earth did.)
While Star Wars gives us the opportunity for a struggle between good and evil, (and I love it dearly (isn't Palpatine the best villain ever?!)) Star Trek gives us the opportunity for higher level thought. That is what Star Trek means to me.
What does Star Trek mean to you?
To me personally, though I disagree with the secular, sensual, irreligious, and evolutionist natures of ST, I find it allows me to think broadly. I feel that ST allows me to explore astonishing possibilities. And I guess it is suitable for it to be set in a universe where the Big Bang and Darwinism are more than just theories. In that perspective, we have a universe with infinite possibility.
It also allows for some great story-telling. It presents a fake history of the future.
It also gives us the ability to think about how humanity could better itself. (though I wouldn't recommend the way the United Earth did.)
While Star Wars gives us the opportunity for a struggle between good and evil, (and I love it dearly (isn't Palpatine the best villain ever?!)) Star Trek gives us the opportunity for higher level thought. That is what Star Trek means to me.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
"Star Trek: Rubicon" Season 1, Season 2 A new era, a new time, a new crew, a new ship, a new mission...
"I rather believe that time is a companion who goes with us on the journey and reminds us to cherish every moment because it will never come again."- Jean-Luc Picard
"Star Trek: Rubicon" Season 1, Season 2 A new era, a new time, a new crew, a new ship, a new mission...
"I rather believe that time is a companion who goes with us on the journey and reminds us to cherish every moment because it will never come again."- Jean-Luc Picard
Post edited by captclazorus on
0
Comments
Trials of Blood and Fire
Moving On Parts 1-3 - Part 4
In Cold Blood
Instead, the series would have to basically acknowledge that each species have their own religions that stretch back thousands of years, and the series would have to avoid implying that there was "One True Faith" while all others were worshiping false gods.
That said, we do have at least two "alien" religious examples that have been examined in depth in Star Trek:
First is the Vulcan tradition, which I think could be viewed as analogous to Buddhism in some ways. Rather than revolving around the worship of gods and their decrees, it is instead a belief system that focuses on learning self-control, with the attainment of "true enlightenment" involving overcoming the passions of the flesh, and emphasizes such values as respect for life.
Second, we see the Bajorian religion, which is given an interesting treatment because their "gods" are not only proven beyond a doubt to actually exist, but also their "gods" are indeed superhuman and transcend ordinary notions of time and mortality. They are not however shown as being part of the cosmological underpinnings of the universe, which many religions' gods are shown as.
Hell, the entire Bajoran species is based on the idea.
As for what Trek means to me, I'm not a religious person. I've been to church maybe three times in my life. But Trek was definitely the next best thing to me to learn morality and social constructs. It made me a better person than I would have been had I not gotten into it. I learned a lot about how to treat others from Trek and dare I say I consider many of the episodes to be modern-day parables.
It's also been a source of inspiration when I have writer's block, and a source of comfort when I'm depressed. I dare say Trek has saved my life on occasion. I vividly remember one particularly depressing winter when I was in high school and I had thought of killing myself, but decided not to simply so I could catch Space's Christmas Day Trek movie marathon! After that cheered me up, I changed my mind and my love affair with Trek was officially kicked off!
It's a great way to learn about human nature, social patterns, morality, and you get a decent dose of action, mystery and suspense in the process. Add to that some wicked cool ship designs, amazing characters, and ruthless villains like the Klingons and the Borg, and you got a really cool show that goes totally underappreciated by our generation. Even if you hated the J.J. reboot, you have to admit that it's really cool that these new movies are making Star Trek cool again to the younger crowd, because some of them might get into the older shows and reap the rewards like I did.
I hope if I ever have kids, that they get into Trek too. The lessons in this show are invaluable, and I think if a lot of older kids these days gave the 90s series a chance, they could find something to love about it.
not much! I do not watch tv, though back in college and as a kid I did a little so I was exposed to the shows at least enough to name the major cast. From what I remember of it, TOS was about kirk getting some across the universe, picard was about how problems solve themselves if the crew will just talk about it enough, and DS9 seemed to be a sci-fi soap opera or some sort of foreign comedy (you know the type, where you know its supposed to be a joke but its not funny). Again, that is from limited exposure, though.
