Snarky politcal coments?

[Who_Trek]

Redshirt slaps villian's henchman across face.
RS: Where is the bomb???
Kirk restrains the redshirt and looks disappointed.
Kirk: We're the Federation. We don't do torture.

Or...

Passing mention that the global warming really kicked into high gear during the very beginnings of the 21st century due to general American incompetence?

Question: Will ST have a snarky politcal commnt or two concerning Bush's admistration, as so many movies do these days?

 

[Franklin]

Unlikely, but I bet there will be some snide remarks about the then current Federation President, Dennis Kucinich.

 

[SeamusShameless]

That's a given, movies (and Star Trek) have always been an open forum to critique the real world. Although I'm not sure they'll latch on to any one aspect of our time. Not in direct referance, anyway.

 

[Broccoli]

Trek has usually done a good job at using real history/events to parallel them in their stories somehow but nearly always it is in there because it reflects on the story. Throwing it in there just to throw it in there would lame, imo.

I just hope they don't make any overly-direct comments on the Bush administration. Not that I am a fan or anything, but it's been done so much over the last seven years that the horse has been dead for a looooooong time. Also, by the time the movie comes out, the election would have already past and he would be in office for less than a month. Making a crack about Bush or his people would be unnecessary and wouldn't seem worth it.

 

[Lord Garth]

It's hard to be timely at the end of an era because then a production will become dated almost immediately.

 

[Kegek]

^
Unless you make it about the end of that era, as in the case of TUC.

Maybe the film will have a President J'Yeor-Juh Boushh who is leaving office.

 

[M'Sharak]

Who_Trek said:

Question: Will ST have a snarky politcal commnt or two concerning Bush's admistration, as so many movies do these days?

"Political".

And no.

 

[ChristopherPike]

A film will always tell you more about the times in which it was made, then when it's set. Doesn't matter whether it's historical or futuristic. How many movies made during Vietnam reflected the futility of war and the corruption of policitians. In the original series, Kirk and his crew basically reflected the U.S. acting like the world's policemen and that hasn't changed at all in forty years.

 

[Kryton]

Gosh, the highly moronic "Only Nixon could go to China" line came 20+ years after the actual event. By that reckoning, maybe we need a line like "Only Bush Senior wouldn't go to Baghdad".

Meh. Maybe more like "Only Oliver North would shred...". Writing is hard! Let's go on strike!

 

[Temis the Vorta]

That just goes to show the great danger of ANY direct political (or other current events) comments. It's almost certainly going to be painful & cheesey.

For Star Trek to draw on the Cold War as a metaphor is fine. For Kirk to haul out a battered American flag and recite the Pledge of Alligience (to reference my "favorite" TOS episodes) is fingersnails/chalkboard time. Even Abraham Lincoln is pushing it, especially if he get a spear thru the torso.

 

[Plum]

writing is hard! Strike! But I loved the "Only Nixon could go to China" line. Kirk was Trek's Nixon when it came to the Klingons, after all. And the line was played for laughs (Kirk/Klingons, Nixon/Commies)... it's a great line in step with the political themes of the whole movie. A movie riff with politically charged phrases (you haven't heard Shakespeare until you've heard it in the original Klingon!).

Just me, but I'm a big fan of this movie for it's smarts and being relevant to the times without tying the story down. Nick Meyer is a smart man, so is Nimoy. It's a terrific movie if imperfect. It's a movie that was actually ABOUT something. As opposed to being about Star Trek canon (let's kill Kirk! Let's have the Borg go back to... whatever).

image posted with perission - Star Trek Inspirational Posters


Bad news, I used to have the director's cut of this movie but it has been stolen long with most of my collection. Grr!

 

[Aragorn]

"As long as the next Federation president is an African-American man or a white woman, then the space-time continuum won't collapse on itself."

"The Cardassians couldn't possibly be behind the all those Cardassian bombings on Bajor. The Cardassians' religion is one of peace."

"As long as the Federation and the Dixie Chicks are against you, the Klingon Empire will not succeed!"