Star Trek Picard and Trek Taking on Modern Politics

[CmdrKing]

Personally I’d be interested in an optimistic Trek as well, but in the sense of exploring how to get to a future worth having from some sort of low point. I’ve always been partial to an Enterprise C era show that shows how relations with the Klingons navigated the many rough patches before and presumably after the Enterprise’s sacrifice.

That said, something more immediately topical helping people get to grips with how we got here and just how bad it is has it’s place, and I don’t doubt that Stewart has spent a lot of time ruminating in the matter the last 3 years.

[Yukaphile]

I mean, the line "Make the Klingons glorious again!" still has me cringing, because... well, Trek should be inclusive. Look at when Picard took on Admiral Satie. The story and dialogue is such, both left and right can see the philosophy of their enemy in her, and of themselves in Picard, given the allegorical nature of the threat they faced, that had no affiliation to party lines. As a result, it appealed to both sides across the aisle. Not so much nowadays... and yeah, that's probably gonna be a problem with STP.

[Darth Wedgius]

Trek has always been left-wing, but the left nowadays isn't the left that we used to have. The left used to include treating everyone the same regardless of sex or hue, and that isn't the case now.

Not really. There are shifting social attitudes on top of the general political trends. There have been some degrees of overlap from time to time but the right could make the same claim too. Often neither stack up very well of course, partially because of general human nature.

IMHO, "shifting social attitudes on top of the general political trends" is effectively the same as "the left nowadays isn't the left we used to have."

Hope that quote's out of context because it makes Stewart look a bit gaga (worrying that anyone could say such a thing and not be away of the hypocricy). But I don't think it's inconsistent with a left-wing outlook either modern or old, just a rather stupid current way of thinking that sometimes seems to crop up on that side these days.

I provided the context ( https://www.telegraph.co.uk/theatre/Patrick-stewart-and-wife-sunny-ozell-interviewed/ ), but here's another quote from the article:

‘Actually, I’m more engaged by the London mayoral competition,’’ he (Picard) says. Who should win? ‘‘It should be a woman. There are two women standing for Labour and they should be first and second.’’

That seems pretty consistent.

Speaking to an audience in France he said:

“I want you to know that well more than half of the population of the United Kingdom wants to stay in the European Union.

“The Berlin Wall came down. The Soviet Union ended its dominance and control over so many nations. Apartheid was ended in South Africa. The Good Friday Agreement brought together [both] Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The European Union is all part of that movement, and it is a disgrace that individuals in my country are attempting to separate it.”

It's hard to read that as not saying that Brexit is ethically wrong. There seems to me to be a drive in much of the left that people joining together in larger and larger groups is a good in and of itself, and isolationism is antithetical to that.

Maybe STP will have a balanced look at the costs and benefits of isolationism, but I honestly don't think Stewart is capable of that kind of thinking.

[Zargon]

While it's true the left has changed a lot in the last couple years, with folks like ''the squad", it is a good thing at least that Patrick is a very, very, very old Leftist. And it does seem like he got a lot of control over the show just to come back. So even if a modern way wacky leftist did try something, Patrick would likely shut it down.

Sure we are likely going to get a wacky left hate filled version of the Trump Federation. Picard will blame the Federation for building a space wall, for making Galactic Warming worse, for disbanding UnionFed, and for bombing targets on brown planets.

But that is really all sort of normal for a TV show.....

[BridgeConsoleMasher]

FFS, yes it would be nice if the left didn't have exaggerative reverse marginalizing sentiments, but you have to be pretty obtuse to consider that the principle of "equality" that you're espousing isn't rooted in social conditions that have fuck all to do with any problems someone like Stewart is effecting.

[Al-1701]

As a progressive, I've never understood "Revenge politics" on the part of previously marginalized groups. We're trying to move forward, and sating people's lizard brains desire for revenge only slows things down. The goal is equality, not answering slights.

I want to say things Stewart has said is meant to be tongue in cheek like a lot of what he does lately. It also grabs people's attention and gets them to talk which more reasonable measures don't seem to. Also, I think he wants this to be good. He wouldn't be coming back to Star Trek after all this time if he wasn't ready to put in the effort.

[clearspira]

Trek has always been left-wing, but the left nowadays isn't the left that we used to have. The left used to include treating everyone the same regardless of sex or hue, and that isn't the case now.

Nail on the effing head mate. Trying to compare the left of the 1960s, 1980s, 1990s, and the 2020s is foolhardy. That is why many now preface their idealogical beliefs with a year, for example ''I am a 1990s liberal'' because as it turns out, in the eyes of many today, being a 1990s liberal makes you hard right wing. In Britain for example, the Labour party has always been the ''left'' choice, but a straight up comparison between Tony Blair's Labour of 1997 with Jeremy Corbyn's Labour of 2019 is night and day.

Star Trek has however always been blunt and eager to ridicule those that disagree with left and progressive politics. Season 1 and 2 TNG was nothing but insulting towards capitalism and nationalism. And even Enterprise had its tirade against hunting in one episode.

[clearspira]

As a progressive, I've never understood "Revenge politics" on the part of previously marginalized groups. We're trying to move forward, and sating people's lizard brains desire for revenge only slows things down. The goal is equality, not answering slights.

I want to say things Stewart has said is meant to be tongue in cheek like a lot of what he does lately. It also grabs people's attention and gets them to talk which more reasonable measures don't seem to. Also, I think he wants this to be good. He wouldn't be coming back to Star Trek after all this time if he wasn't ready to put in the effort.

Because human beings cannot let things go.

I do not believe that Stewart is being tongue in cheek, I think he is A) A washed up old man who hasn't had a decent role in years and B) is like all Hollywood celebs washed up or otherwise: their whole peer group is obsessed with identity politics. It is a form of soft brainwashing to spend years in the company of people who think alike. Say what you like about Ricky Gervais but he was dead right about how hypocritical the whole lot of these ''celebs'' are. Fair play to him when given a platform he pointed out the stinking hypocrisy of their woke preaching whilst taking money from corporations that are guilty of turning a blind eye to third world labour. Have you ever looked into the disgusting treatment of the people who mine the materials that go into your cellphone? Apple and Microsoft do not put that into the ads for some odd reason.

[Mecha82]

I want to say things Stewart has said is meant to be tongue in cheek like a lot of what he does lately. It also grabs people's attention and gets them to talk which more reasonable measures don't seem to. Also, I think he wants this to be good. He wouldn't be coming back to Star Trek after all this time if he wasn't ready to put in the effort.

It being said in tongue in cheek would make lot of sense. Stewart seems like likable old man who would say things like that tongue in cheek. Too bad that some people (mostly from right) take it seriously and get all outraged over it. And yeah, I am sure he wants STP to be good and succeed.

[BridgeConsoleMasher]

Stewart's remained rather modest on the political front up to and through 2016. He's very liberty minded, but he works with what he's got his nose into and he doesn't make that big a deal of it as far as his public persona. To turn around and call him a political shill over this kind of thing because of equivity math is really unfair.

Yes, it's recognized by a lot of people as figurative as far as any degree of imperative or expectation is concerned.