This is one of my posts where I “review” Star Trek episodes. I will be giving each one a star rating. I sometimes will make some comments about non-political parts of them that I like or don’t like. I’ll sometimes use the issues raised in the episode to discuss similar issues in real life. And I will sometimes simply high-light the progressive politics of ST. ST is in-line with the three original themes of this blog, as I explain in the first ST post where I offer some general thoughts about ST.
I’m not very familiar with The Original Series and there might be some small amount of material there that would affect what I say about Star Trek (i.e. how often religion is mentioned)
Lastly. multi-culturalism is such a pervasive theme in ST that I only comment on it when it goes beyond the norm (i.e. inter-species partners).
“Cardassians” See this for a plot summary.
This is a good episode. Not sure how applicable it is to N. Ireland or opposing bigotry, but it’s kind of relevant to both. There’s a lot about people who are self-hating, although in this case the person hating their identity is not oppressed but has been raised by people that his people treated very horribly. His parents loved him, but taught him to hate his people and to more or less identify with them (Bajorans) instead of his own people (Cardassians). I can’t see a similar situation developing in N. Ireland, or more accurately, the South after independence, but it’s possible it happened with something like some tiny number (5??) of people. I have heard of people who do not fit the Nazi mold (i.e. they’re non-white or Jewish) embracing racism or anti-semitism. There’s also something kind of relevant with American Indians being raised to be white in boarding schools.
We also get a better look at O’Brien’s anti-Cardassian bigotry, although it’s mixed and you might say kind of contradictory. Although I believe there are are shades of gray with bigotry and O’Brien’s is fairly mild, he still says things that seem a bit out of character. He’s very sympathetic to the Cardassian Pa’dar. It might not be out of character when you consider that Pa’dar is a civilian, not a military officer.
Overall a good episode, I give it three, almost four, stars out of five.
“Melora” See this for a plot summary.
This is a fairly non-political episode, although it does bring up two issues. First, the issue of disabilities and access. I’m not very familiar with these issues, but support work being done to either improve the Americans with Disabilities Act and/or improve enforcement. Second, the issue of retaining one’s identity. An alien (an Elaysian) whose planet has a lower gravity than normal receives treatment from Dr. Bashir which, over time will make it so she can function normally in normal gravity. At the end she changes her mind, saying that if she could function in normal gravity, she wouldn’t be Elaysian.
It’s an okay-good episode, I’m almost tempted to go as low as one (I’ll probably never use that for DS9 or Voyager, just some of The Next Generation, especially during the first three seasons) but I’ll give it a two.
“Rules of Acquisition” See this for a plot summary.
This is the first of several episodes that highlight how women are treated in Ferengi society (not very well). They’re not allowed to wear clothes or engage in business.
An important part of the episode is that it contains one of the best anti-homophobic statements of ST, which is significant considering how ST has been criticized (with very good reason) in relation to the lack of non-heterosexual characters (there was 1-2 who were villains). At one point the Ferengi female who is disguised as a male is talking with Dax who learns that the Ferengi loves Quark, a male. But before Dax learns that the Ferengi is female, she reacts as if there's nothing sognificant with a male being in love with another male (UPDATE 10/1/11 I wasn't an English major, and am not sure if that sentence implies that there is something wrong with men loving men; if it DOES, let me know and I will consult someone and change it).
Overall a good episode, I give it two stars out of five.
“Necessary Evil” See this for a plot summary.
A very non-political episode, but a good one. I give it three stars out of five.
Also, since ST seems to have accepted the word “terrorism” to describe anything from intentionally killing completely innocent civilians to gun-battles with armed security forces, I should say that based on my definition of a terrorist, as far as I can tell, the Bajoran resistance did not deserve that label. In this episode, the two actions of the resistance described are the sabotage of a mining facility where Bajorans worked under VERY harsh conditions for the Cardassians, and something that, at it’s worst, might have resulted in the assassination of collaborators, which although unpleasant for people in that situation, is not terrorism.
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