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In times like this, who can really afford an IMAX ticket? Or a movie ticket, period? You're asking us to shell out $13 for a two-hour film? I don't care how good it looks, that's absurd.
And since movies are often a reflection of society, what kind of dilapidated society are we living in, anyway? Last summer, The Dark Knight mowed over the competition with brute force, which means people turned out in droves to see a movie about a nasty world where our heroes are destroyed and chaos reigns supreme. The Joker took the initiative to show how flimsy the morals of the lawmakers and peacekeepers were, and that in desperate times, the only solution is to stop living by rules. And here's the twisted part. In our current economic climate, couldn't you argue that of all the characters, the Joker was the most reasonable?
It's not just the superheroes, either. Last year's Oscars were dominated by death (No Country For Old Men), greed and ruthlessness (There Will Be Blood), corruption (Michael Clayton), and past sins (Atonement). As John Stewart famously quipped at the ceremony, "Does this town need a hug?"
It very well may, and if that's the case, then we all need a hug. People are losing their jobs, their homes and their faith in the system. Confidence is sagging, paranoia is spreading and desperation is starting to set in. Our entertainment is reflecting those conditions.
The simple truth is there's not a lot of optimism in the world right now.
Star Trek hopes to change that.
I. The hull of the ship
You've seen the people with Vulcan ears and severe overbite, with Starfleet apparel and thick glasses, with plastic phasers and bad hygiene. These people -- not-so-affectionately dubbed "Trekkies" -- have represented Star Trek to mainstream audiences for four decades. Star Trek has become a nerd haven, a subject for geeks to lord over other members of society. The original series, its four offshoots and the movie franchise are a gated community, accessible only to those willing to sacrifice their "normal" reputation among peers and be labeled as true dorks.
Such divisiveness is a real shame, considering the original series was largely about coming together.
Take yourself back to the 1960s for a moment. Here was a show about space travel, a buoyant topic at the time, with a crew that featured two white men, an alien, a black woman, an Asian, a Russian (nee Soviet) and a Scot -- all during the century's most tumultuous social climate, when Vietnam, the Cold War and racial tensions were at their peak.
As the USS Enterprise zipped from planet to planet, most episodes highlighted the pros and cons of human nature. Witness "The Enemy Within", during which Captain Kirk splits into two separate beings (one gentle, one evil) due to a transporter malfunction, and later bravely declares that the evil side is an important part of mankind's ability to lead. Or consider "Arena", in which a powerful alien race seizes the Enterprise and a ship it's chasing and pits Kirk in an unarmed battle against the other ship's reptilian captain, an act that shames their primitive conflict and shows humanity still has a lot of growing to do.
Star Trek: The Original Series only lasted three years, and while there are several reasons it got cancelled, I suspect one of the biggest is that people simply didn't want to hear the truth. We are a seriously flawed race, but we do the best we can. Rarely did a Star Trek episode end on a negative note, which hints that while mankind is far from perfect, we can work together for a brighter future.
That's what director J.J. Abrams and his crew have retained. Optimism was always the foundation of the television series, the hull of the Enterprise, so to speak.
I doubt the non-dorks ever figured that out.
II. People can be very frightened of change
Those words, delivered by Captain James T. Kirk at the end of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, are a good way to describe reaction to the new Kirk.
In the pop culture lexicon, few roles are more synonymous with one person. Before William Shatner evolved into, well, William Shatner, he was the cocky, resourceful captain of the Enterprise with a boyish charm and the ability to make tough decisions (not to mention that speech cadence).
As the new Star Trek movie arrives, so does a group of fresh faces playing familiar roles, and none of them face more pressure than 28-year-old Chris Pine. At first glance, he's got Kirk's look and swagger. But is he a guy you'd want to follow into battle? Pine himself has posed that very question, and as it turns out, we're all going to find out together.
