"...our ship."

I know it's a nitpicky thing to bring up, but I found it odd how many times an Enterprise crew member refered to the Enterprise to another member of the crew as "our ship" in dialogue. I noticed it most with Sulu but I do believe others used the words too. I seem to remember the norm simply being "the ship" since if you're speaking to someone else also on board, the "ownership" of the ship is implied. I just found it curious that the writers used those words instead of "the ship" or "the Enterprise" when a character makes mention (i.e. when Sulu says "They're scanning our ship." or later when he says, "I'm aligning our ship now.") I just can't put my finger on why it sounds to weird to me, but it does. I can't think of many other instances the word "our" is used when referring to the Enterprise.

 

And there was.."how is our ship" or something to that effect.

I think it is sweet. We don't have 79 episodes showing us how much the Enterprise means to them, we only have two movies. Using the more familiar and possessive language shows us what time cannot.

 

Would you rather them declare "They're scanning the Federation's ship" or something? It's not uncommon for naval personnel to assume an honorary degree of ownership of a vessel. For all practical purposes it is their home along with their duty post after all.

 

Simply "They're scanning the Enterprise" or "scanning the ship." sounds more natural to my ears. I can't put my finger on why, but it just does in most situations, specifically when Sulu says it as he describes what he or someone else is doing.

 

I think the use of "our ship" instead of "the ship" probably plays into the idea --repeatedly expressed throughout the movie by Kirk, Khan, and others-- that your crew is your family and your ship is your home. It shows how tight-knit the crew has become, and how they've become comfortable aboard the Enterprise.

 

I didn't notice it at all because that's what people do. When people talk about their favorite sports team, it "us" and "we". Humans need belong to a group, especially in a place where they work together. You would say "Our office is located at so and so" when giving customers directions to where you work, even though YOU don't own it. It' a colliquialism and there's nothing odd about it.

 

I noticed this too, The Enterprise was referred to as 'our ship' quite a few times. The line did seem somewhat awkward.

 

You would refer to it as "our office" when talking to an outside, sure. But would you turn to a co-worker and say something like, "I'm going to turn on the AC, it's really hot in our office."?

 

I might, just depends on the context. "Our" and "The" are completely interchangeable in the situation you described. One is no better than the other. "Our" is simply a possessive pronoun meaning "something that belongs to us". The ship is their ship- they pour their heart and soul into it. It's the same reason people have called ships "She" for hundreds of years. People give personality to inanimate objects and grow attached to them. I think it would be strange for someone who works on that ship and with that crew to not care about that ship and the people on it.

 

It's an interesting thing to notice. I never gave it a thought. I did like how Scotty referred to the Enterprise as "my ship" in the early torpedo scene, though. Wonder if he'd refer to it that way in front of Kirk.

I guess while I might say to co-workers, "Let's get back to the office," after lunch, I would also as likely say, "Hey, the cupcake truck is parked next to our office building" as I walked back.

 

How about: "They're scanning this officer's home for the next five years"?

Yeah. I thought so.

 

You're right, it is.

 

Let's see -

Pike referred to the Enterprise as "our ship" in "The Cage".

Spock referred to "our ship's library" in "Dagger of the Mind".

Kirk referred to "our ship" in "The Corbomite Manuever", "Balance of Terror", "The Squire of Gothos", and "The Alternative Factor".

McCoy referred to "our ship" in "A Taste of Armaggedon".

Sulu referred to "our ship" in "Errand of Mercy".

And those are just the first season episodes. So I don't think the crew referring to "our ship" should be bothering anyone.

 

If you have ever served on a ship or any sort of armoured fighting vehicle you would find that using possessive pronouns is very common.

 

It's a figure of speech, and one that's perfectly valid.

I say "my family", "my country", "my planet", even though I own none of those things.

Yep. The actual U.S. Navy uses it: "Where is my ship? That's a common question former Sailors ask."

 

In my Mind's Eye I think I can remember Shatner Kirk saying 'My Ship' quite a lot.
I thinks its adorable that nuKirk and others think its 'our' ship.

 

First hundreds of post about the evil of a woman in underwear, now a discussion about the pronoun "our".

What's next? The correct way to write the title of a Star Trek movie?
Oh, no. This did happen already.

From this point on it goes from

Star Trek Into Darkness

to

Star Trek Fans Losing It

 

The OPs recent avatars have been ships and scenes from the movie, so I'd imagine he's probably a fan of it, not that it matters one way or the other. He's just making an observation, not saying it makes or breaks the movie or that it's a big deal.

You already made one critical remark about how you felt about the subject matter earlier, so why'd you feel the need to come back and essentially say the same thing again, only more insultingly? No one's forcing you to take part in the thread.

 

Not sure what you're pointing out here...I know it's nitpicking, but felt it was an interesting thing to bring up to discuss.

I have no problem with that in a certain context...but wouldn't it seem a bit off if he turned to Sulu and said, "Move my ship into position." It sounds okay in the context where they are referring to the ship while talking to an outsider, but talking amongst themselves it seems odd.

To another ship's crew: "Our ship is ready to move out." Sounds fine. But when it's one member of the crew to another...weird. I know they were going for the "make it seem like the Enterprise is like their home." angle but it seemed a bit forced IMO.

And in case anyone is wondering, I loved the movie, have seen it twice and will see it a few more times before it leaves the theater. I have the soundtrack on replay and the domestic poster on it's way from the eBay seller I bought it from. So there.

 

I really never noticed the 'our' ship thing. I'm just accepting what people are telling me. And I've seen it twice. Things annoy/impact people in different ways.

When Shatner Kirk said 'my ship' - I felt he meant that it was his ship. His responsibility, his achievement, his love. He was so wrapped up in it at the time that it was the most important thing to him.
I think he thought differently later. Maybe nuKirk has come to this conclusion earlier or maybe I'm reading too much into this.