So Pa and I have steadily been making our way through the Star Trek Next Generation episodes. Last night, we finished Season 1. It was lovely. Hopeful. Since I'm reading a sci-fi series by Arthur C. Clarke at the moment, I'm all spacey. Space this. Space that. Blah blah blah.
But the thing about watching these episodes and then reading about what it would be like if humans interacted with an alien species is that people have totally different ideas about where it would go.
The movies about our future as a race are grim. We are inundated with horrifying futuristic movies where there are no humans left or some terrible virus has eaten us all or New York is flooded by the ocean. The images are terrifying to the psyche. Who wants to see that sh*t? Not me. Why does our future have to be so TERRIBLE?
The interesting thing about watching TNG special features is that there were some interviews with the producers, cast, and creator of Star Trek, Gene Roddenberry. All of the people said the same thing about his vision: that the future would be peaceful. That humans would evolve in such a way where we got rid of hunger, the need for material wealth, and RESPECTED each other. Huh? WTF? He totally didn't know about the avian flu or weapons of mass destruction. Clearly.
Since the Nerds are old now and we regularly discuss things like Social Security and retirement and the cost of medicine, I truly wish that Roddenberry's vision of the future was realistic. Unfortunately, I'm leaning more toward the side of Arthur C. Clarke's Rama series: Humans are inherently evil. Sad, so sad.
I must admit I have a crush on Captain Picard. He's witty, cute, and he's got that great accent. And he truly believes in the Prime Directive. The PD states that you can't interfere in other civilizations' affairs. You have to let them do their thing, even if you don't agree. No invasions, no stealing their oil, no sending them toys with lead in them. Just peaceful chitchat and interaction. Even when they look funny. Even when they're acting hostile. Just get along.
I don't know what the world will be like for my sweet niece Little. I certainly hope it's more Star Trek than Star Wars. I hope that as a country, we can redeem ourselves from the Bush Administration and come out on top as a nation to be admired. And I kinda am starting to wish that some aliens would stop by to tell us we are on our way to self-destruction. That could be a handy wake-up call, no?
6 comments:
I have to say I agree with Arthur. He's a smart one, that Arthur.
I have a thing for Patrick Stewart. It's kind of weird, but I feel okay about it.
I regularly tune up my light saber for any odd close encounters. Certainly an entertaining and sweet notion that we will evolve like TNG and their ilk (though I like ENT better and just finished watching the HD series in full). However, one quick glance through the daily newspaper usually reveals where humans are headed. We'd be lucky if we could blame all our faults on an alien invasion. As it is stands with our inability to play nice with each other, we're ******.
And as grim as that might be, there are things far worse that could happen. Like running out of toilet paper at a very inconvenient moment.
I love me some Capitaine Picard too.
However, you gotta wonder why they cast a british actor (his voice totally rocks) who specialised in Shakespeare as a Frenchie in outer space.
And I kinda am starting to wish that some aliens would stop by to tell us we are on our way to self-destruction.
I'm sure the aliens would be deemed a threat and quickly eliminated. Real illegal aliens!
I may just have to put TNG on my netflix. That was an awesome show. I saw Patrick Stewart in a production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf. It was amazing
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