Friday, January 14, 2011

Blog 10: Journey to Babel


Journey to Babel was a very different kind of Star Trek to what I am normally used to. For one the depth of the plot here went beyond the sci-fi setting and personal moments. It touched on diplomacy and the complexities of galactic government. The plot is set at a point when a system abundant in a rare resource is considering joining the federation. The Orion system is against this and chooses to move against it.

The part of the episode I will focus on is when the confrontation between the Tellarite and the Vulcan ambassador breaks out on the enterprise. This issue rose from the simple fact if the initial negotiation would take place on the federation ship. Both the Tellarite and Vulcan are to be equally blamed for this. The Tellarites could have posed this question in a more diplomatic manner. Likewise, the Vulcans did not need to take a veiled dig at the Tellarites. Of course this shows the intricacies of galactic politics. The Earthman (Kirk) as usual had to restore order.

This light however brings into question the possibility of the entire thing being biased. The earthmen through Kirk always seem to do the right thing. Is the series then hinting towards a tinge of propaganda? The only thing that does appear certain is that a calm head is needed to negate the tensions that arise out of cultural, racial or even species differences. This does seem to resonate throughout star trek a lot. Till next time !

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