Originally Posted By Mr X I wrote this in another post, based on stuff I've heard about Star Trek...but I was wondering, to all the Trekkers out there, is this the way you guys think of the trek "races"? The Chinese are represented in the Trek Universe as the Romulans. (volatile cousins of the Vulcans, aka the Japanese) With the Klingons being Russian, the "Federation" being America (aka "the Humans" lol). The Ferengi being the Jews, and the Cardassians being the middle easterners. The Borg represent the military industrial complex which will destroy us all. Very neat package?
Originally Posted By DVC_dad Well another nice softball pitch to swing at, nice post X. First of all it's not Trekkers, it's Trekkies, though many would disagree. <<<Some Star Trek enthusiasts prefer the term "Trekkie", while some others self-identify as "Trekker". Self-identification as a "Trekkie" became even less popular after a famous national television parody in 1986 (see Parodies below); several self-described "Trekkers" were quoted as saying they "had a life" (contrasting themselves from "Trekkies"). In the 1991 TV show Star Trek: 25th Anniversary Special, Leonard Nimoy attempts to settle the issue by stating that the term 'Trekker' is the correct one. In the documentary Trekkies, Kate Mulgrew stated that Trekkers are the ones "walking with us" while the Trekkies are the ones content to simply sit and watch Star Trek. The issue is also shown in the film Trekkies 2, in which a Star Trek fan recounts a supposed incident during a Star Trek convention where Gene Roddenberry used the term "trekkies" to describe fans of the show, only to be corrected by a fan that stood up and yelled "Trekkers!" Gene Roddenberry allegedly responded with "No, it's 'Trekkies.' I should know — I invented the thing.">>> So, it's Trekkies like it or not. But to the OP, fun for thought. Is all of that YOURS or did you borrow? Personally, I like it. Everything almost fits... I would say that the Romulans can't be just Russian but must be old hard line Soviets, cold war style. The Ferengi were not in the original Star Trek, I think they were from Next Gen, and it's sort of an insult to say they are rep of Jews being that they cheat everyone and love money. Humm... As for Cardassians, well they just want to be contrary to everything and everyone and impossible to get along with no matter what you do or say. I think they are more like the GOP and Fox News than the Middle Easterners. LOL But yes, overall, neat package.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***First of all it's not Trekkers, it's Trekkies, though many would disagree.*** Among those many who would disagree would happen include Mr. Leonard Nimoy, so according to Spock you are WRONG. Spock is a Vulcan, and thus far more logical and far superior to any ridiculous emotional human such as Roddenberry. So, suck it. ***I would say that the Romulans can't be just Russian*** No, the Romulans are Chinese, the KLINGONS are Russian (which works well as the series moves on, since before they were crazy enemies but later became "noble and worthy of respect" quasi-allies.
Originally Posted By friendofdd Boy do I feel ignorant. I've been a fan since the first show of the original series. I've never gone to a convention. Don't go to ST web sites and have little interest in trivia. I've always just thought they were the replacement "morality plays" when the westerns faded away. I've never thought of the allies and foes as representations of earth societies, though, obviously, you can see the parallels. But earth is really all we know. I just tend to see them as the white hats and the black hats. But I suppose some sort of bias can be found in that. Curses! Why do I keep taking things and people at face value rather than seeing all the meaning behind everything?
Originally Posted By DVC_dad ROFL!!! Hummm... I might have to concede. He IS Spock and that certainly trumps ANY human.
Originally Posted By LuLu ^^Especially a dead one. fodd, I like the simplistic view too. Life is too complicated anyway
Originally Posted By fkurucz <<He IS Spock and that certainly trumps ANY human.>> Heck, he even trumped Q. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Spock-Vs-Cd-Leonard-Nimoy/dp/0671045830/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239762072&sr=8-2" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/Spock-Vs...2&sr=8-2</a>
Originally Posted By Inspector 57 <<Curses! Why do I keep taking things and people at face value rather than seeing all the meaning behind everything?>> LOL! And... Amen! I don't mean to come off as anti-intellectual, but... I had ZERO use for my college courses in American Literature. Hawthorne, Poe, Crane, Alcott, Hemingway, et. al., wrote interesting, inventive, skillfully-told stories. And that was enough for me. Sure, some of those writers may have employed some symbolism. But, c'mon. Let's not desperately dig for meaning where none was intended. I couldn't -- and still can't -- believe that there are guys who make a good living out of engaging in a never-ending argument about whether a particular long-dead popular writer consciously wrote an "Adam figure" or not. What a waste of energy. On the other hand... Writers are a product of their environment. The guys who wrote Star Trek lived in the US in the 20th Century. They would have been greatly influenced by their culture. Whether the writers consciously meant it or not, I can see that X's comparisons between the space species they created and the (stereotypical) current earth cultures they knew works very well.
Originally Posted By friendofdd LOL, 5BR. I haven't ever seen the Kardashian show but, each time I see an ad for it, always think they are saying Cardassians from ST. It apparently is not an original thought on my part. I just googled "Keeping up with the Cardassians" and got almost 9,000 hits.
Originally Posted By beamerdog Interesting. Of course, being Jewish, I don't care for the Ferengi stereotype comparison.
Originally Posted By beamerdog All I have to say is: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNTVzwjEyb4" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...VzwjEyb4</a>
Originally Posted By alexbook >>Whether the writers consciously meant it or not, I can see that X's comparisons between the space species they created and the (stereotypical) current earth cultures they knew works very well.<< Some of them were very definitely conscious of the comparisons, at least from what I've read. In the original series, the Klingons were the Soviets and the Romulans were the Chinese, and the on-again/off-again alliance between reflected the fact that the Soviets and the Chinese Communists were on-and-off allies. It wasn't just coincidence, but something deliberately planned by Roddenberry and others.