One of Star Trek's keynotes is the transformation of Kirk from a rebellious Iowa farm boy to the confident captain of the Enterprise, and it's a tricky role. We've never seen this story before; it dates back to before the first episode of the original series. Pine has to grow without growing too much, because part of what makes Kirk Kirk is his brash attitude and unshakable demeanor. He'll be a punk kid early on, but will Pine be able to keep the kid while losing the punk?
A large part of the movie hinges on it. Pine has chosen to retain Shatner's "humor, arrogance and decisiveness" while incorporating elements of other characters in his performance, such as Indiana Jones, Han Solo and Maverick from Top Gun.
Pine clearly understands that he's playing Captain Kirk and not William Shatner, which is most important.
And the early returns look like a welcome change.
III. G'day, mates
Captain Kirk isn't the only one being recast for a whole new generation.
Zachary Quinto actively pursued the role of Spock, Kirk's half-human, half-Vulcan sidekick science officer. Only this time, there's a great struggle taking place between those pointy ears.
The writers, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, breathe new life into Spock by presenting him as a conflicted youth, frustrated in his devotion to strict Vulcan logic and abandonment of human emotion. As he learns to govern those emotions, he blows up at Kirk and does all sorts of things that will likely make Star Trek purists cringe.
But that's the point. Like Kirk, Spock isn't himself yet. We know the character from 40 years of television and movies, but everyone grows up at some point or another.
Well, most of us do. Karl Urban's portrayal of Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy finds Kirk's confidante as grouchy and funny as ever, playing the skeptic to just about everything that befalls the Enterprise crew. Bones meets Kirk at Starfleet Academy, so we'll get to see how their brotherly bond developed, and also watch Urban sidestep his tough-guy background and cavort around as the cynical doctor.
Linguistics expert Uhura is given a larger role of the hands of Zoe Saldana, whom Abrams requested specifically for the part. John Cho is the new Sulu, flaunting his fencing skills and representing "all of Asia" on the Enterprise. Pale-skinned Anton Yelchin is the new Chekov, a curious choice who has already adopted the Russian's accent and oddities. And don't even get me started on Simon Pegg as Scotty. I wouldn't recommend eating before the movie, you'll probably lose your lunch laughing.
One by one, the crew we know and love will assemble on the new Enterprise. Hopefully we'll grow to love them just as much as the original team.
IV. Eric Bana and the time-tossed Romulans
No villainous alien race pestered the original crew as much as the Klingons. Thank God they're not the primary antagonists of Star Trek.
Tensions between the United States and Russia have cooled, so there's no longer a place for the Soviet parallel, and this animalistic culture got its time to shine in Star Trek III: The Search For Spock and Star Trek VI, not to mention a number of original series episodes.
This time around, the enemies are Romulans, the distant cousins of Vulcans meant to evoke a space-age Roman civilization. And in an increasingly welcome blockbuster tradition, these villains actually have logical motives and aren't all-powerful miscreants out for galactic domination.
Eric Bana plays Nero, a blue-collar Romulan driller who is tossed back to the past through a black hole. But Nero isn't a happy camper. In the future, he and his co-workers have been screwed by the United Federation of Planets, and Kirk and Spock in particular are multiple offenders.
Now, these new-look Romulans have been gifted a morally fascinating opportunity: destroy Kirk and Spock and the Federation planets before they ever screw them over in the first place.
It seems that the Romulans' gargantuan power drill does most of the dirty work, and a European teaser poster shows it plunging into the water near the Golden Gate Bridge -- an ominous image, considering Starfleet Academy is based in San Francisco.
The Romulans have never gotten their due as top-tier Trek villains, and hopefully that's about to change with their starring role in Star Trek.
V. Star Trek, for the non-Trekkie
One thing that early reviews have universally praised is the accessibility of the new film. As mentioned before, the whole franchise has become such a geek gala that the mainstream viewer has been turned off by the mere mention of the name "Star Trek."
