Comment on Episode Discussion | Star Trek: Strange New Worlds | 2x07 "Those Old Scientists"

• YoBuckStopsHere@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Kurtzman wanted a serious dark tone that excluded humor, excluded science, and promoted how progressive the future would be. He selected a largely female-diverse cast and wrote that all white males would be stupid or evil in the script. Then he proceeded to change the look and style of Trek away from the established canon to whatever garbage he came up with. Maybe if the writing was better it could have worked but that writing was bad, very very bad. This was the age of discovery in Trek where Star Fleet was full of brave heroes. He wrote his characters to be weak, angry, or overly emotional. The cast of Strange New Worlds feels like Star Fleet, they can have emotions but they are written to understand the dangers they are in are part of why they are doing what they do. Exploration is dangerous, you need to have a backbone to survive it.

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  • concrete_baby@sh.itjust.works ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    I disagree. Trek has always been progressive, and that’s what the whole series is about: infinite diversity in infinite combinations. TOS had Chekov, a Russian on the bridge in an American show during the Cold War era. It had Uhura, a Black woman on the bridge at the age of segregation and institutional racism. It had Sulu, a Japanese man when Japanese American families were wrongly incarcerated only years ago in WWII. The founders of the Federation were from four different species and set aside differences to build a better union. It’s the bastion of progressivism, and a rebuke to conservatism and isolationism.

    Let’s move on to the Berman era. The Federation is now what people like Tasha Yar look up to, after spending her childhood escaping rape gangs. What does the Federation stand for? Equality. We have Doctor and Data trying to be recognized as equals to sentient beings. We have Tasha Yar, a woman engineer, Kathryn Janeway, a woman captain, Kira Nerys, a woman Bajoran leader on DS9. Berman and his colleagues never seriously considered a man playing the captain of the Voyager. They also made women characters complex and gave us Seven of Nine and Kai Winn, who both have their own motivations and personal history that shape their characters. And who can forget the Sisko as the first Black captain leading a series and his realistic relationship with Jake?

    Kurtzman is also the executive producer on SNW, so I’m not sure what you’re on about. Kurtzman carried on the Roddenberry vision of filling leading Trek roles with a diverse cast, SNW, LOW, PRO, and DIS included.

    all white males would be stupid or evil in the script

    I have no idea where you got that from. Is Stamets evil? Is Sarek evil? Is SNW Pike evil? Is Chief Kyle evil? Well, yes, very evil. The only evil white male character I can think of is mirror Lorca.

    This was the age of discovery in Trek where Star Fleet was full of brave heroes. He wrote his characters to be weak, angry, or overly emotional.

    I feel like you’re idolizing “heroes” as demigods in real life, much like how Christopher Columbus was celebrated, when in reality he committed genocide and enslaved generations of Native Americans. Heroes in Earth’s age of discovery were also humans. They had emotions, they had feelings, they cried, they had PTSD, they were angry, and some of them were weak. Some of them had egos that cost their lives (see Robert Scott’s expedition to the South Pole.)

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    • Zpiritual@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      I feel like the cast isn’t the issue and that it’s more about what you do with the cast that’s been a bit underwhelming at times. And he’s right about the lack of goofyness in modern trek and I’m glad it’s back in force with this season!

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  • mplewis@lemmy.globe.pub ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Exploration is dangerous. That’s why you need a team you trust to give you the diverse perspective you need to survive it.

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  • Acid@startrek.website ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Every time I see someone write that new star trek has something against white males I already know you can’t be taken seriously.

    Did you know that discovery has had more white male characters than DS9?

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    • YoBuckStopsHere@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Yes, and look at those characters. Unless the character is gay, they are written to be negative or evil.

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  • ScrivenerX@lemm.ee ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    excluded humor, excluded science,

    I seem to remember the first instance of “fuck” in star trek being a humorous scene about science.

    promoted how progressive the future would be.

    Like every other star trek?

    I’m not a huge Disco fan. I think it doesn’t stand up and is way too focused on how everyone feels, but complaining about “oh no! SJWs!” Is just a roundabout way of saying you are racist/sexist. I think there are some good ideas in Disco but moving away from the episodic formula hurt the show. SNW does much of the same stuff as Disco, but is plot driven not character driven, which is fundamental difference between Disco and other Trek. Picard went the same way as Disco and suffered for it.

    I hope that the success of SNW and LD help them realize what parts of the formula work and what doesn’t.

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