I haven’t been in the star trek fandom for very long (I’ve only just started binging the series in the last couple months), so it’s been pretty surprising to find out just how negative the perception of the reboot movies are.
this isn’t coming from the perspective of someone who grew up with the series, so it hit different for me than it might for people with a different relationship to TOS, but I thought it was genuinely clever and Respectful with how it was handled.
To quote leonard nimoy: “Well the alternative timeline gives them license to escape from canon
concerns. I can’t see people saying ‘they shouldn’t do that because…’ or
‘that doesn’t tie in to such and such’ because it is a different time
and place. Am I right about that?”
[Link]
the entire Premise is that the original series happened as it was presented in TOS, but an event late in Spock’s life caused the creation of a parallel universe in which everyone’s lives were significantly altered through two key changes to the timeline. this gives them the freedom to Both revel in fanservice And explore different facets of the characters and their relationships.
the destruction of vulcan Vastly impacts the characters and the plot moving forward, and its a detail that a lot of people take issue with. but the emotional impact of sarek admitting Directly to spock that there is value in his humanity, that his feelings Aren’t wrong, that sarek married
amanda
because he Loved her cannot be understated. you can read all of these things into sarek as he was in the original series, but he Never had an open conversation about these things with spock. this creates a Believable and Rewarding change in their relationship, where we get to see a different facet of them Because of the changes made. and that’s exactly the appeal. showing us pieces of these characters that we never got in TOS that are nevertheless undeniably Them.
everyone is Different yes, but they’re also fundamentally the same people at their core and that matters.
kirk’s personality obviously takes the biggest change, with him experiencing trauma at a young age, losing his father, and having an implied abusive father figure after that point. he has a harsher personality in reaction to harsher conditions, he’s spikier and harder to love. but he’s also still fundamentally a Good person whose willing to risk everything to help people. he still has what made kirk prime a good captain and a good friend.
I’m not gonna say that it’s the most nuanced story in the world, but it explores a version of kirk that was born from even Less fortunate circumstances than kirk prime, exploring a kirk brimming with potential who learned to bite back after he was kicked down. exploring those themes of trauma and loss, of insecurity and growth, and coming to the conclusion that Fundamentally He Is Capable Of Good isn’t a Bad thing. you don’t have to like it, but his growth into a better person is The Point. they deepened his flaws (all of which were present in a less exaggerated form in TOS) To Show That Growth.
and then of course there’s his relationship with spock.
people are totally justified in not liking that they had a rough start to their relationship, I usually don’t like to see that kind of thing in reboots or hollywood adaptations either, but the way people talk about it is just unfair.
Yes kirk and spock and bones have a very strong relationship in TOS, they also already know each other by the time the show starts. to look at them having to learn to get to know and trust each other when they first meet and say that it’s Bad because they were already full on ride or die for each other in the og series is silly. TOS kirk and spock had to meet and fall in love with each other too, it didn’t just happen over night kings.
secondly, the entire point of the first movie is that Even With reality itself being altered to pull them apart they are fundamentally compatible people that are Bound to each other. they meet each other on bad terms because of circumstances outside of their control, and yet they’re still pulled into each other’s orbit and find the other slotting into place next to them as if they always belonged. one of the first things that spock prime says in the movie is “I am and always will be your friend,” spock and jim are Meant for each other and the movie goes out of its way to explain that. which is what makes it so Weird to see people complaining about how they don’t like each other.
it’s a Different relationship, but it’s absolutely no less steeped in yearning or queer subtext.
speaking of queer subtext ! some people are Very unhappy with spock’s relationship with uhura.
first thing I wanna say is that making the argument that they’re doing anything that the original series hasn’t done is just, completely untrue. kirk has fallen in love with more girls in the og series than he knew what to do with, leonard nimoy was a heartthrob in his time (and he deserves it, awooga) and spock reflects that ! Spock usually turns the women who come onto him down (or when he doesn’t it’s because a plant has literally altered his mind), but there are exceptions to even that. all of three of the main boys have plenty of romance subplots, it happens. if that takes the possibility of them being queer off the table for you (which it shouldn’t, m-spec people exist) then I’m sorry to say that TOS is not exempt.
now, I can understand why Specifically This Relationship could rub people the wrong way or being disappointed that they didn’t outright depict kirk and spock as having a relationship (if not in the first movie then in the following ones after they’ve gotten to know each other), but even in that context the way I’ve seen people talk about it comes off as insensitive.