This film, on the other hand, is Star Trek for the non-Trekkie. Abrams has openly admitted to being just a casual fan of the original series, and as frightening as that sounded at first, his rewiring of Gene Roddenberry's creation might be the very thing that kick-starts this stalled franchise.
There's a young, good-looking cast. There's a spiffed-up Enterprise, complete with an Apple Store bridge. There are no cheap camera tricks or laughable costumes with visible zippers, only big-budget visual effects and action to spare.
There's also a sizeable cameo by one of Star Trek's chief ambassadors to bridge the gap. Leonard Nimoy, the original Spock, reprises his role as the future version of Quinto. It's a good bet he has something to do with the young crew recognizing and stopping the Romulans' plan, and it doesn't hurt when Nimoy, who has long tried to distance himself from the character, picked this film to make his return and gave it his full endorsement.
Nimoy's presence is one of several things that will make classic Trek fans feel right at home. The infamous Kobayashi Maru test makes an appearance. Spock still tells people to "Live long, and prosper." Rumors abound of the most spectacular (and hilarious) redshirt death in the history of the franchise.
Appealing to newcomers and seasoned Trekkers alike is not an easy feat, and if Abrams pulls it off, it'll be an impressive achievement.
It means that people will come together, which is a big point the movie is trying to make.
VI. You've earned this
It won't be easy to watch Star Trek at first. Kirk and Spock will hate each other's guts. The crew will be unsure of one another. They'll have to deal with a bunch of pissed-off Romulans who want them dead. Abrams himself has remarked, "I didn't love Kirk and Spock when I began this journey, but I love them now."
That's the idea. Is there any better way to reintroduce classic characters than to grow with them on their maiden voyage?
That's the mindset of Orci and Kurtzman, who (Transformers involvement notwithstanding) seem to have picked the perfect vantage point to reapproach Star Trek, along with producers Damon Lindelof and Bryan Burk.
Audiences are going to earn a place aboard the Enterprise. They're going to endure the growing pains. The moment that Kirk and Spock learn to trust each other and work together will be all the more rewarding.
Character-driven storytelling is a staple of Star Trek and a lost commodity these days. The new movie won't have time to pose interesting scientific questions like the original series did, but hey, the cast and crew (excluding Abrams) are signed on for two sequels.
From the moment John F. Kennedy mobilized America in the space race, the world of Star Trek has seemed fantastic but not necessarily far-fetched. With all the progress we've made in space exploration, its vision of the future seems more and more plausible.
Maybe by the mid-23rd century we'll have arrived at that point.
For now, I'm optimistic that we'll get there.
In the grand tradition of overreacting to movie trailers, I'm checking in now that Quantum of Solace has premiered (haven't seen it yet, FYI) and we've gotten our first look at one upcoming geek gala and our second look at another.
We'll start with what's sure to be the biggest buzz of cyberspace this month, the first footage from J.J. Abrams' Star Trek requel -- that's "reboot prequel" for all you none-w00ties out there -- and to be honest, it's rather middling. We start with a 1960s Chevy Corvette thundering down a country road, and before long, it's driven right off a cliff by a previously unseen 11-year-old boy who leaps out at the last second. A space-cop hops off his hoverbike and asks in a gruff, Robocop tone, "What is your name?" The boy impolitely retorts, "My name is James Tiberius Kirk!" Lame.
We're gonna pretend that never happened...just like Star Trek V
From there, it's a frenetic, souped-up expose of Star Trek's base values and impressive CGI. One of the movie's tastiest treats, Kirk's life before and at Starfleet Academy, is brushed upon early, with lifeless dialogue about struggling to fit in and being destined for bigger things delivered by Kirk's father (Chris Hemsworth), who doesn't even sound like he buys his own bullshit. Spock's treatment isn't much different, either. All trailers dumb down this kind of stuff to engage a larger audience, but seriously, who writes this crap?