I did like some of the movies, the whale one is awesome, the new ones are pretty good in a "too much graphics, too little depth" kind of "watch it once" way. The one with picard and the borg and time travel was very good.
To me the game is a setting in which to fly a ship in space, something I enjoy. I could care less about meeting tupak or worf, flying some ship from some show I did not watch, etc. I get to shoot stuff and tinker with my ships. It works for me.
exploration takes time, it isnt just explore this anomaly in 10 seconds flat and say "curious" like data would, all the information would need to be interpreted, processed, stored, then opened and studied and a report made, again using resources, different departments and regulations, use of a communcations device on the ship, finding the right department, filing all the data in accorance with regulations and such.
this is what i expect it to be, if PWE changed the game and shook it about on its head and added this type of stuff, you would just be one lowly crew member on a ship, having to earn your way up the ranks by hard grinding, doing small menial jobs, following orders and instructions, months later you get promoted after hard work, you get to command a few others below you in grade, however your expected to keep up your performance, a year later (and in every case in real time) and you get promoted again. so looking at it 5 or more years later as lt. commander, keeping up with the chores of being a executive officer to the captain, then being told to transfer to another ship as it's captain then learning everything again with your new crew and being a captain in command of a starship. i would imagine it would be significantly difficult ordering a course correction, ordering weapons fire, outthinking a smart enemy, ordering damage reports and telling crew men to repair hull breaches.. it can go on, upto the point of being asked to surrender depending on which group asking.
for the klingons it would be sent to the mines of rura penthe and becoming a miner before getting rescued by starfleet through a commando team.
cardassians would take you for processing, and interrogation where someone will asking you "how many lights do you see", federation will attempt to get you free.
romulans would likely display your ships broken hull on display on the romulan homeworld, and republic spies try to get you out of the prison and home, by trying to avoid romulan security on the ground and in space.
dominion would send you to a prison camp and you will be left there if needed for slave work.
hirogen, beamed to a planet and hunted, survive or die, but you eventually find a way back home yourself.
as far as the federation aspect goes though, entirely political and the people you have to report to from time to time, there is also the aspect of other cultures including those you would consider metaphysical, you still need to be open minded about crew from these areas and as a captain you have to show how open starfleet is, so being diplomatic as much as possible.
Been around since Dec 2010 on STO and bought LTS in Apr 2013 for STO.
Even those who would claim they do not believe in any deity or afterlife are deceiving themselves. Each and every person, when alone in the darkness of the night, fears that death might be the end of existence and some part in each of use cries out for it not to be so. This is the reason we believe or want to believe that there is a higher power at work in the universe.
Having said that, we must thus look at the scientific factor as well. Science cannot prove or disprove deities or an afterlife because there is no way to measure it scientifically. To say that something is true because it cannot be disproved is folly. It is like saying worms are sentient because you cannot scientifically prove that they are not. Worms might not feel like talking but that does not mean they are incapable of thought or are not self aware. You just cannot measure something like that. It does not make it true however.
As a species we are still evolving. In the dark ages Religion was necessary to prevent humanity from destroying themselves out of despair. In the modern age we seem more able to look at the issue scientifically and on the surface at least accept that there might not be anything after death. We still have not lost that primal fear of this being true though. I doubt we ever will.
Thus as show like Star Trek highlights mankind's ascension to beings of logic, compassion and a desire for peace due to the fact that we were able to overcome some of our primal fears and desires and thereby we as a species evolved to something better. At the same time though it still poses the question "Is this really all there is for us?"
Personally I find that Religion is an archaic institution with no scientific base. I find faith in a higher power difficult in the face of so many overwhelming arguments against it. And yet, when I truly ponder the magnitude of the universe and the perfection of how it operates I cannot help but wonder if such a marvelous thing could really only be coincidence? Could all this really have been one lucky accident after another?
And I guess that's why I love Star Trek. Its optimism for our future and its hope for "something more than this life" while at the same time shirking the chains of Religion. We do not need Religion. It is a man made concept that preys on our fear of death. But we will always have faith.
I truly hope there's more to life than just this one split second of existence in an ageless Universe. Science and logic says no. But something inside me cries out against that. Its crying "I do not wish to end!"
Star Trek talks about the human condition.
The show starts you off in a universe where many of the standard issues of society have been fixed. The most basic need, hunger, had been solved through technology. Disease? Poverty? All taken care of. Overpopulation? Space!
