By Harvey Blume
After a bit of thought, I realized why Star Trek Into Darkness is such a yawn: the Borg have won. The franchise has been assimilated, sucked in by a big $$$ tractor beam and reduced to special effects digital inanity.
Go “Where no man has gone before”?
That was Star Trek, pre-assimilation, and not a bad motto.
Borg Trek is more like go where most every Hollywood movie goes these days, terabytes deep into digital miasma.
I’m not happy about it. Star Trek in its various expressions and incarnations could leave me with something to think about. For instance, on Next Generation, there was Data—pure intellect, powered by that positron drive (positrons yet, as in anti-matter)—and Troi—the empath, pure heart, pure feeling. Is that division simplistic? Yeah, but you could work with it. It left you with something. Simplistic is way better than meaningless.
And back in his heyday, there was Spock and the mind meld. If Plato had known of mind meld, you can be sure he would have applied to be a Vulcan. Aristotle would have humbly put his application in, too. Socrates, well with Socrates, you never know for sure.
And then, there were the Borg: “We Are the Borg. You Will be Assimilated. Resistance is Futile.”
Wow! Not a bad take on totalitarianism.
Did Hannah Arendt—1906-1975—ever turn her television to Star Trek— 1966—???
Then again, that was Star Trek.
Borg Trek is something else again. With Borg Trek, even the Borg have been assimilated, sort of. Their victory is silent, invisible and complete. Borg Trek leaves you with nothing to think or feel about. Nothing about this digital contraption will come back to you.
And maybe you will be too completely assimilated even to care.
Fred Owens says
It wasn’t very good. We saw it in a group of 8 people after a day at the beach.
We like Star Trek and we are not the least tired of the simplistic themes, and feel there are more good Star Trek movies out there — but this current edition was a lot of bang-bang and little else.
Bill Marx, Arts Fuse Editor says
The link between Hannah Arendt and the Borg is somewhat elusive. Could you clarify the connection?
Harvey Blume says
Question is, who came up with the better critique of twentieth century tyranny — Hannah Arendt, in her influential tome, “The Origins Of Totalitarianism” — or the makers of Star Trek, in their depiction of the Borg Cube on its way around the universe.
“You Will be Assimilated. Resistance is Futile”.
So, in effect, said Stalin. So too, Hitler.
So said the Borg