no, the relationship did not come out of nowhere. they considered having spock and uhura date each other in the original show (and you can see signs of this in the earlier episodes, where uhura very obviously flirts with him and they spend time together in their down time) before they decided against it, and spock was originally going to kiss uhura until shatner insisted that he wanted to do it (because it was the first interracial kiss on tv). [Link 1, Link 2, Link 3]
nichelle
nichols was asked about this exact thing (spock and uhura’s relationship in the movie), you can read the interview in full here [Link] but I’d like to highlight this paragraph in particular:
“Now, go back to my participation in Star Trek as Uhura and
Leonard (Nimoy) as Spock. There was always a connection between Uhura
and Spock. It was the early 60’s, so you couldn’t do what you can do
now, but if you will remember, Uhura related to Spock. When she saw the
captain lost in space out there in her mirror, it was Spock who consoled
her when she went screaming out of her room. When Spock needed an
expert to help save the ship, you remember that Uhura put something
together and related back to him the famous words, “I don’t know if I
can do this. I’m afraid.” And Uhura was the only one who could do a
spoof on Spock. Remember the song (in “Charlie X”)? Those were the
hints, as far as I’m concerned.”
the film makers looked at the fact there were Hints for uhura and spock, that they were Interested in exploring an interracial couple for the first time (both before and immediately after interracial couples won the right to legally get married) but Couldn’t because of the circumstances of the times and decided to Make that depiction. you don’t have to Like their relationship just because of that fact, but it’s Incredibly reductive to play down it’s significance as just a No Homo cop out. explicitly queer relationships are not the only progressive or culturally important relationships in fiction.
moreover, if you can’t imagine polyamory in the communist utopian future that’s on you.
moreover, this perception that this was a soulless cash grab is just, unfounded.
leonard nimoy returned to the role as spock for the first time in 16 years (since 1991) and this was Entirely because of the respect they had for nimoy, spock as a character, and the franchise as a whole.
Lets look at some quotes from nimoy in interviews regarding the film:
Leonard Nimoy: When I first read the script (…) I immediately contacted J.J. and said “I think
it is terrific…I think you guys have done a wonderful job. There is
still work to be done, but it is very clear that you and your writers
know what you are doing and you know how to do this movie and know what
it should be about….and I am very interested.” Then as time went by we
worked things out with Paramount, but the most important things were
J.J. and the script. (…) I am very pleased about
that and I am very comfortable with where this is going. I think the
writers have done a terrific job. They have a real sense of the
characters and the heart of Star Trek and what it is really all about.
(…)
TrekMovie.com: Now in the case of the new movie you
have been retired from acting for years. What was it about this one that
made you want to act again and go through the make up again? What was
it that made you say ‘I really want to do this?’
Leonard Nimoy: You are right, this is a special situation. First it is Star Trek and so I have to pay attention. I owe that to Star Trek.
Second place is that it is J.J. Abrams who I think very highly of, he
is a very talented guy. Then came the script and it was very clear that I
could make a contribution here. The Spock character that I am
playing, the original Spock character, is essential and important to the
script. So on the basis of those three elements it was easy to make the
decision. So those three things: Star Trek, J.J. Abrams, and an interesting Spock role.
[Link]
Praising the cast playing younger versions of characters from the
original 1960s TV series, he [Leonard Nimoy] said: “Let me take the opportunity to say
this. Everybody at this table [the cast] are very, very talented and
intelligent people.”
“They found their own way to bring that talent and intelligence to this movie, and I think it shows.
(…)
When Karl Urban introduced himself as Leonard McCoy and shook hands
with Chris Pine, I burst into tears. That performance of his is so
moving, so touching and so powerful as Doctor McCoy, that I think D.
Kelley would be smiling, and maybe in tears as well.”
“The makers of this film reawakened the passion in me that I had when we made the original film and series. I
was put back in touch with what I cared about and liked about Star
Trek, and why I enjoyed being involved with Star Trek. So, it was an
easy way to come on home.”
“[In this Star Trek] they said things and showed me things, and
demonstrated the sensibility that I felt very comfortable with, and I
think that shows in the movie. I like it.”
[Link 1, Link 2]
again, you don’t have to like it just because leonard nimoy did, you don’t have to Agree. but the idea that nobody working on the film Cared is provably false. near everyone working on the project was already a fan of the series or were excited to be involved and did their homework. it’s genuinely a Miracle just how much of a labor of love this was, and in my opinion you can feel that through the movie itself. I’d highly recommend looking into interviews and behind the scenes details about the movies. they had a respect not just for the source material, but for leonard nimoy as a person.
there’s definitely more I Could say about this, but it’s 4 am now so I’m gonna shelve it jklfdsa
that said! it’s Fine to not like the movie, not everything is going to be suited to everyone’s taste, but the specific criticisms I’ve seen feel very off base
kokorocala
