Spoilers Strange New Worlds General Discussion Thread

[UssGlenn]

Can anyone else here verify this https://gizmodo.com/star-trek-strange-new-worlds-ukraine-protest-footage-1848888151 ? Because it's extremely concerning and I'm surprised the showrunners let this happen if it's true.

I saw the blue and yellow flash in the episode. Not sure why it's concerning, all riot footage has to come from somewhere.

 

[Harpsichord]

Can anyone else here verify this https://gizmodo.com/star-trek-strange-new-worlds-ukraine-protest-footage-1848888151 ? Because it's extremely concerning and I'm surprised the showrunners let this happen if it's true.

Hodgkin's Law.

 

[Yistaan]

I saw the blue and yellow flash in the episode. Not sure why it's concerning, all riot footage has to come from somewhere.

Ukrainians (or people claiming to be Ukrainians, you never know with a war going on) on twitter says the episode demonizes the Ukrainian protesters against Russian influence by associating them with the warmongering aliens of the episode.

 

[Harpsichord]

Ukrainians (or people claiming to be Ukrainians, you never know with a war going on) on twitter says the episode demonizes the Ukrainian protesters against Russian influence by associating them with the warmongering aliens of the episode.

A couple sub-300 follower twitter accounts are whining, oh boy. I'm pretty sure I could find twitter accounts that small complaining about anything. Doesn't mean it's worth writing an article about.

 

[fireproof78]

A couple sub-300 follower twitter accounts are whining, oh boy. I'm pretty sure I could find twitter accounts that small complaining about anything. Doesn't mean it's worth writing an article about.

Yes, but how else do we make money?

 

[Tuskin38]

Ukrainians (or people claiming to be Ukrainians, you never know with a war going on) on twitter says the episode demonizes the Ukrainian protesters against Russian influence by associating them with the warmongering aliens of the episode.

except the footage was representing people protesting against their warmongering government.

These alleged people clearly weren't paying attention to the episode.

 

[Mudd]

SNW is pretty high visibility on social media, for a quarter of a second. If you're looking for cheap clicks, ginning up a controversy and maybe a little anger around it is an easy way to go.

Frankly, the demonstrators in SNW are made sympathetic , not by anything in particular that they do but by the fact that we see the government they're fighting as bloodthirsty and willing to commit mass murder to put them down. So association with them would hardly be "demonizing."

No, it is not "extremely concerning."

 

[Yistaan]

except the footage was representing people protesting against their warmongering government.

These alleged people clearly weren't paying attention to the episode.

I'm looking over it now and that appears to be correct. However, I don't believe they edited out the Ukrainian flag in there--the visual effects people should have done that.

 

[Tuskin38]

Unless they were asked, they wouldn't have. They were probably just asked to find royalty free (or cheap) protest footage.

 

[Mudd]

Or, perhaps it was their intention to indicate that the conflicts between governments and their peoples were pervasive and extended beyond one nation. They show a variation of the American flag in other footage, right?

 

[Tuskin38]

Or, perhaps it was their intention to indicate that the conflicts between governments and their peoples were pervasive and extended beyond one nation. They show a variation of the American flag in other footage, right?

The only American flag I spotted was in Pike’s footage.

 

[Sci]

I mean, I think the biggest problem with leaving the Ukrainian flag there is that it's just too recognizable as the Ukrainian flag.

I can totally understand how Ukrainians might feel disrespected by its presence since they're in an ongoing war for their national survival, but I don't think the use of this footage is meant to say anything negative about Ukraine's fight for independence or to frame Ukrainians fighting for liberation from Russian hegemony as in the wrong.

 

[Yistaan]

I mean, I think the biggest problem with leaving the Ukrainian flag there is that it's just too recognizable as the Ukrainian flag.

I can totally understand how Ukrainians might feel disrespected by its presence since they're in an ongoing war for their national survival, but I don't think the use of this footage is meant to say anything negative about Ukraine's fight for independence or to frame Ukrainians fighting for liberation from Russian hegemony as in the wrong.

It's not too late to edit it out. Mandalorian did the same over less when some crew member was spotted in a scene.

 

[Sci]

I'm beginning to believe that Alex Kurtzman should have never revived the Star Trek franchise. I think it was a mistake.

You think Star Trek should have been left to rust and eventually die out in the public imagination, forgotten alongside shows like Space: 1999, SeaQuest DSV, Space: Above and Beyond, Sliders, Buck Rogers, etc.?

 

[Noname Given]

I'm looking over it now and that appears to be correct. However, I don't believe they edited out the Ukrainian flag in there--the visual effects people should have done that.

Why? Again, it's historical footage of an actual event. It wasn't presented as anything other than - "Humans were in conflict with other Humans..." with no overall context other than that at some point it all leads to a nuclear war in a fictional universe.

TLDR - Clickbait 'issues' of 'it was done deliberately to...' is just there to get clicks for various sites (and clicks = money for most of them.)

 

[cooleddie74]

 

[Sci]

It's not too late to edit it out. Mandalorian did the same over less when some crew member was spotted in a scene.

Yeah, I think that would be a better idea. Even if one doesn't find it offensive, seeing aliens use a Ukrainian flag just breaks verisimilitude.

Why? Again, it's historical footage of an actual event.

Not exactly. "Strange New Worlds" has two scenes that utilize archive footage of real-life civil unrest. The second example is the use of footage of the Trumpist attack on the United States Capitol on 6 January 2021 to illustrate the history of 21st Century Earth to the Kileyans. But the first time time archive footage is used, it's supposed to represent civil unrest that has recently happened on Kiley, not real-life historical events.

I can understand why Ukrainians might feel offended to see their struggle for national liberation from Russian hegemony used to represent anonymous aliens for entertainment.

 

[Tuskin38]

Why? Again, it's historical footage of an actual event. It wasn't presented as anything other than - "Humans were in conflict with other Humans..." with no overall context other than that at some point it all leads to a nuclear war in a fictional universe.

TLDR - Clickbait 'issues' of 'it was done deliberately to...' is just there to get clicks for various sites (and clicks = money for most of them.)

The Ukranian footage wasn't used as part as Pike's presentation, it was used earlier in the episode as footage from elsewhere on the alien planet.

 

[DaveyNY]

It shows Humans protesting to overthrow an oppressive ruling government in their country.
(which ultimately succeeded)

Why should they be offended?

 

[fireproof78]

It shows Humans protesting to overthrow an oppressive ruling government in their country.
(which ultimately succeeded)

Why should they be offended?

Because...