Arguably the most important science fiction franchise
in history turns 50 this year. Sorry Star Wars, but you wouldn’t exist if Star
Trek hadn’t paved the way with its clearly superior writing and acting. Now, I’m
a fan of many sci-fi franchises: Star Trek, Star Wars, Stargate, Battlestar
Galactica, and those are just the ones with ‘star’ in the title. Yet, if I had
to choose just one franchise to watch, read, and write about for the rest of my
life, the choice would be startlingly easy: Star Trek. I learned so much from
it, so many of my morals, my ideas about right and wrong, they come from Star
Trek. My understandings of justice and acceptance, my ability to hold onto
hope! My belief that things can get better, they all come from Star Trek.
Star Trek debuted in the sixties. In a time of
international tensions, and race riots, it portrayed a future where humanity
was united. Where the country of your birth and the colour of your skin didn’t
matter. At the height of the Cold War, it had a Russian officer working
alongside American officers. At the height of the racial divide in the States,
it had a black woman as an officer working alongside and in harmony with white
people. For these reasons alone, it was ground breaking. Like all good science
fiction, the stories the series told held up a mirror to society. Science
fiction has the benefit of critiquing everything in a way that people don’t
notice on the surface. Through episodes dealing with xenophobic aliens, it
critiqued the Cold War. Through episodes dealing with alien races, it critiqued
the racial divide in America.
Star Trek portrayed a universe where people were
always given a chance to prove themselves. A universe where people were judged
only for their actions, not their appearance. It taught me that this is how
people should act. I grew up watching a world where skin colour didn’t affect
how you should look at people, and through that I became a person who doesn’t
judge others by that. I’m sure my parents had a little to do with that, but
this is about Star Trek, not them.
Deep Space Nine taught me that the world isn’t in
black and white. It taught me that morals weren’t black and white, and that if
something was the right thing to do for one group of people it wasn’t necessarily
the right thing for other groups. Through characters like Dr Bashir, who
through no fault of his own was an illegal eugenic, I learned that I could
accept myself for who I was. Through Kira I learned that being religious was
okay, but that I shouldn’t blindly follow it if something felt wrong. Through
Sisko I learned that leadership and respect is earned through actions, and not
just because of status. It taught me that even good people will do bad things
if they believe it’s the right thing to do. And in the end, it taught me that
victories of any sort only come through sacrifice.
The Old testament in the bible has some interesting
thoughts on justice, including that the sins of the fathers can be passed on to
future generations. Star Trek showed me that this was wrong. It allowed me to
see that no one should be tied to the wrong doings of their families or of
their people. The most obvious example that springs to mind is when Jadiza Dax
was put on trial for the supposed actions of Curzon Dax. The accusers argued
that because Jadiza was the new host of the Dax symbiont, she should be held
accountable for the actions of Curzon. Odo once said that “The law? Commander,
laws change, depending on who's making them - Cardassians one day, Federation the
next. But justice is justice,” which took me a while to fully grasp. It’s
something that I get now. Everywhere in the world, there are unjust laws: from
the gun laws in the States, to some of the laws involving First Nations in
Canada. Are the people affected by those laws receiving justice? No, they aren’t,
and because of Star Trek, I learned to truly appreciate the fact that laws do
not always equal justice.
Star Trek was a world that I wanted to live in. A
world where everyone was accepted, and for a time, I felt like I could live in
that world. I truly embraced my inner trekkie. Then I moved and got teased and
bullied for it, so I hid it. I still loved Star Trek, but it became something I
enjoyed in secret. The irony is apparent to me now, but it was necessary at the
time. I always found it so odd that Star Wars was something people could love
openly, but Star Trek wasn’t. It was because Star Trek was always something
that made you think, and thinking was something nerdy. Because Star Trek was
smart, it wasn’t “cool”. The real world was so biased and base, that people
weren’t even being accepted because they liked things that required thought.
But Star Trek gave me hope that this would change, so I held onto that hope,
and I continued to love Star Trek. The Vulcan philosophy of Infinite Diversity
in Infinite Combinations gave me the belief that anything is possible, because
there is literally an infinite amount of choices that we can make. I watched all
the series, I read the books, I played the games.
Then I fell away from it for a bit. The real world
got too dark and depressing, and I didn’t want things that made me think, so I
fell into a world of bright colours and flashing lights to distract myself. The
lessons I learned from Star Trek were still there, but I distanced myself from
the franchise. I still watched the movies, but I didn’t read the books anymore.
I quit watching the TV series. I was denying myself of something that was
literally part of me. But outside of my parents, Star Trek was the biggest
influence on my life. I grew up with it. I was molded by it. And yet I denied
myself of it. I don’t know why, other than I thought people would judge me by
it. But Star Trek taught me to be true to myself. To not hide who I am.
And I’m a trekkie. Star Trek is possibly the most
important science fiction franchise ever made. It has made real world changes:
from technological advances, to how we view others. It has influenced the lives
of countless people through its portrayal of humanity and a better world. Even
Martin Luther King Jr believed that it was important. I will argue forever that
is a better franchise than Star Wars in every aspect (except in money making),
and we all know that Star Wars wouldn’t even exist if Star Trek hadn’t paved
the way. For Star Trek’s 50th birthday, they have added the their
first canonically gay main character, who just happens to be a person of
colour, and they’ve announced the return of Star Trek to television.
I, for one, am excited, and will definitely be going
to watch Star Trek Beyond next weekend; even if I have to drive to another city
to see it (our theatre here is terrible). In case you didn’t pick it up, Deep
Space Nine is my favourite series. Followed by the Original, then The Next
Generation. Wrath of Khan is my favourite film, followed by First Contact, then
The Undiscovered Country.
Qapla’ and Live Long and Prosper.
That’s right, I snuck some Klingon in.
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