Greetings Cosmic Americans!Well, if there is anything more nerdy than a meeting of Star Trek fans and Civil War Buffs I don't know what is.
But if you are seeking that nexus - for whatever reason, allow me to direct you to one of my favorite episodes of Star Trek - featuring none other than President Abraham Lincoln.
It's great - it really is. With all sorts of lessons for the late 1960s television audience.
President Lincoln even refers to Lt. Nyota Uhura (played by Nichelle Nichols) as a "charming negress." Yeah...that sort of makes us cringe today - and it gave the officers of the Enterprise a chuckle. But of course the point was to show the racially charged public of the 1960s - on the heels of church bombings, police dogs, and fire hoses - just how far we will have come in the future...stardate: 2265.Captain's log.....kudos. You know what else? Star Trek was the first program ever to air an interracial kiss - between Captain Kirk and Uhura. That show had stones.
Peace,
Keith
The Abe Lincoln ep was one of my favorites also. I love Star Trek & watched it as a kid in the '60s in Birmingham where the bombings, police dogs, & fire hoses took place. I like Lincoln, am happy the North won the Civil War, & didn't care for segregation. I assume I had those attitudes because I have always questioned everything & always thought for myself. Star Trek certainly reinforced that kind of thinking.
ReplyDeleteKaren - small world - I was born in Birmingham in the 1960s! My dad and grandfather worked for US Steel. I lived in Fairfield - on 45th St W.
ReplyDeleteAnd I am happy the North won too - thanks for the comment :)
K
Another nexus, although nowhere near as important as the Original Trek episode you've highlighted ("The Savage Curtain"), Keith, is the Star Trek: Voyager episode called "The Q and the Grey."
ReplyDeletehttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0708987/
I have a plot for a Star Trek: Voyager story in my head that is another nexus for the Civil War, where Q actually transports Janeway to the real Civil War where she meets her distant kinsman, Hugh Janeway of the 1st New Jersey Cavalry. Oh, yes, I am Supernerd! : )
Yes Al, you win the supernerd contest. And I would totally watch that episode :)
ReplyDelete