Yet that doesn't mean that everyone's problems are solved. If anything, it allowed the shows to focus on the complex issues. The show addressed the fundamental questions about the human condition. How do we deal with a difference of culture? In such an advanced future, we still have to confront racism. Is war an unavoidable part of who we are? Conflict was frequent in Star Trek. If emotion can often cloud our judgement, should we strive to be more critical? Does denying our emotions mean denying our humanity? Complex moral questions were raised. Fear, love, greed, and anger weren't gone.
DS9 features my favorite episode because of one line from one amazing actor. In "The Jem'Hadar" Quark is talking to Sisko about the human condition. With an almost disturbing realness, Quark says:
Star Trek doesn't shy from these issues. It brings it into the light. That's what Star Trek is to me.
...Oh, baby, you know, I've really got to leave you / Oh, I can hear it callin 'me / I said don't you hear it callin' me the way it used to do?...
- Anne Bredon
"Critics who say that the optimistic utopia Star Trek depicted is now outmoded forget the cultural context that gave birth to it: Star Trek was not a manifestation of optimism when optimism was easy. Star Trek declared a hope for a future that nobody stuck in the present could believe in. For all our struggles today, we haven’t outgrown the need for stories like Star Trek. We need tales of optimism, of heroes, of courage and goodness now as much as we’ve ever needed them."
-Thomas Marrone
Boy, don't I wish? Looking on the forums, you'd think we'd end up as Ferengi instead.
As for me? Not really sure. I never really sat down and THOUGHT about that.
That is not to say there won't be some speed bumps and everything will be rosy in the future. But as long as their is hope that things will work out, the future is a bright and wonderful place. That is what Trek means to me.
Norway and Yeager dammit... I still want my Typhoon and Jupiter though.
JJ Trek The Kelvin Timeline is just Trek and it's fully canon... get over it. But I still prefer TAR.
#TASforSTO
'...I can tell you that we're not in the military and that we intend no harm to the whales.' Kirk: The Voyage Home
'Starfleet is not a military organisation. Its purpose is exploration.' Picard: Peak Performance
'This is clearly a military operation. Is that what we are now? Because I thought we were explorers!' Scotty: Into Darkness
'...The Federation. Starfleet. We're not a military agency.' Scotty: Beyond
'I'm not a soldier anymore. I'm an engineer.' Miles O'Brien: Empok Nor
'...Starfleet could use you... It's a peacekeeping and humanitarian armada...' Admiral Pike: Star Trek
Get the Forums Enhancement Extension!
Oh, and it's also entertaining science fiction.
I want to experience this universe online.
To me, Star Trek is somewhat revisionist, but that would be an insult to the thought processes of the time. I don't recall a genetic superman conquering the world, but back then it was a very real thought with the paranoia and uncertainty to back it up. I don't see Star Trek as the future but an alternate dimension straight from The Twilight Zone. If you were looking for something that used the human nature as it exists and has evolved from 500 years ago, I suggest B5 as your reference.
But on a day to day basis Star Trek uses exploration of space as a metaphor for exploring self, emotion, humanity, soul, as well as more socially conscious things like society, prejudice, war.
And on a personal level Star Trek means owning your values. Standing up for them against all odds and never giving up.
Just like the comment that we only get to see the "good bits" of the life of the captain and crew, I feel like Trek is only really showing us the "good bits" of humanity and Earth. You can't tell me that every single human being in the 24th century has straightened up and flown right. I'm sure there are still slums. Trek has made it very clear, especially in the more recent series, that there are corrupt politicians everywhere. And if someone like Reginald Barclay (whom as a character, I adore, I'm not knocking him at all here) can slip through the cracks, you can't tell me there aren't still a buttload of NEETs freeloading off the Fed system, still living in broken families and having drug issues and what-have-you.
If they can show us that part of the 24th century in better detail, I'll have seen everything. Looks like we might get a small chance of that with the upcoming Renegades pilot.
Great answer. I love it when people use philosophy and sentimentality.
"Star Trek: Rubicon" Season 1, Season 2 A new era, a new time, a new crew, a new ship, a new mission...
"I rather believe that time is a companion who goes with us on the journey and reminds us to cherish every moment because it will never come again."- Jean-Luc Picard