Starlog III: Data Entry Four: Two

I think that the most important social issue today is the societal, as well as the physical, effects of climate change. As the current Covid-19 crisis is showing, we are able to respond positively at times, but we also seem to either pretend that the crisis is not happening, or to ignore information and instructions that would benefit us and the rest of the human race, as we work through this frightening situation. This type of response can also apply to climate change, since, while many people are trying to mitigate the effects, others seem to want to 'bury their heads in the sand' and pretend that if they ignore it, the virus will go away in a few weeks.

As for how Star Trek might take on the issue of climate change, I guess it would depend on what world or universe the show is situated in. It is possible that the use of defamiliarization, which is defined on Wikipedia as “the artistic technique of presenting to audiences common things in an unfamiliar or strange way in order to enhance perception of the familiar” might be a useful technique to use. Perhaps the 'common thing' could be the resistance to change, or to improvement, and the Star Trek approach would then be to show the deniers how they might learn to face the problem, whether it be a virus, or climate change, with courage and innovation.

Starlog III: Data Entry Four: One

Given the events of the last several months, especially in the past two or three weeks, I would say that as a human race we are are both selfish and helpful to others, brave and terrified (often at the same time), foolish and wise, fatalistic and optimistic. 
 

If I was to send any objects on a starship going to another solar system, I would try to include items that might be recognizable to other species who are not like us, difficult as that might be. I suppose if the starship was like the ones on Star Trek, there would be a mechanism that would translate any information into the languages used in that other solar system. If that was so, I would want those beings to see us as as a multi-faceted people, with a variety of approaches and interactions between each other. The objects we send could be described and visualized through the information that accompanies them so that, for instance, a cup would be shown as an implement for drinking water, or at least some type of fluid.

Starlog: II. Data Entry Seven. One

I really don't know if we will find alien life on another planet. Life alien to that of humans exists on Earth, from fish that swim to birds that fly, from amoeba to elephants. On other planets life will likely have forms totally different from those we see on Earth, so it might take great skill on the part of explorers to recognize those beings as living, let alone as being sentient. One of the things that really annoys me about Star Trek is that most, maybe all, of the aliens in the different series look quite a lot like humans, in spite of pointed ears and various versions of eye ridges. An assumption that beings from other planets must be similar to us may make it difficult for explorers to recognize sentient beings when and if they are found.

Among the billions of planets in the Universe, there may be one that is similar to Earth, or many that do not share Earth's characteristics. One of the problems in recognizing other planets capable of supporting life, is that we may expect those lifeforms to be similar to us.

Studying space may bring us “tangible benefits” but it remains to be seen if explorers can recognize the benefits inherent in learning about and from other species rather than simply exploiting those beings and their planets.

Starlog: II. Data Entry Five. Two

When I chose the two episodes ("Journey to Babel", Original Series, season 2, episode 10, and "Cost of Living", The Next Generation, season 5, episode 20) that I intended to watch for this section of the course, I meant to examine the relationships of Spock and his father, Sarek, in the first program, and that of Worf and his son, Alexander, in the second. As I watched each show, I found that I was drawn to the more subtle examples of intersectionality in two of the female characters. As the mother of two grown children, I think that the characters who resonated most with me was Spock's mother, Amanda, in the first episode, and Lwaxana Troi, Deanna Troi's mother, in the second.

Amanda must retain her own human identity while dealing with the Vulcan-centred world outlooks of her husband and son. Lwaxana may seem link a frivolous and exasperating character, but she works quite expertly to teach and support Alexander. Her relationship with her daughter mayhave some difficulties, but they are able to reach out and and interact well with each other by the end of the show.

And although she seems to have decided on an odd approach to a marriage arrangement, she manages to get herself out of that relationship by shocking her perspective husband into refusing to marry her by her use of a Betazed custom of nudity as a bride.

These two characters represent, in my opinion, the intricacies of interactions between mothers and children, where the woman must be, in these examples, parent to important crew members while preserving her own individual identity.

Starlog: II. Data Entry Five. One

The episode of the original series (“Arena”, season 1, episode 18) that I watched includes a confrontation between Kirk and a member of an reptilian species who seems to consider complete destruction of his enemy as his only option. The Captain and the alien manage to injure each other, but when Kirk has the opportunity to kill the Gorn, he refuses to do so. When the Metron appears, having sent the Gorn back to his ship, he offers to “destroy him for [Kirk]”. The Captain refuses the offer and then magically returns to the Enterprise, after which the ship is moved by an outside force (the Metron) to the other side of the galaxy.

Of course. there is also an inter-species encounter (or several encounters) between other species, both friendly and 'conflict-laden' and the crew of Deep Space 9 in episode 26, “A Call to Arms”, of season 5. While the multiple story lines and layers of this episode make it a bit more difficult to follow than “Arena”, I must say that I prefer this representation of relationships between species. It does reflect more realistically the complications of interactions (both friendly and confrontational) between different cultures in the world today.