Good points, Jarod. Meta-textually, the transformational power and newness of the Genesis Device is also matched by the transformational power and newness of digital rendering, which the animation that Kirk, Spock and McCoy watch encapsulates.
But here's a kicker:
Are you out of your Vulcan mind?
Which film, TWOK or STXI, has the better rendition of this line?
STXI is a prime example of regurgitating powerful moments in inferior contexts. When McCoy says those words to Spock in TWOK, his incredulity is piqued and matched by the sacrifice that Spock is about to make. It is also McCoy's way of trying to get Spock to listen to logic, which is a dramatic inversion of the archetypal antagonism of the two characters, and yet, it makes complete sense, as McCoy knows Spock and knows their history, and in his desperation, makes an appeal that he thinks will reach Spock and stop him going to his death. To me, this beautifully accentuates the emotional weight of the moment. When all is said and done, the two men deeply care for each other, and what Spock is about to do becomes all the more shocking and affecting.
In STXI, it is tossed off as a simple admonition, by one character who barely knows the other, and barely has a right to accost the character based on his heritage, even if he did just order a contemptible act (i.e. the marooning of his second officer, rather than ordering him confined to quarters or the brig). It just has no authority or dimension to it, which it did back in 1982 when it was first uttered. Kirk's apple-chewing during the Kobayashi Maru in STXI falls prey to the same thing. On both occasions, older moments in a well-regarded film are being quoted, but without any of the beguiling subtext they originally had. They go from meaningful signifiers to simple ornaments, bereft of substance. Such a play on nostalgia has a cheap political odour, as well as the sense of hucksters trying to ingratiate themselves ("We know Star Trek! We know Star Trek!"), and, in my view, should be frowned upon.
