One Geek’s Opinion: Star Trek vs Star Wars
When I came up with the concept of doing this series, I wanted to tackle some of the long running debates which have been a part of geek culture for an extended amount of time. As far as I’m concerned, the Star Trek vs Star Wars debate is the grand daddy of them all. Its a polarizing argument, pitting fan boy against fan boy, in verbal and even physical altercations which often end in broken friendships, broken spirits, and even the occasional broken plastic lightsaber.
So, where do I stand on this issue? The easy answer is, I love both, but for very different reasons. Star Wars is gritty, dirty, dark, sometimes terrifying. The Star Wars universe is both futuristic, and ancient, taking cues from Buck Rodgers, as well as King Arthur. It delves into deep philosophical concepts, religion, and power.
Star Trek on the other hand, is bright, shiny, and hopeful. Gene Roddenberry’s future earth has attained a sort of utopia aura where disease, crime, and even money has no place. Although conflicts occur, they are more often than not, chalked up to misunderstanding of cultural norms. Exploration and human advancement has taken the place of the petty squabbles in the past. Star Trek show us how we can grow to be a better, more accepting and responsible people, it is social commentary dressed up as science fiction.
I’m evading stating my position in the debate, I know. If you were to put a gun to my head, and make me choose, mind you this is my opinion and I am not stating that one is superior to the other as they are both AMAZING and have impacted my life in tremendous ways… I would have to pick Star Trek (commence flaming).
My reasoning is that, a world of peaceful exploration appeals to me more than constant struggle and war. That is not to say that there is no war in Star Trek, one only has to look at the conflicts with Klingons in TOS, Borg in TNG, Dominion in DS9, the entire Delta quadrant in VOY, the poorly named Temporal Cold War in ENT, and thats not even looking at Khan, Klingons (again), Tom Hardy, and time traveling Romulans of the movies. But war doesn’t seem to be the main goal, rather means to an end, or bumps in the road to obtain further knowledge and enlightenment. For me, the exploration is what I love about science fiction, and that is why, should I be faced with eminent death and made to choose, I go trek… but hey, that’s just one Geeks Opinion.
****One Geeks Opinion is an ongoing series wherein I offer up one point of view on an issue or topic which affect our community at large. Should you disagree or wish to offer a rebuttal please leave a comment.****
