"Technotranscendence" says:
...
> > I prefer to look at Star Trek as an allegory in which the different
> > characters are archetypes for aspects of humanity. It is possible, as
> > I think Robert Anton Wilson has suggested, to view the principal Star
> > Trek characters as emblems of various aspects of consciousness, with
> > the Enterprise itself serving as one of them. Leary's eightfold
...
> Even if true, it's still stereotypical thinking.
Huh? No it isn't. Allegory is not the same as stereotype. It might
be that literal reading of an allegorical figure sounds
stereotypical. Perhaps "Star Trek" viewers frequently do that.
Perhaps the authors should have thought more carefully to avoid it.
But if they meant the characters allegorically they did not set out to
create stereotypes.
> I prefer characters that are more full, more realistic.
Well, then, you would prefer more realistic and less allegorical
stories. My suggestion is that read as allegory, (think of myths,
"Pilgrim's Progress", some parts of Tolkien, especially "The
Silmarillion") "Star Trek" can be more fun.
> I still believe Eliezer right here -- the
> intelligent (and the rational) are projected in a one-sided way. The reason
> they split people into characters like that is because deep down, too many
> accept the notion that reason and emotion are antagonistic and that
> human
Well, I disagree. I think the reason they split the characters into
archetypes of particular modes of consciousness is to explore
different ways of reacting and responding to complex problems. Each
character has a different facility for dealing with the unknown, and
their interactions illustrate the way those facilities interact.
...
> I also prefer "the unknown" that is a bit more unknown and a lot less like
> finding more of the same in space. (_Star Trek_'s alien races -- choose any
> series -- are a bit too much like humans from look to culture. And the
> things the crews discover range from cliche to platitude.:)
....
My assessment is that "Star Trek" is really largely allegorically
about the confrontation of the unknown in typical human life *now*.
In other words, it represents a plea for a humanist perspective, and
an optimistic, flexible, open-minded attitude in response to typical
interpersonal problems people actually confront. So of course the
allegorical figures would likely be similar to things on Earth. "Star
Trek" isn't really about the far reaches of the galaxy. It's about
our society, or rather the late '60's U.S.
All the best,
James
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Thu Jul 27 2000 - 14:10:55 MDT