Star Trek and Optimism

Currently, one of the biggest movies at the box office is the new Star Trek movie. This is a surprise to many, given that mentioning the TV show usually results in eye-rolling from people, or at least conjures up pictures of uncomfortably overgeeky fans. The original show, or rather franchise, was the cheesy idealistic product of its time—something that needed to be 'rebooted' to be tolerable in our times.

That was what this movie was supposed to be, as evidenced by the tagline for trailers: "This is not your father's Star Trek"

But I don't think that that is the reason why this Star Trek movie is a hit among vast numbers of both fans and non-fans. Drama is king today. Dark, gritty realism is in fashion. As audiences, we're supposed to have moved on from that childish view of a universe where all alien races could live in harmony in a lovely socialistic society.

Yet...for all that I didn't vote for him, look who the vast majority in this country just elected president. An idealistic dreamer, someone who (whether it's true or not) is supposed to symbolize hope. We pretend that we know that the world is tough and dark, especially post 9/11. But as a society, we secretly long for something happier.

That's what Star Trek brings to today's audiences. The 'reboot' to the franchise is not to make the tone darker, more gritty. Instead, it's only slightly adjusted for today's times. There's a major event in the movie, clearly meant to symbolize what happened on 9/11, but it doesn't cloud over the rest of the story. The characters mourn and grieve, and then they move on and make things better, not forgetting the brightness and goodness that can be found in humanity even after crises.

It's this that appeals to audiences, I believe. Sure, the visual effects are stunning, the action breathtaking and the soundtrack stunning—but plenty of movies have offered that in recent years. What Star Trek has that they didn't, though, is that sense of hope and triumph. Optimism. It's almost completely lacking in "grown-up" movies these days outside dumb comedies and "based on a true story" films, and it's what's so utterly refreshing about Star Trek as an epic good vs. evil film. Star Trek has trials, but Star Trek has characters who love and tease and make friends during them. And in the end, it tells us that good people who work together will overcome even the darkest of odds.

Star Trek doesn't forget that there will be evil and terrible things in the future—but it doesn't forget either that people rise to the challenge, and optimism and humor are not out of place even when the world may be at stake.