DS9 vs the purist in me

[Ceridwen]

There is a lot that I enjoy about Deep Space Nine, but I have a hard time not seeing it as the reason so much of modern Star Trek is the way it is. The show was doing post-9/11 style justifications of the overreach of power "before it was cool"; with that historical precedent, how much easier is it for the new shows to do the same now that the entire media landscape has shifted that direction?

 

[fireproof78]

There is a lot that I enjoy about Deep Space Nine, but I have a hard time not seeing it as the reason so much of modern Star Trek is the way it is. The show was doing post-9/11 style justifications of the overreach of power "before it was cool"; with that historical precedent, how much easier is it for the new shows to do the same now that the entire media landscape has shifted that direction?

I reread the OP and then your post and I think people forget that TNG did the terrorist plot, twice, as well as dealt with many of the themes that DS9 did. DS9 just lingered and unpacked consequences within those themes.

And I don't think post 9/11 is the only justification for the overreach of power style storylines in media. "The Siege," "Enemy of the State" and other films tackled it before that fateful day. So, I don't think DS9 did it before it was cool but was picking up themes already in culture and in Star Trek.

With the new shows, I equally think they are both picking up cultural themes as well as stories past Trek dealt with.