Saturday, July 6, 2013

Star Trek: a myth built for half a century - Slate.fr

S tar trek, is a monument of science fiction, with five sets TV plus an animated series representing over 700 episodes between 1966 and 2005. It is also 12 films for cinema between 1979 and 2013, the first of which was directed by Robert Wise, one of the greatest directors in the history of Hollywood, and two by Leonard Nimoy, the actor who s’ became famous for the character of Mr. Spock.

But the great man of the “franchise” of exceptional longevity is its creator, Gene Roddenberry, which NASA is so grateful to have invented Star Trek it has given its name to a crater on Mars as well as an asteroid. Roddenberry died in 1991 at the age of 70, and the following year his ashes were embarked on a journey of space shuttle Columbia.

In 2002, a Pegasus rocket ships, this time permanently, some of his ashes into space. Finally, the first space shuttle, one built in 1976, was named after the famous Enterprise spaceship crew of Star Trek: it shows the importance that this series holds in the minds of Americans

.

Star Trek is sometimes compared to Star Wars , which, as its name indicates, is the story of a fight, a terrible confrontation SINCE it incurs ready to fight entire galaxies to dominate the universe. In Star Trek , even though there are often conflicts and fights and bad aliens, the purpose is different.

It is centered around a huge spaceship filled with scientists browsing infinite space in search of new worlds to explore. Many see Star Trek transposed into the space of the conquest of the West, a sort of interstellar western.

The reality is somewhat more complex. Gene Roddenberry, the founder of Star Trek , participated in the Second World War in the Pacific war, which had as a theater quite different from one another string of islands, sometimes, a bit like are the planets of the Cosmos. Since 1954, Roddenberry had worked at various jobs became television writer.

Create

successful series was his obsession and he developed many projects, often without success. In 1961, he produced the pilot for a series called APO 923 which told the life aboard a bomber involved in the Pacific War. The project was not completed, but the captain of the aircraft had many traits of the man who would one day be Captain Kirk.


When Spock was a Martian red haired

In 1963, Gene Roddenberry will tackle a new driver, the Star Trek . A side of Captain Kirk, who called Pike in the first pilot of the series, the character Spock will be center of attention.

In the first version of the script, Spock is a Martian, he has red hair and it ingests food through a kind of drawer located at the height of his belly. The producers of NBC, one of the three major U.S. television, which will convince Roddenberry draw a more human Spock.

To play the role, it will be a matter of using a dwarf named Michael Dunn time, but the choice of Roddenberry moved rapidly on Leonard Nimoy. It hated pointy ears that he had grafted to witness his Vulcan origins and Roddenberry had promised to find a trick scenario for planing after a few episodes. We know what happened and it is still equipped with its pointed ears that Leonard Nimoy is, at 82, to make an appearance in 2013 into darkness Star Trek , the second film in the series directed by JJ.Abrams.

Star Trek . The emotions of the characters are even better highlighted that, in contrast, Spock has the reputation of being totally insensitive because he is half-human, half-Vulcan, and the inhabitants of Vulcan did not feelings. However, Spock feels quite a few emotions, but then it is a surprise, as in this episode of season one where Captain Kirk said:

“I suspect you become more human . ‘

where Spock, annoyed, replied:

I see no reason to stay here let me insult.”

quarrel will be short and friendship between the two characters continues into the latest Star Trek . Meanwhile, we have learned in the 2009 film that Kirk and Spock have in common that they had one of their infamous Nero killed by parents. Abrams explained that in his films, the relationship between Spock and Kirk are inspired by the friendship between John Lennon and Paul McCartney, who had two boys from very different temperaments but who understood because they had both lost their mothers they were teenagers.

A multicultural and multiracial humanity

Spock as Métis interplanetary humanism and embodies the ideal of friendship between the peoples of Star Trek and the multiracial nature of the Enterprise crew. From the first episode of the series, released in September 1966 on NBC, Lieutenant Uhura played by the beautiful black actress Denise Nichols shows a strong interest in Spock. Forty-seven years later, Uhura is still there, now played by the lovely Zoe Saldana and still in love with Spock.

the Cold War, Star Trek is also allowed from the second season to create the character of Chekov, a loyal and friendly Russian on board the Enterprise. Finally do not forget how the replacement of Captain Kirk in the Star Trek series New Generation broadcast from 1987 is a French, Jean-Luc Picard is rare enough in the American series to earn to be noticed.

In addition to the Pacific War and the conquest of the West, Roddenberry was inspired by several other myths in creating Star Trek , including a maritime novel well known in the United States, the adventures of Captain Horatio Hornblower, adapted into a film by Raoul Walsh in 1951 with Gregory Peck in the role of captain.

Among the writers of science fiction inspired Roddenberry are mainly three masters of the genre such as Robert A.Henlein, Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov. Finally Greek mythology, rich in wanderings in metamorphosis and supernatural adventures of all kinds also plays a key role in the universe Star Trek . The first episode of the series aired in September 1966 takes place on an abandoned Unearthed exactly the theme of Atlantis planet.


Teleportation avoids costly landings

A bit like the work of Jules Verne, Star Trek is a point of honor to be a visionary in the field of scientific innovation. In each episode the members of the Enterprise visiting a new planet, which would cost a lot of special effects if we had to shoot a landing episode.

This is to avoid this that Roddenberry had the idea to invent teleportation, it being understood that it works only on small distances, otherwise we would not need spaceships. Other visionary invention Star Trek , the communicator, a small wireless transceiver that looks pretty darn our current smartphones.

did not take less for Star Trek becomes the preferred series of geeks, not to mention the fact that the clothing of the characters are a bit like teenagers who spend their day pajamas at the computer. Star Trek is also the subject of numerous fan productions, that is to say, a series shot by fans who mix their pictures with special effects of true Star Trek . Among the most famous, there are intrepid Star Trek , a British series very easy to find and worth it just for the Scottish accent of his players, worthy of latest Ken Loach, or Star Wreck , a humorous pastiche wonderfully performed by Finnish students.

Adventure Star Trek began exactly fifty years ago, and the director scene JJ Abrams has been chosen for the next episode of Star Wars . Hope nonetheless that Star Trek , more craft, more humanistic, more naive too, will long this incredible UFO in space audiovisual landscape.

Antoine Sire

Become a fan on follow us on

No comments:

Post a Comment