Star Trek inspired me by showing me a galaxy full of equals, and a galaxy where you don’t interfere with indigenous cultures. A federation of worlds where everyone’s needs are taken care of and human rights are respected.
And most importantly, an imperative to talk things out in a hostile situation before shooting.
That last line is what hits me the most. Probably because if we did the last line first then the others would fall into place. One can understand quite a lot by simply listening.
For me personally, two shows/movies made a big impact on me as an early teen:
- Star Trek (TNG at the time)
- Jurassic Park
The reason being that most of the characters in those two shows/movies weren’t superheroes/cops/etc. They were geeks and nerds.
Star Trek, the geeks and nerds are prized in society, and their purpose is to explore, to learn. They were scientists. They didn’t accomplish their thing by conquest, but by diplomacy and science. There, of course, were battles/warriors/etc, but those are shown as the exception.
In Jurassic Park, every character is a nerd (the Dino obsessed boy, the Unix hacking girl, the Paleontologist/Paelobotanist, the Geneticist, Mathematician, etc). The good guys AND the bad guys were nerds. No strong-man was needed to save the day.
I was a nerdy kid, and those spoke to me. I now work in a science research lab, and love it. I’m still a nerd.
I love this answer. I somehow didn’t realize that everyone in JP was a nerd except for Muldoon who was neutralized almost immediately.
It’s one of the reasons I don’t care for the newer Jurassic Park movies. Chris Pratt plays the strong man to save the day (continually)
I don’t care for the newer ones because literally none of the characters or moments are memorable. I can remember a deleted scene of… Whoever the female lead is (Christ, even forgot who she is) rubbing dinoshit all over herself and Chris Pratt getting turned on. Also remember a PA having the most unnecessary and violent death for just existing.
Good opportunity for a reminder of how it inspired Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
And thanks to him, we had Uhura through all 3 seasons and all 6 movies. Obviously nowhere near his greatest achievement, but I am grateful for it.
It’s quite possible that we wouldn’t have Uhura on Strange New Worlds without him meeting Nichols, either.
And Celia Rose Gooding is continuing Nichols torch bearing with her hair choice!
“I think the first thing that people were really keeping an eye out for was that I chopped off all her hair, and I love it,” she told TVLine.
“[What] was incredible with Nichelle’s Uhura and Zoe’s Uhura was that they had the epitome of what Black femininity was at the time.”
"Now we’re in [2022], and I think the iconic short Caesar cut has been a thing for Black men for a long time, but we are slowly but surely as a community getting closer and closer to widening the ideals of what Black femininity looks like.
“Having an opportunity to take on the iconic character and still give her this layer of incredible grace… and also have her have this incredibly gorgeous short cut look – it just feels so right to me. Even with the Dora Milaje in Black Panther, their femininity was never questioned, but they all had real short cuts.”
https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/ustv/a39834637/star-trek-strange-new-worlds-uhura-hair/
That made me real sad in a way. It’s a beautiful story, but I wish Nichelle Nichols could’ve gone into theatre like she wanted. There was a quote from a black feminist group that I can’t find now that said something about how it isn’t really a choice to become a fighter to resist oppression, because if they could choose, they’d choose something else, that they want to do, rather than what they are compelled to do. The reason to be a fighter is to try to make it so that the black little girls of the future can be free to self-realise.
It was an impactful quote because I felt like it acknowledged the respect that is due to people who fight for a better world, while also not excluding the grief and sorrow that comes from recognising that to commit to a cause is a sacrifice that wouldn’t have needed to be made in a just world.
I know that Nichelle Nichols’ work and activism extends far beyond Star Trek, but underlying it all is a deep sense of duty that I find at once beautiful and sad.
Putting my mod hat on here- This post is about how Star Trek inspired you, not what you think of Whoopi Godlberg. Think of the quote as why Star Trek inspired someone, not who that someone is.
What does this have to do with moderation?
If you choose to focus on how Star Trek inspired you I think that’s great. If other members of the community choose to focus on Whoopi’s frequent shit takes, then this post is also about that.
It concerns me that you would brandish your mod card in an effort to influence narrative. Your comment sans ‘mod hat’ is perfectly reasonable.
Part of a moderator’s job is keeping things on topic and keeping discussion civil. Both are an issue in this thread. You can call requesting people stay on topic “influencing the narrative.” I would argue the topic is the narrative.
Now, did Star Trek inspire you? If so, how?
The content is an image referencing a Whoopi Goldberg quote, asserting that her words and actions are not at least partially ‘on topic’ is unreasonable.
Accountability and power dynamics were common themes in Star Trek, it definitely inspired me to hold people accountable for their words/actions, and to speak truth to power.
Anything she wanted, so she became a terrible person.
I don’t like her either, but that particular quote of hers is wonderful and casting her as Guinan because of it was inspired.
And she did a good job as Guinan whatever I think of her personally.
I mean Shatner is a total dick but I still love Kirk.
I mean Shatner is a total dick but I still love Kirk.
Meh, I think I for one can respect Shatner’s “dickery.”
As in-- he’s a really good actor who never wanted to be typecast as Captain Kirk, and is rightfully a bit short with ST fans on average. OTOH, it’s not like he goes out of his way to stir shit up or cast aspersions. More like he’s typically wanted to be left alone by Trekkies & Trekkers, and I can understand that.
He’s also taken the time to write a lot of interesting books, some of them biographical, some of them about ST, and also do an interview series.
I would never in a million years expect that I could walk up to a big star in public and expect to be treated like some long-lost friend of a fan. Some stars are amazingly good with that, but that’s on them.
It’s not about his reaction to fans. His Star Trek co-stars have a lot to say about how he was rude to them and just generally arrogant. He and Nimoy hated each other for years. They supposedly made up, but Shatner didn’t attend his funeral. His excuse was he was scheduled to do a fundraiser.
Shatner does not get a singular pass on the being left alone by Trekkies when he churns out as much ST stuff as he can to get paid. Like I’m not going to begrudge him for doing Trek stuff but he doesn’t get to sit in the captains chair and whine about how people don’t stop asking about the ship.
Feels like her original commentary was more born out of ignorance. And while I’m not condoning her actions, I understand them. And she’s since recanted and is apparently trying to educate herself on the matter, which is definitely better than some.
Then there’s the power element. When you’re in a position like hers, the word “no” will be repeated less and less, and that will definitely skew how you approach the world. Her getting backlash and a suspension could be the “no” she’s needed for years.
Let’s hope she grows from this.
She doesn’t need to fucking grow. She does more for charities Than you will do in ten lifetimes.