Forgiving the cliches (including a shot of Chris Pine rebel-without-a-causing down a country road as an adult), the first Star Trek trailer has just enough goodies to keep Classic Trek fans encouraged. There's a great line by Karl Urban's Dr. McCoy about space, and the always-hilarious Simon Pegg nails Scotty's only line. The purported theme of "how a family comes together" is emphasized, there are hints of Zachary Quinto's vintage Vulcan learning to govern his emotions, we get to see the new Enterprise in action, and Eric Bana closes the trailer with scene-chewing goodness. Oh, and there's an irrevocably badass shot of Kirk and Spock together. You'll know it when you see it.
Because all other evidence supports it, I doubt the Top Gun stylings will dominate the movie like they dominate the trailer. I'm really looking forward to the final one.
Meanwhile, in the "JESUS MARY MOTHER OF GOD" category, the new Watchmen trailer is about as encouraging as Batman & Robin's teaser posters.
Remember those pieces of shit? Well, Zack Snyder's, ahem, "three-hour advertisement for the graphic novel" is looking more and more like a "three-hour advertisement against adapting Alan Moore's work altogether." First, we saw From Hell get a sincere effort from a fine cast and crew that ultimately couldn't translate its difficult ideology to the screen. Then, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen was turned into a computer-generated snoozer and slapped on soft drink labels. Most recently, we saw V For Vendetta push aside the graphic novel's essence and play to stupid college kids who like The Matrix and don't like George W. Bush.
The new Watchmen trailer indicates that the film is going to scrape down to the novel's core, i.e. the masked killer conspiracy thread and the idea of who governs the governors. That's all they (mostly Rorschach) talk about in the trailer, while lifting the most cliched lines from the book to hook viewers. As I said before, that's to be expected. But whenever you trim the fat, you walk along the edge of bastardizing the material, and that's exactly the impression that boils to the surface in the new trailer.
I highly doubt most who watch it will have the same opinion, but speaking for fans of the graphic novel, trust me, it looks like Snyder is going to turn this thing into a superhero adventure with morally ambiguous overtones. He seems to think that replicating the look of the comic is what counts most, and in the meantime, he's given no indication whatsoever that he's going to include the palpable impact of masked adventurers, or the alarming disconnect between the generations who commit to something and the ideological perversions of their heirs, which is the most important subtext of "Watchmen."
I know what you're thinking. I'm taking this way too seriously. I should lighten up. The truth is, I believe that plenty of Alan Moore's work could translate successfully to the screen (I've been wailing for a serious adaptation of "Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" for years). But not "Watchmen." It stands, like The Godfather in cinema, as the dividing line between the old way and the new. It's the book that truly matured the medium. If you think for one second that a comic book opus like The Dark Knight doesn't owe a big nod to "Watchmen", you're off your rocker.
In my opinion -- and at the end of the argument, it's truly just a difference of opinion -- it's a crime to transfer something like "Watchmen" so briskly. Sure, it looks good. Sure, it may make money. But imagine someone novelizing Citizen Kane, or filming Highway 61 Revisited. There are some things that are just plain untouchable in every medium, and "Watchmen" is one of them. To borrow a line from Jeffrey Dean Morgan's interpretation of the Comedian:
God help us all.
As you may or may not know, I've left central Pennsylvania and landed in Los Angeles, trading Harrisburg and agriculture for Hollywood and agoraphobia. I'm out here pursuing a dream, which is the very essence of America. Amid the 2008 political conventions, with a black man earning the Democratic nomination for president and a woman earning the Republican nomination for vice president, that essence is stronger than ever.
To get to the West Coast, I had to drive approximately 38 hours across the country, although I did make a couple out-of-the-way stops to say goodbye to friends. After leaving Chicago last weekend, I had a 30-hour trip ahead of me, an open road of infinite possibilities. It was an optimistic voyage to the land of movie stars.
You might even call it a "Star Trek"...
California...the final frontier...these are the voyages of the Starship Pontiac. Its three-day mission: to explore strange, new states. To seek out new citizens and new civilizations. To boldly go where DJMJ has been a few times already...
