can I sit next to you girl?

Having just watched Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan again (I’ve lost track of how many times I have seen it), I wanted to use the movie as a jumping-off points for some of the big issues it discusses. I know many of you might be quick to dismiss a Trek film as a joke; something trekkies like me enjoy. And while I am not an obsessive Trek fan, I certainly love the many movies and tv shows a great deal more than I do other things. So I guess this does in fact make me a pretty big trekkie. However none of that takes away from some of the very big and very important issues Trek raises. Even if you want to dismiss the show as a fantasy, it is hard to ignore that sometimes Trek asks very important questions about humanity, where it has been, where it is going, and how we plan on getting there. But really right now I want to talk about The Wrath of Khan. This is a movie which is first and foremost about friendship, getting old, mortality, and sacrifice. It is regarded as the best Trek film specifically because it deals with these issues firstly, and the science fiction elements come secondly. It is actually highly regarded even by non-Trek fans, as it is a thrilling, entertaining, and engaging movie even for those people who know nothing about Star Trek. In the film, we see James T. Kirk, now an desk-bound admiral, wrestling with his inability to do what he does best: command a starship. His friends, such as Spock and Bones, recognize that Kirk is failing to do what amounts to his best destiny: commanding the Enterprise. Kirk is further bothered by a mid-life crisis; he is getting old and he lacks purpose and drive. When Khan, an enemy from Kirk’s past reappears, we see Kirk take command of the Enterprise once again and regain what he has lost. Yet at the same time Kirk is forced to confront his worst fear: the fear of losing. All his life he has cheated death by finding ways out of no-win situations; however this time his success and the survival of the Enterprise is tested by the ultimate no-win scenario, to which even Kirk has no answer. However, it is ultimately the dedication and friendship of Spock which saves the ship, although Spock gives his life in the process. He also gives Kirk a final gift; the understanding that his life can be reaffirmed by confronting the death of his friend, by which Kirk finally reveals he feels young once again. It is a bittersweet and moving moment at the end of the film seeing Spock say goodbye to Kirk as his friend. I think you can see what I mean when I say the film tackles some big issues. In a sense, it is a film about rebirth. The rebirth of Kirk, the possible rebirth of Spock, and the beginnings of life from which there was none before (the Genesis planet). Much of this gets me thinking. Death, for instance. We do much to shield ourselves from the reality of death and we often wish it away. Of course, in doing so we deny the very thing that makes us human: our mortality. It is in knowing that we must die that ultimately we can gain control over our lives and make them for the better. We hear that we should like each day like it is our last, however that’s often difficult to do when life itself gets in the way and we can’t find the time, or the honesty, or the bravery to do the things we want to do and say the things we want to say everyday to those around us. It’s easy to say “live everyday like it’s the last one”, but much harder to actually live it. But maybe all it really means is sometimes you have to take the time to realize that you live side-by-side with your own mortality, and the sooner you can accept it the sooner you can begin to live. I also like to think about another message in the film: that of rebirth, of hope, of possibility. Spock is often fond of saying “there are always possibilities”, and I think Kirk’s desire to defeat the no-win scenario reflects that. Everyday, every hour, every minute, every second the world around us changes and us with it. Often we don’t even notice that we change along with the world. But it’s not really a bad thing is it? It’s about hope I think. If everything is constantly reborn, becoming anew, then we truly do live in a world of possibilities. I don’t like to imagine that the world is slowly closing its doors to me; I prefer to think that in everything I do I will find more and more possibilities. Maybe that is why I have a hard time saying goodbye to things, because I like to believe that nothing truly ends or is over. Actually what this all reminds me of is a great poem by Ezra Pound entitled “Exile’s Letter”. There is a great line towards the end which states “there is no end of things in the heart”. I’ve always taken that line to heart, so to speak. Ultimately if we keep believing, then we’ll find it to be true. Ok, so I hope that was a bit deeper than trekkies usually go!

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