The Trouble with Cultural Memory
Hoo boy, here we go...
This.
This is exactly the problem.
This popped up in my Facebook feed, an ad.
“Channel your inner Trekkie while catching some waves with our vibrant Star Trek Hawaiian shirt.”
Okay, fine, I understand the concept, sure, let’s make a retro-feeling aloha shirt.
But.
Just look at it. Especially look at the insert, the close up. Captain Kirk surrounded by swingin’ alien babes.
This. This, my friends, is what the culture thinks is the original Star Trek.
To me, it looks more like the Jetsons.
Or worse.
Hound dog Jim Kirk, swingin’ with green alien chicks. That’s what the culture at large thinks of our Captain. Of our stack of books with legs. “The first thing I ever heard from an upperclassman was, watch out for Lieutenant Kirk. In his class, you either think or sink.”
Or sit back and wait for the alien babes to show up.
I don’t know. Maybe I’m just getting cranky. Maybe I was still rolling my eyes from an editorial I read that argued Kirk was the worst Captain because he was mean to his crew — he gave them orders instead of asking for their opinions.
Am I wrong to be offended, to worry about Kirk’s legacy?
Maybe I just need to Kirk Fu everybody.
MEANWHILE…
Do you want a breath mint?
Or maybe you’d rather fill your warp core.
It's Orion Spice Crumble Season!
Welcome to Star Trekking, my attempt to share points of interest and random intersections in the final frontier. Time to shut down the replicator, channel your inner Neelix, and take a look at the Star Trek Cookbook! As you can see, this is NOT the 1999
At least some clickbait articles still appreciate the good Captain.
Every Star Trek Captain Who Led a Series, Ranked
Okay…
Star Trek's Infamous Spock's Brain Episode Was A Sneaky Dig At NBC Itself
Not sure yet how I feel about these.
Mislabeled but…
Reminder:
Until next time, LLAP.
Neil
That's why I wrote this: https://www.startrek.com/news/captains-week-in-defense-of-captain-kirk
Kirk's leadership style fit the era that TOS was filmed in. He does listen to his crew but he usually doesn't huddle up with them on the bridge before taking action. On occasion, he would gather his top people in the Briefing Room to discuss a situation but it didn't happen often. TNG (and later Trek) reflect the changing philosophy of the late 80's/early 90s where a leader calls the team together to discuss options before making a command decision. That's why the Enterprise-D had a Ready Room just off of the bridge. That doesn't make Kirk a bad leader, just different. I do agree that the shirt does make TOS look like an episode of The Jetsons.