Avatar and the Prime Directive

Discussion in 'General Trek Discussion' started by captunderpants, Jul 16, 2013.

  1. captunderpants

    captunderpants Cadet Newbie

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    I recently watched the film Avatar for the very first time. It wasn't the best movie in the world, but not as bad as some would have me believe.

    The human characters in the film with their corporate militaristic ethos are clearly the villians, and in some respects, they are the complete antithesis of the human characters within Star Trek.

    It had me wondering, what are the main aspects of Starfleet that allows humanity to be good and not turn into the human beings in Avatar? Is it simply the Prime Directive? Or are there other aspects of the human character that keeps our protagonists away from using and exploiting other cultures?

    Or perhaps it is the fact that the Federation no longer has a monetary system. There is no need to exploit other worlds as they don't do things for financial gain anymore?

    So perhaps money truly is the root of all evil? :p
     
  2. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Premium Member

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    People are the root of all evil.
     
  3. sonak

    sonak Vice Admiral Admiral

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    the PD certainly isn't keeping Humans from being evil, since it's been used to justify passively allowing extinction events and genocide. The TNG-era PD makes me wish that TOS had never come up with it in the first place.


    "Avatar" is like a better done version of "Insurrection."
     
  4. Pavonis

    Pavonis Commodore Commodore

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    What's keeping humanity in Trek from exploiting other cultures is the fact that Earth and its colonies don't need anything from a less advanced culture. Any resources that are needed are just as easily taken from empty worlds. In Avatar, the Na'vi are sitting on top of some very valuable resources on a planet that is the closest to Earth but still takes immense resources to reach. In Trek, a starship would just pass on by to the next world possessing the resources sought, because warp drive makes it easy to find an empty world to mine.
     
  5. JirinPanthosa

    JirinPanthosa Admiral Admiral

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    The prime directive came after humanity's 'advancement'. After World War III humanity realized their destructive, greedy tendencies could have easily caused the end of the species, so they moved forward with the spirit of unity and cooperation.

    You may not believe that is possible in real life, but that is the in-universe reason humanity is not like the humans of Avatar.
     
  6. Portal

    Portal Commander Red Shirt

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    Isn't dilithium a great source of greed in the Federation?

    Apparently the Romulans see the Federation as having a "credo of exploitation" according to Admiral Jarok.

    Maybe chosing to serve in Starfleet keeps a person from being greedy, but most of the civilians we see on Star Trek are fairly materialistic.
     
  7. Lt. Uhura-Brown

    Lt. Uhura-Brown Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    The LOVE of money is the root of all evil.

    This situation wouldn't have happened if their company wasn't so obsessed with making a profit.

    Remember, Unobtainium was expensive. They didn't claim it cured cancer, or restored youth, it was expensive. That's the motivation given in the film as to why they were after it.
     
  8. T'Girl

    T'Girl Vice Admiral Admiral

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    This wasn't the case during TOS. We saw the Federation trading with very primative cultures for their "rocks."

    The Hortas could not possibly be considered a technologically advanced society, there was no suggestion that Humans would leave the Horta planet at the end of Devil in the Dark.

    And how advanced were the Halkans really?

    The thing about Avatar was, the primary purpose behind extracting the natural resource (the floating rock) was to take it to Earth as a new power supply. Yes the company doing the extraction was going to get rich in the process, but the people of Earth would also benefit. Earth was "dying," a new source of power was desperately needed.

    If the Federation were "dying" and desperate enough, you bet they would have up rooted a few trees too.

    I think the opposite, Insurrection wasn't as heavy handed as to who were the good guys, and who were the bad guys. There was a degree of uncertainly, allowing the audience to decide for themselves. The execution was flawed, but the story itself was better.

    :)
     
  9. Captain Clark Terrell

    Captain Clark Terrell Commodore Commodore

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    Not sure I agree with that unless you're talking about non-human civilians. The Ferengi are certainly greedy, but I don't recall seeing humans trying to cheat or scam anyone on a regular basis.

    --Sran
     
  10. Portal

    Portal Commander Red Shirt

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    You're right Sran. I was just thinking about all those aliens on Deep Space Nine who were quite greedy. Most of the human civilians in Star Trek are well behaved colonists and such.
     
  11. sonak

    sonak Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Hmmm, I disagree with you there. You may be giving the film too much credit and reading into it a complexity that isn't there. I get the impression that it's meant to be a simple morality tale of "noble Picard" standing against the greed of a corrupt admiral and his villainous allies.


    Don't get me wrong, "Avatar's" morality is simplistic as well of course, but the Na'vi are a lot more sympathetic and have a much better case than the Baku. They actually have an entire civilization instead of just a small village, they're indigenous, and what's at stake is only a fuel source not a medical resource to help billions.
     
  12. Dream

    Dream Admiral Admiral

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    The Ferengi might be greedy, but they have never fought in an interstellar war like those barbaric HUMONS!:devil:
     
  13. Portal

    Portal Commander Red Shirt

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    How about the Maquis? Their refusal to give up star systems to the Cardassians and trying to drive the Federation into another war, I think you could consider that greedy. I'm sure there are other examples of people in the Federation only interested in exploitation.
     
  14. Captain Clark Terrell

    Captain Clark Terrell Commodore Commodore

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    Not sure where you're getting greed from that. The Maquis weren't interested in gaining new territory so much as they wanted to retain the territory they'd already claimed for themselves before the treaty gave it away. Their methods weren't legal by any stretch of the imagination, but I don't recall them demanding more territory or resources than they had previously. Their goal was restoration of the status quo, nothing more.

    --Sran
     
  15. sonak

    sonak Vice Admiral Admiral

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    eh? They weren't trying to drive the Federation into war, nor were they interested in "exploitation." They just didn't want to move from their homes, and they ended up having to defend themselves against Cardassian violence.
     
  16. Deckerd

    Deckerd Fleet Arse Premium Member

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    I don't recall anyone actually saying 'Earth' in the introduction to Avatar. They probably did but I don't remember it.

    I always thought the movie failed because large groups of intelligent humans just don't behave like that when money is the prime motivator.
     
  17. T'Girl

    T'Girl Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Money might not have been the primary motivator for everyone there (just a part of their reasoning). The end of the movie's voice over did say that the human's were being sent back to their "dying planet."

    Most of the troops, engineers and laborers would have family, homes and friends back home, the floating rock would secure their love ones well being and life styles.

    There could also be the adventure aspect of traveling to a distant alien planet.

    (or I misunderstood what you meant by "like that")

    :)
     
  18. Deckerd

    Deckerd Fleet Arse Premium Member

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    I don't believe they would stand aside and watch what amounts to genocide. For idealism perhaps but they didn't write it that way. They wrote it like War of the Worlds only with humans as the baddies. That just doesn't seem likely to me. We've sucked our planet dry so let's go kill off another species and take all their resources.
     
  19. Pavonis

    Pavonis Commodore Commodore

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    Sounds about right to me. Like it or not, that's probably what would happen.