Social Commentary in this new Star Trek show

Discussion in 'Star Trek: Discovery' started by The Overlord, May 12, 2016.

  1. The Overlord

    The Overlord Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    What kind of social commentary would you like to see in this new Star Trek show? I wonder if we are going to see a alien version of Donald Trump or something.
     
  2. Dukhat

    Dukhat Admiral Admiral

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    You're talking like he's not already an alien.
     
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  3. Spot261

    Spot261 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I'd personally like to see bigger issues addressed than the US presidential race. It's hard to say in one sense in that an awful lot of the world's current issues have already been addressed throughout DS9, with the Bajoran resistance and the Macquis.
     
  4. Jedi_Master

    Jedi_Master Admiral Admiral

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    Depends on what the "hot -button" issue is at the time production begins, and how much freedom the writing staff is given by CBS, a network that tends to be a bit more conservative.
     
  5. Paradise City

    Paradise City Commodore Commodore

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    I would like to see a Kahn Noonien Trump type figure. Very topical.

    "We're gonna make the Federation Great Again"

    "We're gonna build a wa----a force field! It's gonna be a BIG force field"

    "Klingons are comin' over here smuggling blood wine into our Federations! The kids are all getting hammered on blood wine! Look, I love the Klingons! I've got Klingons working for me! They're great! But we gotta put a stop to these Klingons comin' across the neutral zone until we find out what the hell is going on!!!!!

    "We don't win anymore! We are losin' to the Ferengi, very clever leaders on Ferenganar, I love it over there! But they're screwin' us so bad on trade!"

    "Let me tell you about the Cardassian deal. Terrible deal! We gave away everything! Worst deal I have ever seen. THAT will NOT happen under Kahn Noonien Trump!!"
     
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  6. Kor

    Kor Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I suppose this would be a form of social commentary... How about positive, empowering representations of a type of minority that is still generally stigmatized, as I stated in another thread:

    I would like to see different mentalities and neurological types portrayed in a positive way... i.e. things that are currently pathologized, such as autism spectrum conditions.

    There is a slowly growing concept of neurodiversity in recent years, but it still does not have the mainstream acceptance or even the publicity of other forms of diversity. And it seems that most times when somebody of this kind of minority is portrayed in popular media, the basic idea is that there is something "wrong" with the character and not just "different."

    Kor
     
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  7. Jedi_Master

    Jedi_Master Admiral Admiral

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    If there is any substantive commentary, I hope it's about social issues, not thinly veiled references to ancient Earth politics.

    I guess they could have Captain Awesome recite the Constitution to some primitives.
    Nah, that would be too silly for Star Trek.
     
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  8. Spot261

    Spot261 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Agreed, but...has this not been done already to an extent with Reg Barclay, Data, 7 of 9, Vulcans in general?
     
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  9. Spot261

    Spot261 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I take it back, there IS room for story telling there!
     
  10. Long Syntax

    Long Syntax Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Social commentary in the context of a great story, sure. A show's primary function to deliver social commentary, no.
     
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  11. Shalashaska

    Shalashaska Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Fuck doing an alien parody of Trump.

    Let's get the real Donald on the show in all his glory.

    The ratings and the resulting ad revenue would pay off ten seasons worth of Star Trek.
     
  12. cultcross

    cultcross Postponed for the snooker Moderator

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    Terrorists are the new go-to bad guy, replacing the enemy nations that TOS could refer to by analogy. However I personally feel that particular theme has been done to death the last decade or so, everyone's done terrorism and the ethical issues associated with it. I don't think a new Trek series would have anything new to say on it.

    Trek would also struggle to include the refugee crisis, thanks to their post scarcity economy, unless they came up with a way that the refugee-analogies caused a different problem, such as needing to terraform worlds in a way that would make them uninhabitable to humanoids (Stargate went there with their episode Scorched Earth, although I think it was under used and a good idea)

    I'd like to see Trek tackle an issue like Russia and it's saber rattling and invading sovereign states and the response to such a power by a Federation for whom war is not a viable option. It's an issue which fits well into Trek's world as it even has cold war Russia analogies ready inserted. Trek often has quite a black and white view of politics - at war or allies - and I think it would be nice to see something more nuanced.
     
  13. AviTrek

    AviTrek Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    When I first saw Meyer's comment about TUC being a starting point and the show being more political, modern day Russia has been my hope for the show. TUC was about the fall of the Berlin wall and the end of the Cold War. But we know that it took 50 years after that for peace to happen. Well we're now halfway into that timeframe and in the real world we see Russia trying to reassert itself, recapture territory, and prove that it still is a world power. So it would be very easy to picture the Klingons not being happy with their diminished role wanting to retake lost planets and reassert themselves as a force in the galaxy. The parallels are too easy to not touch on it.
     
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  14. borgboy

    borgboy Commodore Commodore

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    I could see immigration being explored.
    LGBT issues are still very current.
    General acceptance for people's differences is always current, if somewhat played out in the way it's been done in the past.
     
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  15. Destructor

    Destructor Commodore Commodore

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    I'll be very surprised if there isn't a regular gay cast member. Hopefully the captain.
     
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  16. Nyotarules

    Nyotarules Vice Admiral Moderator

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    USS X makes First Contact with a matriarchal society who finds the concept of a Federation interesting but too patriarchal and terrancentric
     
  17. ancient

    ancient Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I'd almost rather they avoid social commentary. Back when Trek originally did it, the idea was fresh & new. Now EVERYONE does it, and it's getting annoying. I think I've reached allegory saturation. I'll be happy with explosions & weird aliens.
     
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  18. cultcross

    cultcross Postponed for the snooker Moderator

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    The best science fiction is about the time in which it was made. It would be a shame to lose that for pew pew.
     
  19. Spider

    Spider Dirty Old Man Premium Member

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    I got an idea. How about we lose the social commentary and just concentrate on story telling?
     
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  20. AviTrek

    AviTrek Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    They generally go hand in hand. Otherwise you end up with a soap opera.