Star Trek and its various generations were a cultural archetype, expressing motifs of the collective human consciousness, teaching us about ourselves in the most imaginative ways. In the tradition of great classic literature, often its plot raised timeless moral, ethical, and even spiritual questions–about whether there are ever right reasons for violence, whether the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one, and whether there is a difference between a complex computer and a human being. Contrast these motifs with today’s action series: more violence and sexuality per minute and scarcely, if ever, raising such fundamental issues.
Star Trek made us think deeply. Not just feel an hour of excitement, but stir thought and feeling deeply and lastingly. The “final frontier” is truly inside. The voyage is to “strange new worlds” within. We are asked to “boldly go”–not across the vast reaches of the universe but–across the distance between the mind and the heart.
Engage!
Is terrorism ever justified? A most disturbing moral question in the era of 9/11…
[Editor’s note: To find more information about this video, go to its YouTube page. If the video is already playing, hover your mouse over it, then over “YouTube” at the bottom of the video and click “Watch on YouTube.”]
Data’s girlfriend: lessons on how to approach love, how to go beyond our mental programming…
[Note: David is referring here to Data’s romance with Tasha Yar, which you can easily find out more about from a search engine search. He gave a URL to a video, but that YouTube clip was subsequently removed on copyright infringement grounds]
Is Data Alive? explores the eternal question of the essential difference between a machine and a human being. The values of freedom, personal rights, all we consider to be human, are in the balance…
[Notes: I believe David was referring to Star Trek – The Next Generation, Episode 35: “The Measure Of A Man.” According to YouTube, this video is now off YouTube because it contained content from CBS CID, who blocked the video on copyright grounds.]
An original adventure created by the fans of Star Trek, with visual effects exceeding those of the original series, accurate costumes, and a thrilling Starship Enterprise (53 minutes), proving that the voyage continues in the creativity of its fans…