io9 
Enter your username and password.
-
posts about #me more → 
What Was The Message Of Abrams' Star Trek?
San Francisco, 12:17 PM
Wed Dec 16
25 posts in the last 24 hours
Tip your editors:
Editor-in-Chief:
Annalee Newitz |
News Editor:
Charlie Jane Anders |
Associate Editor:
Meredith Woerner |
Assistant Editor:
Lauren Davis |
Weekend Editor:
Graeme McMillan |
Contributors:
Joshua Glenn
Stephen Goldmeier |
Ed Grabianowski |
Austin Grossman
Paul Hogan |
Lauren Davis |
Chris Hsiang |
Lynn Peril |
Ann VanderMeer
Alasdair Wilkins |
Graphic Designer:
Stephanie Fox |
Interns:
Tim Barribeau |
Julia Carusillo |
Alex Eichler |
Cyriaque Lamar |
Caitlin Petrakovitz |
Mary Ratliff |
Josh Snyder |
| posts about #me more → |
What Was The Message Of Abrams' Star Trek? |
Original material is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution.
05/14/09
05/13/09
Nokia and Budweiser are going to be around for another 200 years, so buy them now!
Also, get your kids into a plumbing school ASAP because in the future, starships are going to have water treatment plants in their bowels.
05/13/09
05/13/09
The thing that bothered me was the fact that when MY DAD grew up with TOS and I grew up with TNG, DS9, and VOY, Trek was all about the betterment of mankind, the scientific progress, and how humanity had learned form its wisdom and finally become merciful. Picard said it best: "In my century, we don't succumb to revenge. We have a more evolved sensibility... "
And whereas he was talking out his ass in Star Trek: First Contact, it was on the whole, true. Starfleet's prime mission is not so much a military organization as much as a scientific and exploratory one. When Kirk gives the ultimatum to have Nero evacuate the Narada, and Nero refuses, Kirk should have disobeyed his wishes to die and beamed them directly to the brig. If the Romulans decided to kill themselves out of their code of honor, so be it. But Kirk, with his order to "Fire Everything We've got" at a defenseless ship, is tantamount to murder.
That's not my father's Star Trek. That's not my Star Trek. And that's not something that I want to be my (future) kid's Star Trek.
That's NOT what Star Trek was about. At all.
Anyone can defend it any way they want, but I have the same question for JJ Abrams, Orci, and Kurtzmann that Lily had for Picard: "Where was your evolved sensibility then?"
It by no means ruined the movie, but to me that shows the "action element" over the importance of the message. It's just so sad that was featured in a Trek movie.
~JYH
05/13/09
It's a good point.
05/13/09
05/13/09
There wasn't one. It was a great fun movie. But there was definitely no message as there was in Trek II, IV or VI.
05/13/09
05/13/09
05/13/09
It's not fair to say II and VI don't have capital-M messages, though. Two picked apart the perils of waging vendetta, and, as someone else deftly said it here, portrayed Kirk as an aging Lothario whose own son couldn't stand him. Six was all about the end of the Cold War, and our obsession with finding atavistic enemies to constantly battle.
If anyone can find a comprehensible message in either Generations, Insurrection or Nemesis, I'm all ears.
05/13/09
05/13/09
05/13/09
Which was shat upon in several ways great and small by the new movie.
05/13/09
05/14/09
Which, by the way, is a completely unrealistic message. I never understood how anyone could trick themselves in to thinking that mankind could move beyond currency and work for the "greater good". Give me a fucking break people. The whole concept of Star Trek loses all credibility in that single idea.
05/14/09
Come back to me once the trilogy has been made and than you can start the bitching.
Until then you should all be glad that Star Trek isn't six feet under.
05/13/09
So the planet Vulcan is the World Trade Center and the Vulcans are the Jews?
And this means that the Romulan Empire is Saudi Arabia and/or Germany?
05/13/09
05/13/09
But I didn't mind that this movie was all about the gee-whiz and pew-pew. It's about time we stopped exaggerating the Deep Meaning and Artistic Integrity of Star Trek.
05/13/09
Wait...what...you do?
How. Can. This....seemingcontradiction...Be?
05/13/09
Logic? Logic is a tweeting bird in a meadow...
05/13/09
05/13/09
05/13/09
05/13/09
Yes, how could they possibly make a movie where we dont know whats going to happen in advance >_<
05/14/09
I mean, how can you go in to a reboot not expecting them to fuck with canon?
Also, it's not like they somehow destroyed all the previous shows and movies because of this new one. You can still watch it and geek out over it.
What's the big fucking deal?
05/13/09
1) JJ Abrams puts his stink/stank on a project
2) Lens Flare
3) ????
4) $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$!!!!!!!!!!!
05/13/09
05/13/09
Orci/Kurtzman: Oh man, yeah, we totally dug the fact that Star Trek had messages! It was like, awesome how every story had a message about something?
Interviewer: So, what was the message of yours?
Orci/Kurtzman: Uhh... well, it's uh, *mumblemumble*, and ya know... uh... uh.. 9/11, and.. *mumble* and... dude, did you see that AWESOME SPACE BATTLE!? It was like, POW ZING LASERS OHNOES ROMULANS GUYS!
Say it with me guys. 'We really weren't concerned with a message, and just focused on creating an entertaining film that gives the characters a platform to be interesting and set the stage for possible sequels.'
05/13/09
Fixed it for you!
05/14/09
05/13/09
Man, count me out.
05/13/09
05/13/09
"See Spock run. Run, Spock, run!"
05/13/09