Saturday, May 16, 2009

The Vaunted 'Reboot' of Trek

I've never admitted it on these pages, but this statement will come as no surprise to those who know me - I'm a fan of Star Trek in all its incarnations (some more than others, of course; sorry, but DS9 doesn't hold a candle to TOS). Having gone to see the new ST movie this past week with some friends, I thought I'd weigh in with some personal thoughts about the film and its concept. The idea of a 'reboot' was a bit off-putting at first, but upon reflection it's a better idea than trying to make the movie canon-compatible, given the little matter of ALL OF VULCAN BEING DESTROYED...I will be very intrigued to see the development of Spock's character in the new timeline. I imagine there will be a whole new set of conflicts; he might feel even more pressure to 'be Vulcan', as a member of an endangered species. But then there's his encounter with the older and wiser Spock Prime. The acting was true to TOS - campy and idealistic, just the way I like it, but in moderation - it doesn't shade off into parody (no mean feat). And of course as a longtime fan, I appreciate all the nods to memorable features of the original (e.g. Owen as the first 'red shirt' away team casualty). Small details were got right too - Admiral Komack on young Kirk's disciplinary board, for instance. They did a good job with the visual presentation, finding an appropriate balance between TOS's vision of 23rd c. tech and what we've seen develop in the 3 decades since.

Problems: the movie continues the Trek franchise's ongoing confusion about the economic philosophy of the UFP - in spite of frequent indications (and outright protestations) in the various series that the Federation is socialist, the trappings of capitalism keep popping up. Perhaps we can forgive the movie this since, after all, at this early date in the ST chronology, Earth's economy might still be transitional. Secondly (but by no means secondarily), the issue of gender parity. Many in the blogosphere are already hashing this out; opinions and passions vary widely on the matter. Do the roles of Nyota, Amanda, and Kirk's mother reflect unreconstructed mid-20th century chauvinism, or not? Worth considering.

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