Star Trek & The Development of Science Fiction

I've watched a Star Trek episode here and there, but I've never taken the time to watch the first episode of the series. Thus, I decided to watch 'The Man Trap' for this writer's blog response. In the beginning of the episode, the crew of the Enterprise is on a mission to come to bring supplies to Dr. Robert Crater and, his wife, Nancy Crater on a distant planet. When the three men representing the Enterprise are beamed down to the planet, they each see a different woman when they look at Nancy. Confusion and chaos erupts when one of the three representatives, Darnel, is found unresponsive with odd circles on his face. Only Nancy was with Darnel when he was stricken, claiming that she saw him consume a poisonous plant. While examining Darnel, the crew realizes that he is not dead, but rather, had been drained of salt. Continuing the investigation, Kirk orders Dr. Crater and his wife to board the Enterprise until the mystery is solved. While Dr. Crater tries to find Nancy, Sturgeon is found dead. The audience then sees Nancy kill Green (another crew member), and then transform into Green. It is made apparent that 'Nancy' is not Nancy after all, but rather, a creature of planet M-113. The creatures of M-113 need the salt from humans to survive, and thus, the creature posing as Dr. Crater's wife actually killed Nancy Crater. In a twist, though, it is revealed that Dr. Crater brings humans to 'Nancy' in order to keep the creature's company, as he is lonely after the death of his wife. 'Nancy' goes on a rampage on the Enterprise, killing various crew members until she is killed by McCoy.

I enjoyed watching this episode, and I think it was primarily because it was the first episode of Star Trek that I could really keep up with. While I was watching, I tried to think of the different ways that this episode differed from the modern-day Science Fiction series on television today. While the special effects and camera work were, frankly, the most obvious differences between the Sci-Fi of old and new, I think the most significant difference may be the use of human metaphors in the shows. While I'm sure that the original Star Trek was visually impressive for its time, it didn't seem to use special effects as a crutch like modern shows seem to do. In the more modern shows, such as Battlestar Galactica, sex and special effects often take precedence over the show's plot. I think I really enjoyed watching Star Trek because it used metaphors and symbolism to explore a time and lifestyle unlike our own; plain and simple. The show didn't have graphic sex scenes or High Definition explosions, but it did have a creative plot and vibrant characters. The biggest difference between Science Fiction shows today and those that pioneered the genre decades ago is their focus. Modern shows seem to put a greater focus on what draws in viewers, while the older shows, such as Star Trek, seem to stay true to their story and plot.

Battlestar Gallactica

After watching the mini-series episode of the Battlestar Galactica series, I’m not sure how I feel about the show. To start, I felt like the entire episode was extremely dragged out. I guess I sort of feel like the episode allotted a lot of time to describing the back-story of the Cyclone’s and the relationship that this powerful robot-race has with humans, but yet, I didn’t feel like I really knew what was going on. On top of that, I think that the sex scenes were a bit excessive. It’s one thing to include a sexual scene that is instrumental in the relationship between two characters, but I feel like the sex scenes in BSG were sort of uncalled for. It’s really a shame, because I think that the scenes made it difficult to really appreciate the plot of the episode. Instead of thinking about the plot, I couldn’t stop thinking about how desperate the writers and producers of this show must have been to include so much sexual content in the first episode. It’s just cheap in my eyes.

Though I wasn’t head over heels, I did appreciate the symbolism that the show carries. I think it’s interesting that the cyclones have evolved to look like the humans. I think that this metaphor can be carried throughout many other aspects of our lives; sometimes it’s difficult to distinguish the enemies from the good guys among us. All in all, you could say that I appreciate Battlestar Gallactica. However, I can’t say that I’d take the time to watch the series. During the miniseries, I just got a vibe that the show sort of desperate. I’ve heard that it gets really good, but I guess it just rubbed me the wrong way.