Captain's Log, Stardate 801.8
Chicago is a beautiful city. As I told my friend who lives there, I'd seriously consider moving to Chicago if it wasn't relatively close to where I'm from.
Captain's Log, Stardate 822.3
There are billboards galore that have Miley Cyrus' picture all over them. Which means she has "Britney Spears" written all over her.
Captain's Log, Stardate 864.5
There isn't much between Chicago and the western border of Illinois, but the lack of civilization hasn't bored me one bit. I'm sure that'll change in a few hours.
Captain's Log, Stardate 893.2
I've just crossed the Iowa border and I stopped at Iowa 80, which proudly proclaims itself as the world's largest truck stop. If you think about it, though, there isn't much competition outside of the United States. I mean, Europeans drive slick cars, Africans drive jeeps, South Americans and Australians drive four-wheelers, and Asian extremists drive off-road pickups. Do they even have trucks in Antarctica?
Captain's Log, Stardate 902.10
Now I'm rolling through Iowa, home of Enterprise Captain James Tiberius Kirk. The vast countryside expands far past each horizon, and the gaping sky is a window to humanity's possibilities. It's easy to envision a young Jim Kirk dreaming of space as he looked up to the stars. But right now I'm envisioning how cool I'd be if my middle name was "Tiberius."
Captain's Log, Stardate 956.7
It's been four hours since I entered Iowa, and I'm not even out of the state. This is going to be a long trip.
Captain's Log, Stardate 1010.5
Omaha is upon me, and my gas tank is low. I figure I'll wait til I'm past the city, find a less hectic exit and fill up then.
Captain's Log, Stardate 1011.6
Lots of traffic, still no sign of I-80 getting past Omaha.
Captain's Log, Stardate 1012.8
Jesus Tapdancing Christ, Omaha is much bigger than I thought.
Captain's Log, Stardate 1013.9
I'm officially resigned to the fact that my car's going to run out of gas and I'm going to have to call Triple-A.
Captain's Log, Stardate 1014.1
Wait! Omaha is finally behind me! And there's a service station!
Captain's Log, Stardate 1033.6
Nebraska's official state motto is "Equality Before the Law." I'm a history minor from Penn State University and I have no idea what the hell they're talking about.
Captain's Log, Stardate 1084.2
Radio coverage of this evening's Democratic National Convention is about to begin. So to, apparently, are massive thunderstorms on each side of I-80.
Captain's Log, Stardate 1105.3
Hillary Clinton is giving her speech, which endorses Barack Obama and implores her supporters to help Obama win the election. As she delivers these concessory words, I can't help but picture her wearing a great shirt I saw at T-Shirt Hell.
Captain's Log, Stardate 1150.7
Those storms to the left and right of me must be big. The thunder is booming, and the lightning is pretty impressive at night. What a comforting thought as I drive through Tornado Alley.
Captain's Log, Stardate 1198.9
I've decided to stop for the night in Cheyenne, Wyoming, a quaint little town with a Comfort Inn that's running discounts. Warp speed.
Captain's Log, Stardate 1294.1
I've checked out of the Comfort Inn and I'm heading out of Cheyenne. For a one-night stayover, it was very pleasant.
Captain's Log, Stardate 13.33.6
Wyoming seems to be getting drier the further I head west. I wonder if the plant life will make a rebound.
Captain's Log, Stardate 1363.4
Doesn't look like it. Arid Arizona has nothing on this place.
Captain's Log, Stardate 1394.5
Sports talk giant and DJMJ favorite Jim Rome doesn't seem to be available in southern Wyoming, but the large rock formations are distracting my attention from the radio. This is gorgeous scenery.
Captain's Log, Stardate 1424.6
I've seen relatively cheap gas prices all along my trip. So naturally, I choose to fill up for 50 flippin' bucks in some alternate dimension known as Rock Springs, Wyoming.
