• Is Star Trek Actually a Dystopia?

    From The True Melissa@thetruemelissa@gmail.com to rec.arts.startrek.misc on Sat Apr 25 13:10:48 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.startrek.misc

    This is the title of a video essay I just watched.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZAsWY8IBXE&list=TLPQMjUwNDIwMjZNutW-
    p6ZpqQ

    It's not snark. It's a serious look at the Trek world, focusing on the TNG/DS9/VOY era. It's often seen as a utopia which has moved beyond
    poverty and prejudice and other bad stuff, but has it really?

    The host makes several good points. One is that this future clearly does
    have differences in status, even if they're no longer financial. Another
    is that the future seems unaccepting of religion, though there are still
    some who practice it.

    Both of those two specific points highlight ways in which the later
    shows differed from TOS. The original show had money, "credits" instead
    of dollars. It also seemed to have a vague Christianity in the
    background. It's seldom mentioned, but there's a line where Kirk says,
    "We find the one sufficient," when Apollo says humanity needs gods.
    There's also the more blatant scene of Uhura explaining that the sun worshippers are actually Son worshippers, Christians in space.

    If that is so, it could mean several things. Perhaps the utopia of
    ST:TOS wasn't quite finished, for example. Then again, perhaps some
    other force intervened to get rid of the traditional economy and
    religion. As the video notes, people seem obligated to work even though there's no money.

    The video concludes that Star Trek isn't really a dystopia hiding behind
    a utopia, just a good place with some flaws. That does make sense.
    --
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  • From Daniel@me@sc1f1dan.com to rec.arts.startrek.misc on Tue Apr 28 02:08:58 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.startrek.misc

    The True Melissa <thetruemelissa@gmail.com> writes:

    This is the title of a video essay I just watched.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZAsWY8IBXE&list=TLPQMjUwNDIwMjZNutW-
    p6ZpqQ

    It's not snark. It's a serious look at the Trek world, focusing on the TNG/DS9/VOY era. It's often seen as a utopia which has moved beyond
    poverty and prejudice and other bad stuff, but has it really?

    The host makes several good points. One is that this future clearly does have differences in status, even if they're no longer financial. Another
    is that the future seems unaccepting of religion, though there are still some who practice it.

    Both of those two specific points highlight ways in which the later
    shows differed from TOS. The original show had money, "credits" instead
    of dollars. It also seemed to have a vague Christianity in the
    background. It's seldom mentioned, but there's a line where Kirk says,
    "We find the one sufficient," when Apollo says humanity needs gods.
    There's also the more blatant scene of Uhura explaining that the sun worshippers are actually Son worshippers, Christians in space.

    If that is so, it could mean several things. Perhaps the utopia of
    ST:TOS wasn't quite finished, for example. Then again, perhaps some
    other force intervened to get rid of the traditional economy and
    religion. As the video notes, people seem obligated to work even though there's no money.

    The video concludes that Star Trek isn't really a dystopia hiding behind
    a utopia, just a good place with some flaws. That does make sense.

    It is a valid question. And yes, one must realize that the star trek
    mythos is driven by those who did the writing and the studio suits who
    approved production.

    TNG always seemed to be ridiculously flawed - some of the best TNG I've
    seen were budget saving episodes.

    I wish Paramount would shelve star trek for good and leave it alone.

    --
    Daniel
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    finger | calcmandan@bbs.erb.pw
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  • From Mr. Man-wai Chang@toylet.toylet@gmail.com to rec.arts.startrek.misc on Thu Apr 30 10:23:17 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.arts.startrek.misc

    On 4/28/2026 5:08 PM, Daniel wrote:

    I wish Paramount would shelve star trek for good and leave it alone.

    You can remaster the original Star Trek TV show using A.I. to make it
    look modern. :)
    --

    @~@ Simplicity is Beauty! Remain silent! Drink, Blink, Stretch!
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