I posted this in the thread about the Cumberbatch shower scene, but since the bulk of the post is more relevant to this thread, I'll repost it here too:
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Apart from obviously being there for titillation too, the Carol Marcus underwear scene did serve a purpose. Throughout the preceding parts of the film, we see Kirk being confident to the point of arrogance and extremely flirty with women. He was having a meaningless one night stand with the cat babes, he gave F-Me glances to the women at Starfleet HQ and the bar, and he was making juvenile comments about Carol's appearance when she boarded the shuttle to join the crew on Enterprise. But now he tries the same schtick by glancing at Carol while she changes, and she'll have none of it. She's not intimidated or impressed by his glances, and gives him nothing in return except the sign to quit gawking and an order to turn around.
Kirk is flustered by this and doesn't quite know how to react, except to do what she tells him. This plays into his continuing decline in confidence throughout the film as he is rejected or slapped down by his superiors and peers. He's not able to get by on winging it or impressing people with his overconfidence any more. He has to work to get what he wants and to earn respect.
It also establishes Carol as a strong presence who is not embarrassed about who she is, won't fall for any cheap flirty tricks, and doesn't put up with anyone's BS. This makes Kirk admire her even more and foreshadows their eventual love for each other. Carol is not like the other women Kirk has been attracted to. She's not a cheap date or a one night stand. She's an intelligent, strong, talented individual whom he respects for those qualities, and not just for her looks for a change, though that appeals to him as well.
Kirk hasn't met a woman this formidable and intriguing to him since Uhura rejected him completely in the bar in the first film. Gaela (the Orion) he used to further his own ends in the Kobayashi Maru test and then uncaringly disposed of without a second thought, but Uhura he kept pursuing for three years until he came to understand that she loved Spock, and Spock was someone he came to admire as well.
Oddly enough, the underwear scene is sort of a shorter and more blunt version of Bond and Vesper's witty banter on the train in Casino Royale that established her to be his equal, and that didn't shy away from sexual implications either. It might seem counterintuitive to convey these kinds of ideas through a two-second underwear shot, but IMO it works in film and TV tradition of "show, don't tell."
This is so incredibly funny considering that Lindelof himself stated there was no purpose.
Oh, I'm sorry. I thought we were on a forum where people have been heatedly debating what Gene Roddenberry's vision for Star Trek was for the past 15 years. Or what JJ Abrams intent was behind making the movies. Hell, I guess we should just read their interviews and leave it at that and never speak on the subject again, because it's not open to interpretation or disagreement
at all.
Refresh my memory, is Lindelof the sole writer of the film? Because I seem to recall some guys named Orci and Kurzman being involved as well.
Do the writers determine everything that goes into a scene, or is the... what's it called... DIRECTOR allowed to add some motivation and meaning behind the scene himself?
Are the actors stuck just reading the script robotically or are they able to add some subtle nuance to the scene through their performance, vocal inflection, facial expressions, and body language?
Are the writers and directors entirely consistent in every single interview regardless of the questions asked or being put on the defensive with a possibly uncomfortable topic?
Have you read some of the interviews Damon Lindelof has given for
Lost and
Prometheus? Nope, you're right, no inconsistencies, mistakes, or room for interpretation there.
He was admitting to an error when he was accused that the scene was gratuitous. That doesn't mean that as written there was no other meaning behind it. I have a feeling the script says a little bit more than just "gratuitous underwear scene here." He also later jokingly said that he needs to learn to shut the fuck up.
Do you have any idea how many times George Lucas has changed his mind about what the chief protagonists, the inspiration for, and the overarching point of the Star Wars films is? Just because the writer or director or producer says something doesn't mean that shuts down all discussion and interpretation. It's important, yes, and it's a solid piece of evidence in a debate, but it's not the end all and be all. People change their minds as they reflect on things. They react differently to different interviews and questions. They respond to criticism differently.
