The Importance of Star Trek

     I forgot to post yesterday... oops. Sorry about that, I just kept getting sidetracked by things. Mainly Star Wars. I mean, very professional, adult things. Yup, not Star Wars at all.

     ahem

     It`s no excuse, I know. I`m very sorry. 

     Anyways, because I started this off with Star Wars I`m going to talk about Star Trek in this blog. Logic! Don`t question my logic, I`m pretty much a Vulcan, so I know more about logic than you. Unless you`re an actual Vulcan... In which case, please message me so we can hang out in space and stuff. 

     Star Trek is very important to our culture and to the modern age. But Zak, you interrupt rudely, it was just a tv show! How is it important?

     Well, ignorant fool, it was a whole franchise of TV shows, 5 live-action with a sixth being worked on, and 12 movies with the 13th coming out next summer. So, not just a tv show. Gosh. Star Trek inspired generations of scientists, philosophers, and politicians. Cellphones were invited because people wanted the communicators from The Original Series. The Next Generation inspired laptops and tablets. Deep Space Nine explored the the human psyche on levels most television would have never dared to!

     One of the most culturally significant aspects of Star Trek comes from The Original Series. It was a show, that during the height of race riots and the Cold War, featured a black woman and Russian man as main characters. Not just main characters either, officers who held crucial positions on the flagship for Earth`s fleet. Uhura became an icon. Young Black girls in the 1960`s got to watch a series every week that showed them that they could do whatever they wanted. Uhura and Chekov showed a future where race didn`t matter because we were all human. 

      One of the most significant, and radical things Star Trek did, was to showcase the first, the very first, inter-racial kiss on television. For the first time in television history, a white man was shown kissing a black woman. It was revolutionary! And ridiculously controversial. 

      And Star Trek stayed controversial. It touched on subjects like same-sex relationships, poly-amorous relationships, racism, xenophobia, PTSD, consequences of war, torture, and so many more. They never did for publicity, all the things came up through clear and consistent story-telling, and were always done with grace.   

       There`s a section of my memoir dedicated to Star Trek where I go in-depth into the personal significance it holds. I love Star Trek. And I will say that it is the most important piece of pop culture ever produced until I fall into my grave. 

      That`s it for today. Tomorrow I have an interview with the longest running film festival in North America, so the tone of tomorrow`s blog will probably hinge on that...