Freshly Remember'd: Kirk Drift

[lawman]

This blog post is brilliant, one of the best commentaries on Star Trek I've read in years. Thoughtfully written and full of keenly observed insights (and links to other pieces full of additional insights), it addresses TOS, and James T. Kirk in particular, as they actually were and are, rather than as the sadly Flanderized versions (as TVTropes would put it) that persist in the popular imagination.

http://strangehorizons.com/non-fiction/columns/freshly-rememberd-kirk-drift/

"Kirk, as received through mass culture memory and reflected in its productive imaginary (and subsequent franchise output, including the reboot movies), has little or no basis in Shatner’s performance and the television show as aired. Macho, brash Kirk is a mass hallucination."​

It has bothered me for some time that the public perception of Kirk is more caricature than characterization, womanizing and irresponsible, an injustice to the character. It's been the case for years, only made worse by its cartoonish big-budget realization in Abrams' reboot films. All too often it's accompanied by an ill-conceived impression of TOS overall as campy, or simplistic, or tacky, or (most bafflingly) reactionary. Kirk, and the show, were far better than the palimpsest that remains of them in the public mind, and deserve to be appreciated and understood on their own terms — as this piece does with scintillating intelligence.

(In passing, I must also admit with some embarrassment that I literally *never* thought of "The Conscience of the King" as a Holocaust metaphor. I only ever saw the Shakespearean elements of that episode. Amazing what one can overlook!...)

 

[uniderth]

Excellent article. It's a bit lengthy but worth the read. I absolutely hate Kirk Drift. But you notice it even here when people talk about how bad Star Trek V is and other episodes. People often argue about the cliches of the episode rather than the actual content.

Though, for me the pinnacle of this article was this:

James “Totally Reckless” Kirk

Wherein the author successfully combines James T. Kirk and James R. Kirk while using it as a commentary.

Brilliant. Completely brilliant.

 

[JonnyQuest037]

Lost me with this line:

In fact, I’d argue it would be less of a stretch to suggest that Kirk also had some boyfriends that fit this relationship description...

 

[Tosk]

Lost me with this line:

Why? She didn't say that he did have boyfriends, she used it as an example of something more likely than the idea of Kirk as a womanizer.

 

[Warped9]

This blog post is brilliant, one of the best commentaries on Star Trek I've read in years. Thoughtfully written and full of keenly observed insights (and links to other pieces full of additional insights), it addresses TOS, and James T. Kirk in particular, as they actually were and are, rather than as the sadly Flanderized versions (as TVTropes would put it) that persist in the popular imagination.

http://strangehorizons.com/non-fiction/columns/freshly-rememberd-kirk-drift/

"Kirk, as received through mass culture memory and reflected in its productive imaginary (and subsequent franchise output, including the reboot movies), has little or no basis in Shatner’s performance and the television show as aired. Macho, brash Kirk is a mass hallucination."​

It has bothered me for some time that the public perception of Kirk is more caricature than characterization, womanizing and irresponsible, an injustice to the character. It's been the case for years, only made worse by its cartoonish big-budget realization in Abrams' reboot films. All too often it's accompanied by an ill-conceived impression of TOS overall as campy, or simplistic, or tacky, or (most bafflingly) reactionary. Kirk, and the show, were far better than the palimpsest that remains of them in the public mind, and deserve to be appreciated and understood on their own terms — as this piece does with scintillating intelligence.

(In passing, I must also admit with some embarrassment that I literally *never* thought of "The Conscience of the King" as a Holocaust metaphor. I only ever saw the Shakespearean elements of that episode. Amazing what one can overlook!...)

II thought this was pretty damned good.

 

[lawman]

Lost me with this line:

Hope you didn't actually stop there! That was a pretty minor and tangential point in a long and interesting analysis!...

I should say, BTW, that the more nuanced picture of Kirk she paints here can still be found in (a lot of) the TOS novels, thankfully. But those target a fairly narrow audience compared to big-budget movies or pop culture in general, so a defense of the character is always worthwhile...