Escapism, or reflective introspection?
One could argue the Abrams reboot of Star Trek is the former, while the original material is the latter. If the Onion satirized it right, the mainstream isn’t really ready for a thoughtful look back at our society and would rather just escape it for a while.Give it time, I say. Films are our way of storytelling now, and we’ll all come back to carefully examine our way of life, yet tell an entertaining story at the same time. This is why I write about the Monomyth…
I’ve been a lifelong science fiction fan, especially so of the Star Trek franchise. As a kid, I was drawn to the stories and to the ability to use reason to guide humanity past difficulties and solve complex problems (though I could not put such words to it as a child). As an adult, I more clearly see the philosophy embedded within Star Trek, especially so in The Original Series and The Next Generation incarnations.
Theologian Stanley Grenz testified to the philosophy in Trek many years ago. The opening chapter of his book, A Primer on Postmodernism, examines the shift from modern philosophy to postmodern philosophy as seen in TOS and TNG. That chapter is required reading in my intro to philosophy courses that I teach and it is coupled with an readings from Descartes and different postmodern thinkers (Derrida, Foucault, Lyotard) through the lens of James K.A…
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the tao of jaklumen 