It took me quite some time to decide to post this here instead of in Entertainment.
If you don’t know what the Kobayashi Maru is, this will likely not be something that interests you. It is steeped (Earl Grey, hot) in Trek lore but makes some very insightful points about geopolitics.
Fair warning, as someone in his 40s: The cinematography is somewhat jarring. Everything is always moving and cuts from the narrator momentarily seated to walking around with the camera not just following but moving around, which gets somewhat grating over the course of nearly an hour.
Still, this is an interesting take on what Star Trek in its various forms portrays – or at least attempts to portray.
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I think that ALL fiction has to inherit a certain amount of propaganda as a side effect of the idea being created, much like rounding off a number inherently reduces it’s accuracy. Additionally, some fiction can be a better conveyance for propaganda, and I think Star Trek is likely one of the best at it. It’s set in the future which gives it a blank canvas for maps, races, politics and technology. Nothing has to be real or provable because it’s set in the future and can’t be confirmed. They took advantage of this too by creating a pretty rich and detailed world far far different from our own. This drastic difference amplifies the propaganda effect and makes it more obvious. I think you could go watch Sesame Street or any other fictionalized show and walk away with some sort of idea.
Anyone can tl;dw this?
Gene Rodenberry was a WWII veteran and former cop who was transparent that Star Trek was intended as propaganda. The Galactic Federation is a super-power that represents the role the United States plays as an international super-power. The values of the universe are American liberal democratic humanism, and the hegemony of the United States is while not perfect, is building a better future for everybody. There is an inexplicable fight with a balloon cetacean, and plenty of jarring ai video clips.
Thnx!
Very interesting video. Shouldn’t it gain more attention in one of the trek communities like [email protected] ?
In all honesty, I don’t make use of federation (and I’m aware of the irony in this specific case). I like this little corner of the internet. While .world would provide wider exposure, I’m about 25 years past going for the widest possible audience when it comes to things other than news.
I’m not sure our instance federates with world anyway - but it does federate with the excellent community at [email protected] . I’d recommend checking them out if you like Trek as much as I do!
In all honesty, I don’t go there, as they’re an extension of the subreddit. Pointing out the failures in, say, Discovery makes me a bigot.
