Star Trek Culture – Did it define you???
How many of you were part of the Star Trek culture? I’m guessing there’s a lot of us out there. Yes, I’m part of that culture. I remember watching all the t.v. shows, brimming with excitement about what alien life they might encounter next or what planet they might beam down to – always imagining how it would be if I could explore those far flung worlds and alien cultures. I was sure I’d be just as brave and just as strong, sticking to my principles because that was my job – “to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before”. Sound familiar? That’s part of the opening statement William Shatner speaks at the beginning of each episode.
[Side track here – I think I’m living what I always imagined – it just so happens to be in the here and now. Think about it: “strange new worlds” = current political climate; “new life and new civilizations” = current political climate; “where no man has gone before” = current political climate. But I digress…]
Star Trek has just turned 51 years old and it’s been the nucleus of all kinds of Star Trek spinoffs – television series, films, toys, etc. Star Trek, as a commodity, is pretty much universally known and seriously, I think if you greet someone with Spock’s “live long and prosper” salute, virtually everyone will know who and what you’re referencing. How’s that for recognition?
Here’s my Spock salute to you – a link to a video with Leonard Nimoy discussing how the salute came to be. He’s quite entertaining and it’s a great story. He’s also talking about tolerance of religion, diversity, education, etc. – still appropriate today, even though this was published in 2006. Check it out!
Good recap of a cultural icon. I miss that intro from each show. I was too young to watch each episode.
I don’t see your analogy to current political climate. I would argue the opposite – that we’re returning to the Constitution and our founding fathers’ intent, rather than entering “a strange new world.” I would agree it’s exciting, though!
Thanks for your comments, Michele. I really loved the old Star Trek series and I miss it too. On the current political climate analogy, what I meant was I see us going backwards. We were making good progress against hate, bigotry, misogyny, religious tolerance, celebration and acceptance of different cultures, equal rights, etc. – or so I thought. Now I see many people seeming to prefer we go backwards. That’s not returning to the Constitution in my book; rather, that’s forgetting what this country was built on. That’s the strange new world I’m referring to. We obviously have different opinions on this and that’s okay. That’s what the Constitution gave us – the freedom of speech. I am choosing to exercise mine and speak up. Thanks for listening, Michele! I appreciate it.