Captain's Log, Stardate 1453.8
I'm approaching Salt Lake City now, and these sharp turns are horrible, much like many of the other drivers. Seriously, who builds a stretch of highway down a mountain and then posts 65 mph speed limits??
Captain's Log, Stardate 1475.2
The arduous process of getting to Salt Lake City was worth it. It's a tight-knit, well-constructed community with a pleasant climate that's equal doses rural and urban. Biggest impression: It's really easy to see why so few NBA teams beat the Jazz on the road. No joke.
Captain's Log, Stardate 1500.3
I've finally broken off I-80 and I'm well on my way down I-15, which runs right through Las Vegas. Stop and cruise the Vegas strip before continuing to Los Angeles? You've talked me into it!
Captain's Log, Stardate 1517.4
Glenn Beck's co-host just made fun of the Greek temple built for Barack Obama in Denver by comparing it to the Colosseum. This is the third time today I've heard a conservative radio host make such a mistake. I guess they don't teach the difference between Greeks and Romans at private school.
Captain's Log, Stardate 1537.7
Bill Clinton is in the building. Fleetwood Mac's "Don't Stop" is blasting. Hello 1992.
Captain's Log, Stardate 1553.8
Of all the politicians I've heard, Bill Clinton is the best speaker. He's tossing the tennis ball, and these liberals keep chasing it and bringing it back.
Captain's Log, Stardate 1568.5
Clinton's done dropping knowledge on them suckas, and he's being followed by...John Kerry. If they wanted the crowd to fall asleep after Clinton finished speaking, they could have just sent everyone home for the night.
Captain's Log, Stardate 1577.3
Forget everything I just said about John Kerry being boring. He's SERVING John McCain right now. I've almost crashed twice from laughing so hard.
Captain's Log, Stardate 1577.4
OH SHIT! Make that three times.
Hey McKobe, tell me how my ass taste!
Captain's Log, Stardate 1610.5
Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden is speaking, and he's not all that engaging. Also, I can't say his name without adding "pump, pump-pump it up!" If you don't get the reference, you don't listen to enough crappy rap music.
Captain's Log, Stardate 1647.1
Driving through the Rocky Mountains at night is something to behold. The scenery of America continues to live up to expectations.
Captain's Log, Stardate 1648.2
So do the crappy drivers, who I've officially dubbed "Speed Racers", because they drive that fast and they're as awful as the movie.
Captain's Log, Stardate 1667.3
I'm 18 miles away from Las Vegas, and I can already see it: a sweeping ocean of golden lights set against the black desert night, reaching as far as the eye can see. Absolutely the most awesome thing I've ever seen.
Captain's Log, Stardate 1675.4
This is the first time I've ever driven myself down Las Vegas Boulevard, the No. 1 place on Earth in the latest coaches' poll. I think I'm just going to save money so I can permanently live at the Bellagio.
Captain's Log, Stardate 1717.7
America's Playground is behind me, and now I'm heading down the southern California portion of I-15, which has to be the most boring stretch of the whole highway.
Captain's Log, Stardate 1784.9
Jeez, I'm finally past Barstow and close to San Bernardino, where I hit 210 West toward (you guessed it!) Los Angeles.
Captain's Log, Stardate 1801.5
The streets of LA are dense at night, without much traffic or headache. So I'm going to eat this up as long as possible.
Captain's Log, Stardate 1804.3
The Starship Pontiac has reached its destination, cargo intact and equipment functioning well. Before you know it, I'll move in to my new apartment and start plugging my contacts out here.
The big discovery is around the corner, I can feel it. But for now, I express this sentiment with the ultmost altruism:
You've seen them. You know them. The people that dress up in Star Trek outfits, whether they don Starfleet garb or sharpen Vulcan ears or corrugate their foreheads to become Klingons. They show up at Star Trek Conventions and Comic Con every year en masse, either frightening casual fans or challenging über-nerds of another sect to useless trivia battles with nothing but the mantle of true dorkdom at stake.
