Stars & Gripes
Why do we have to be in a dichotomy?
All sci fi nerds are not created equal.
Some of them want more fantasy RPG style space battles and magical "force" moments packed into two hour segments that get mercilessly pimped out and then bought up by Disney to get even more mercilessly pimped out with Baby Yoda plushies.
Some of them want more technical exploration and character development/drama sprinkled with social commentary that wavers between selling itself out with gratuitous violence/sex and redeeming itself with deeply philosophical writing that keeps the fans constantly disappointed yet still willing to throw money at it.
Some want both - for the reason that these are completely divergent yet no less complimentary universes that scratch two separate yet still valid needs.
If you think one has to be better than the other, then you're probably the same type of poor soul who hasn't realized you can actually like cake and pie without fracturing the space/time continuum.
Mainly because they're both side dishes to the main attraction - ice cream - much like this query is just a distraction to the true sci fi series - Firefly - which, due to the fact it didn't get pimped out nearly as much as these other two franchises, just further shows how superior it really is as a series / space opera / best of all worlds.
Of course Star Wars!
you can’t beat Star wars. even if the movie is not the best of the series, it still has more energy and excitment than a trek episode or movie will ever have.
and why is that?
the greatest question in history, perhaps:‘why do we like Star wars?’
not ‘how can we make our life better?’
not ‘what is the meaning and reason for our existance?’
perhaps the former contains all other questions in it. or answers them.
lets talk procedural stuff. star trek has sooooo much repetition, soooo much “let’s tweak the warp engine”stuff.. in trekworld , techbology always saves the day. there is always a device that can be manufactured that will prevent the catastrophy. perhaps it appeals to the socially reclusive. a person who is better at manipulating objects than people. perhaps it is for people that lost all real hope. because that is what avoiding the effort of social contact implies.
on that note, have a thought: the captain always asks the blind engineer to tweak the reactor, to get some extra juice. a quick fix, where the brainy guy saves the day.. but seriously. is it advisable to tweak a nuclear reactor as it is working already at peak performance and you are being shot at? aren’t there massive forces that want to escape uncontrollably? wasn’t that what Chernobyl about?
life in trekworld is mostly safe. you have machines and a brainiacs to take care of business. if you feel hungry, a replicator will whip whatever you want out of nothing. what complacent, irresponsible people would come out of a world like that? will they ever find motivation to leave their holodeck?
for a more accurate depiction of such a world, i would go to Ian Bank’s ‘culture’ books.
trekdom offers much to geek at. it leaves well though out technical rules, which can be reexamined and chewed up. to geek out over the trek show, is not to delve deep, to find hidden truth- it is to be buried alive.
Now, star wars has it’s faults.
there are Jar-Jars , Ewoks and plenty of bad acting. nothing is perfect, which is perhaps another hidden lesson here. but the true message of the starwars world is this: life is dangerous, life is harsh, unfair and full of pain BUT you can and should rise above it. there are millions of worlds, billions of organisms. all trying to climb on top of each other all repeating the same awful pattern. but we learn here that this vision is incomplete. if that was all there was, then existance would be sad, pointless and boring. but it isn't like that as a result of choices people make. you can find your inner-jedi when you cooly and rationally confront a stressfull event, while still having the presence of mind for great compassion and sympathy to others. poverty and abuse are very real, in star wars and no one is going to beam us out. we are given choices and we see them in the many charachters of the series. we can choose to succumb and wallow, victimize ourselves, that’s an option presented to us. we can also choose to increase the suffering, collaborate, or exploit the misery. but of course there is a third way: we can choose to take a stand, even if it is a non-violent one.
there are Jar-Jars , Ewoks and plenty of bad acting. nothing is perfect, which is perhaps another hidden lesson here. but the true message of the starwars world is this: life is dangerous, life is harsh, unfair and full of pain BUT you can and should rise above it. there are millions of worlds, billions of organisms. all trying to climb on top of each other. if that was all there was, then existance would be sad, pointless and boring.ou can find your inner-jedi when you cooly and rationally confront a stressfull event, with still having the p presence of mind for great compassion and sympathy to others. poverty and abuse are very real, in star wars and no one is going to beam us out. we are given choices and we see them in the many charachters of the series. we can choose to succumb and wallow, victimize ourselves, that’s an option presented to us. we can also choose to increase the suffering, collaborate, or exploit the misery. but of course there is a third way: we can choose to take a stand, even if it is a non-violent one. ose to increase the suffering, collaborate, or exploit the misery. but of course there is a third way: we can choose to take a stand, even if it is a non-violent one.
I grew up on both franchises. i never seriously got into superhero stuff. i think heroism is just existing morally and compassionately despite the hardships. but i stopped being interested in trek stuff the older I got. the message of trek world is a childish hope, that things will work themselves out. starwars is also very childish, but it is fun to watch, and if you think about their message, and internalize, you actually grow up.
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