Dystopia and Star Trek
This post was inspired by this video, its long, but well worth your time if you enjoy the universe of Star Trek.
I like dystopian fiction, my favorite new show has been Silo, based on Wool by Hugh Howey, I also binged the first season of The Last of Us with my partner, but couldn't bring myself to watch the second season. With the real world feeling increasingly dystopian, seeing a fictional one hurts my soul. Star Trek is my answer. Star Trek takes an different approach to humanity's future: it believes that in our core, humans are good and want to work together.
Its the 23rd century, we'd solved hunger and achieved world peace, what to do now? Explore. When there is no threat of starvation or homelessness, will people still work of course; but they'll do what they want to, not need to. Generations of scientists, scholars, and explorers. Since our cast want to be there, they're shown to be having fun throughout the whole process, even when things get tough. The show's styling also helps to give it this feeling, largely episodic. Each week the crew meets a new problem and, largely through wit or creativity, solves that problem before the end of the episode.
Seeing and feeling a universe that's fundamentally hopeful about our future helps the current moment feel better. Through the show, we can see what it might be like in some future, where we meet the challenges of our time. A world where we overcame.
It might be time to pick up this classic if its been a while, and if you've never watched any Star Trek, I encourage you to give it a try1. It feels like the right show for the moment we find ourselves in. My personal favorite is Deep Space Nine, though most people find The Next Generation more approachable.
Whether you decide to watch or not, I leave you with this:
Live Long and Prosper🖖
Unfortunately, the only legal way to stream Star Trek is with Paramount+, a truly awful streaming service. I believe BBC America also runs it often but your mileage may vary.↩