I know them. I share their interest in what's considered geeky, from superheroes (Spider-Man, Superman and Batman, in that order) to the original Star Wars trilogy (my Bible, along with the first two Godfather films) to The Lord of the Rings (which already inspired the name of an earlier post). Hell, I might as well be one of them. But I'm not.
No, I'm not forsaking my claim to being a ginormous nerd. I'm simply pleading with Trekkies (or "trekkers", if you'd like) to stop what they're doing.
What are they doing? They're giving people like me an awful name, and it's never been more clear than now. See, last weekend at Comic Con 2008, the teaser posters for the new Star Trek movie debuted, and as far as I'm concerned, they're awesome.
Splooging Trekkie pants where no movie has splooged them before
But here's the problem. Every time I discuss the new movie with people, they either shun me or Trekkie me.
Both stances have serious flaws, but let's start with the Trekkies. I don't want every single person who's a Trekkie to die, I just want their obsessively flamboyant fanhood to end. If I start a conversation about the fascinating ideas that Star Trek has presented over the years, I don't want you to launch into some doltish discussion of how you can see a double-take during the original series when Captain Kirk fights an alien. It doesn't matter. I don't care.
Yes, the original series was amateurish when it came to special effects, continuity and editing. It's a funny staple of the series, and nothing else. I'm not that kind of nerd. I'm the kind of nerd that wants to kick around the idea of Bones altering the course of history in "The City on the Edge of Forever", or the regenerative Genesis planet in Star Trek III, or the time-loop implications of The Next Generation episode "Cause and Effect." You know, ideas that were revelatory notions at the time, and not the trite staples they've become in present-day science fiction.
Mr. Spock, surely there must be a history devoid of Trekkies
That's what Star Trek is ultimately about. The original series may have been supremely cheesy, but it was also innovative, highly intelligent and relentlessly optimistic. The same could be said of The Next Generation. I don't really care about the other shows, because Star Trek didn't need any more iterations by the time those shows aired, nor did it need megalasaurus dorks parading around in costumes to get the point across.
And it's people like that who've twisted the rest of America into bigoted jackasses. Whenever I try to discuss the new Star Trek reboot with non-Trekkies, they shun me. They ignore me. They don't want anything to do with me.
It's truly sad, because seriously, guys, it's time to get over yourselves. I understand that you don't want to get labeled as Trekkies by other people. I've spent the last three or four paragraphs explaining how I understand that. But before you lambaste Star Trek for its dorky detraction, you might want to, oh I don't know, familiarize yourselves with it.
Like I said, if you're remotely interested in captivating, intriguing sci-fi, or even character-driven storytelling, it's not hard to like Star Trek. Shed that ego you build every time you lift weights or pop your Hollister collar. Don't be afraid of embracing something that doesn't involve the scatological or requires more than a second's worth of attention. I'm not here to galvanize you into attending every single Star Trek function across the country every year. I'm simply here to have an intelligent discussion about Star Trek's profound ideas. That's it.
If you still want to neglect Star Trek, that's your choice, but you'd better start neglecting half the entertainment industry as well. If you're a fan of the TV show Lost, you might as well stop watching, because executive producer Damon Lindelof -- who also happens to be producing the new movie -- is a big Star Trek fan. So is Seth MacFarlane, the creator of that popular poop smear Family Guy. Don't forget Bryan Singer, director of The Usual Suspects and the first two X-Men movies, who recently compared his forthcoming Superman Returns sequel to Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. And then there's Trek devotees Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the masterminds behind South Park (which influences my creativity more than anything else).
Star Trek and Creative Differences are super sweeeet
All those people prove my point. I'm not one of those super-dweebs who eats, sleeps and breathes Star Trek. I just want Trekkies to discard their ridiculous obsession. You can't change narrow-minded nitwits, but you can stop the bombastic, costumed celebration of Star Trek that gives the rest of us a bad name.
That's all I can say. If you still want to dress up like a Romulan or treat Trekkies like outcasts, just keep in mind...
