Social litmus

I've always felt the most interesting part of the Star Trek universe was its ability to be a constantly evolving world to match the way we see our own world. Gene Roddenberry did not just want to make a "wagon train to the stars", but take the social issues of our time and transpose them to theirs. For the sixties, it was a phenomenally delicate approach to understanding issues of race, nation states, the cold war, and the human psyche. Subsequently, the movies and the later shows of "Star Trek the Next Generation", "Deep Space Nine" and "Voyager" added newer layers which consistently matched many of the social issues topical to the time. I have often used the Cardassian/Bajoran strife to explain the Balkan wars or the other way around depending on the audience. Deep Space Nine's Producer himself said that "The Kurds, the Palestinians, the Jews in the 1940s, or the boat people from Haiti; unfortunately, the homeless and terrorism are problems in every age." As the means in which the public understood thier own world changed, Star Trek changed with it.

So what does this new movie have to say about our times now? I noticed an interesting theme emerging in this movie. This was a movie which developed and molded the characters of Spock and Kirk in fascinating ways. Again and again I saw the theme of men set apart from their family and their home. These were two men confused by the conflict of their past and adrift in a world of rituals. I find it interesting that this message would speak so powerfully to our generation. We live in a world of odd preconceived notions of normality and patterns. Many of us has convinced ourselves that there are only a few avenues towards success in life, and if we had missed out on those tracks, then we deserve no better than to be kicked to the curb by those who found the course. Excellence has become a standard, which was never meant to be for all, so a majority of people who find themselves "sub-excellent" feel lost and confused. What I think the story of this new Star Trek movie has shown us, is that these roads of predestination are completely artificial and carry as much authority as people give it. The roads to our future are uncharted, and the rules and models created by the sages of the past don't work anymore. In short, "to boldly go where no man has gone before."