Opinion A soap opera in space

The new Star Trek movie is less about the original geeky franchise and more about human drama

June 11, 2009 12:02 AM IST First published on: Jun 11, 2009 at 12:02 AM IST

During the making of Aaryamaan a few years ago,Mukesh Khanna compared the serial to Star Wars. In an interview with a website (indiantele-vision.com) he predicted that his programme would be more successful than previous Indian science fiction shows Space City Sigma and Captain Vyom simply because it wasnt so much a work of science fiction as it was a mythological drama that just happened to take place in space. Whether or not Khanna was right about Aaryamaan,he articulated a difference that lies at the heart of geekdom.

Science fiction is generally context-specific. Theres always an element of what if (What if robots began to think for themselves? What if we were all androgynous?) to begin with,and the story at least in part examines the implications of that possibility. This is why Star Trek,despite its frequently dodgy science,was science fiction all the way. The original series and The Next Generation,as well as the movies,assumed that society had undergone huge changes this far into the future. The long discussions of intergalactic politics (often mocked by non-fans) were a result of this,as was the presentation of a future in which currency is obsolete. Star Trek also frequently offered a surprisingly radical angle on contemporary world politics. Here was a series that,in America in the 1960s,could not only project positive Asian and Russian characters,but also directly addressed the Vietnam War in a 1967 episode. Then there was Nichelle Nichols character Lieutenant Uhura; so rare was it to see a black woman in an important role on screen that Martin Luther King himself called her a role model and asked her to stay on the show. A kiss between Nichols and William Shatner in a later episode is popularly believed to have been the first interracial kiss on TV,at a time when interracial dating was still taboo in many parts of the country.

Compare this to the other big twentieth century space-based franchise. Star Wars tells a great story,but it is a story that could be set (and has been) anywhere. Its the classic hero myth,and nothing about Luke Skywalkers story arc is dependent on the whole thing taking place in space. Star Wars is shinier,more universal and lacks the occasional clunky earnestness of Star Trek,but despite all this it has very little to say about the two worlds that created it Earth of the 70s and a Galaxy Far Far Away.

The new Star Trek movie sucks you right in,and not just because of the pace,or the excellence of Zachary Quintos Spock. Its the overwhelming sense of rightness as the characters say the familiar lines,and grow into the positions were used to seeing them in. When Chris Pines Kirk sits in the familiar chair,when the music starts up,when Leonard Nimoys voice is heard reading the Space: the final frontier,alls right with the world. Yet thats not entirely true. No matter how many loving nods it makes to the franchises past,this movie is more Star Wars than Star Trek.

The focus of the film is the rise of James T. Kirk to his rightful position as captain of the Enterprise,apparently by making himself insufferable to everyone he meets. Meanwhile Captain Spock learns that the only way to deal with grief is the human way,and that feeling no mercy towards your enemy is perfectly natural. Its hardly a complex way of seeing the universe,and its only another retelling of the classic hero story. The line between Kirk and Skywalker is frequently blurred here. Meanwhile,the movie has absolutely nothing to say about the fact that its set in a world where Nokia is still a major company,childbirth is still painful and men still harass women in bars. The film simply takes this setting for granted as if no one could be bothered to think up a better one,and this was the easiest and most product-placement friendly. In the original series,Uhura,Sulu and Chekov were exciting,radical choices for characters. This film makes no such effort. On the contrary; in the best Hollywood tradition,the Starfleet student body is overwhelmingly Caucasian.

Star Trek (2009) is almost addictively fun,its got some great acting,the chemistry between Pine and Quinto is astounding,and Im reasonably sure Ill watch it again. But Im still not sure if I would classify it as Star Trek.

The writer is a geek and student at Trinity College,Dublin