Dreams

Dreams

Hold fast to dreams

For if dreams die,

Life is a broken-winged bird

That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams

For when dreams go

Life is a barren field

Frozen with snow.

The poem Dreams, written by Langston Hughes, is a pretty straightforward poem that emphasizes the importance of dreams. In the first stanza, Hughes uses the metaphor of a broken wing to illustrate the important role our dreams have on where we go in life. Without our dreams, we can't go anywhere. The second stanza of the poem uses snow and an empty, barren field as a symbol of one's utter hopelessness without dreams. Regardless of how big or small our dreams are, Hughes wants to make it known that they are the driving force of our lives. Without dreams, there is no hope, goals, or accomplishment. I think I'm drawn to this poem because of it's universal message; we've all hit our lows at some point, and everyone can relate to feeling hopeless. But, at the same time, most of us have experienced the joy of coming out of the rough spots in life. It's important that we realize that while life's all about the ups and downs, our dreams should never leave us. It takes hope to pull yourself through life's trials and our dreams can help to give us that hope.

Buffy: Normal Again

This episode really made you think! I think it's my favorite Buffy episode because of all the twists it takes. I found myself really confused during parts of the episode, but I think that only contributed to the strength of the whole episode. For instance, I was convinced that the mental institution at the beginning of the episode was fake, but my thinking was questioned two more times during the episode. I think that this episode did a great job highlighting the way our decision making would differ so drastically in reality verses another dimension. It appeared easy to kill somebody when you were in an alternate reality, but I can imagine that it wouldn't be easy to make such a decision if you had to live with the repercussions of your actions. All in all, I felt like this episode really changed it up; I think seeing this episode solidified the Buffy series' knack for writing episodes with motifs and ideas far beyond slaying vampires; surely one of the reasons the show experienced such great success.

Favorite Movie: Hoosiers

In my mind, Hoosiers sort of embodies the idea of a great movie. It's an inspiring story about the Hickory High School Huskers basketball team, and the adversity they overcome as a team to reach the top. I think this movie has always been one of my favorites because it does such a great jib highlighting the things one can learn from competition. I think sports get a bad reputation for being too competitive or too serious, but I think this movie shows that we learn a lot about ourselves and those around us when we're pushed to the limit. I get chills every time I watch the end of this movie because it reminds me of all the teams I played for and all the good memories I have of competing. I think this is one of those movies that has something for anyone to take away from it. It's plot may be centered around basketball, but the message it sends transcends all sorts of barriers. I think it's one of the most uplifting movies of all time, and that's probably the biggest reason why it's my favorite.

Commonplace Problem

One problem that I'm running into while writing my draft is incorporating my voice into the paper while keeping everything grammatically correct. For example, this sequence leads off my paper:

"Ah stress--we've all been at its mercy at one point or another. The night before an exam, the morning before an interview, or even gaining weight can result in some serious stress. But why? Why do we feel stressed and why do we let our stress control our lives?"

So, I know that "But why?" is a fragment, but I feel like it's necessary because it gives my paper the voice that it needs to appeal to the commonplace type of audience. Any tips or ideas as to how I could change the way this particular portion of the paper is written would be greatly appreciated!

Commonplace Proposal

For my commonplace paper, I'm going to explore why we get stressed out. I think this in an interesting topic, and certainly a complex one. I think it's interesting that we 'get stressed' over little things that logically don't matter in the long run. I've felt this first hand in the past couple of weeks; missing classes because I've been sick has left me feeling constantly behind and little hopeless. But when you think about it, being stressed makes no sense. It doesn't make sense to work yourself up over something that's uncontrollable; that's unfair to you and ultimately pointless. I think that there's a big difference between keeping check on your success and progress in life and becoming upset over things that are out of your control. For my paper, I want to analyze the causes and effects of stress, using Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog as my primary source. The manner in which Dr. Horrible fantasizes about what could be while coping with the stress of his reality abnormally affects the ways he makes decisions.