NP Note on Star Trek with a mild spoiler alert

[Heikki Raudaskoski]

I saw Star Trek last night (for my daughter it was the second time...)

On a certain level, I found it a quite entertaining space opera ride,
flashing back to the ur-traumas of Kirk and Spock, and the formation
of the TOS bunch, with some zigzagging in time. I wouldn't be surprised
if the film most satisfies moviegoers who know nothing about TOS in
advance.

The real drama - some would even say: the real tragedy - arguably lies
in time travel to the future. The film is a big flashforward from the
1960s to the current age.

The sensibility of the camp TV series of the 60s (most delicate while
utterly clumsy; prevalent feel of cosmopolitanism in spite/because
of an American edge; acting that is at once stylized and intimate) has
been swallowed up by that of American high school/college TV series of
the recent decades. I tend to equate this kind of Americanization with
homogenization.

It's as if when rejuvenation reaches a certain point, every creature
in the universe becomes your typical character in a high school series
cast. The film is in some respects more conservative than these shows
often are: just think how Uhura ends up as a traditional, male-serving
female.


Heikki