They're still humans, though. Whether they're Earth humans or off-world humans, it still rather tarnishes the claim that humanity has supposedly risen above the avarice of the past, when all it takes is for circumstances to be less than favorable and 24th century humans turn feral. Turkana IV is one example (not the only one either, but still the most obvious example) that humanity in Star Trek's 24th century isn't nearly as evolved from its 'primtive' past as Jean-Luc Picard would like us to think...
Exceptions prove the rule. Our society has, in general, evolved past the Dark Middle Ages, for example. You can bring up countless examples of individual murder, molestation, even genocide, etc... but that doesn't change that we, on average, have evolved. If you were to met someone from the Middle Ages, you would give him Picard speeches.
That's interesting. I don't think I've thought too much about the appearance of art in contemporary Federation life although I'm sure that there have been representations captured here and there. So what do you think, Teacake,? Social Realism 24th century style, is the accepted creative idiom?
If you are going to be a full time artist who gets a nice house, holodeck usage, replicators and travel you will need to be approved. Anyone wanting these things will have to be approved, WWIII or no earth will run out of room otherwise. At the very least you can't show up if you're not human and get your piece of the goods, much like my own benevolent, christian, democratic nation turns back boats full of folk who are not us. I think in this situation I'd be embarrassed to be approved, I'd be very interested in art that didn't pass the free pass muster. I'd be a tagger I suspect, though maybe that would toss me into a penal colony to learn to be productive? At any rate I'd be drawn to whatever the current anarchy looked like. Too bad we see little of it in Trek. I think earth is really lovely for 99% of folk but there will always be people who while not violent or disruptive in any way fall outside of the deemed useful or edifying category. Whether this is quite a lot of people or a tiny fraction who just can't be categorized into getting some freebies I don't know. But I do suspect there are plenty who are doing their own thing whether it be art or whacky fruitcake science ideas who after filling in triplicate forms to justify their existence get told they aren't being productive or edifying enough and if they want to keep living in that sweet San Francisco pad they need to do this, this, this and this. And they say fuck ut and leave for a colony planet where things are crappier but with hella less paperwork.
I just had a revelation too, but I'm under the influence right now. Every Star Trek series spins off from Roddenberry's original concept. As fans, we usually think of this as Kirk and Spock as the arch-types. But it's actually Pike and Number One with Boyce, Tyler, Colt, and Communications Dude. So if you're going to properly reboot Star Trek, that's where you start. Everything that followed is a variation on the theme. As mentioned earlier, under the influence.
Peter David did a book (okay so maybe only his books are worth remembering, how is that my fault?) called "The Rift". A rift opens every 70 years briefly for a week or so where two disparate sections of the galaxy can communicate and have a good time. Spock and Pike have an aborted adventure with the Rift people, and then 70 years later Spock and Kirk finish it. I remember Spock thinking to himself about how horrible Boyce was, and that it was almost impossible to imagine anyone more surly and disagreeable and illogical than this particular Doctor.
Oh yeah, I forgot Spock was there too. Probably because I thought Spock was the fakiest looking alien I'd ever seen.
During the transition from original pilot to regular pilot, the network, openly sexist and explicitly racist as they were, even to imaginary races, said "Look buddy, we have a problem that you're representing too many filthy minorities, and it's going to scare all the regular normal Americans watching your silly stories, so we're only going to allow you to keep one of them in the main cast... The "woman" or the "alien", pick one, make up your mind fast or you're cancelled. Stay classy,"
The only reason I didn't like Spock was I was used to aliens looking like those seen on The Twilight Zone or The Outer Limits. Even Skip over on the left there looked more alien.
My problem was that he didn't look like Satan. McCoy made the comparison once but it really didn't match what I knew of the guy,
Nope. I did have the most bizarre dream last night. I do not dream about STAR TREK, but in this dream, I saw Sarah Silverman in her FUTURE'S END years, as a giant. She was laying out in a park, leaning up against a skyscraper, like it was a tree trunk. She had a tan outfit on, including a short skirt, which she kept trying to tug further down, so nobody could look up it. I was in a helicopter, gazing down at the proceedings. Next thing I know, I'm in the skyscraper, at a reception desk, for a STAR TREK convention (which I know nothing about). And Marina Siritis came up and didn't acknowledge me, instead talking to the cutey sitting next to me. Before she left, she faked some mild interest in what I was doing, which had the effect of having broken my dream ... most peculiar, the whole thing. I don't know what it means, or why I dreamt it.
It means you want a nice Jewish girl and an exotic European girl to fight over you. While you look down their shirts.