Anyone who watches Star Trek, and I am one of them, is drawn into stories in which, in the end, reason, cleverness, the willingness to resolve conflicts for the good of all are the top priority and good triumphs over evil. Religions attempt to formulate this moral compass. Today, however, this message has to come through series like Star Trek. “Are you a Trekki?” my colleague asked, and it sounded as if he was asking a creed.
But actually I’m just a follower. The real Trekki is my girlfriend. She knows her stuff and calls all the characters from all the series by name. Well, I remember Captain Janeway in Star Trek Voyager – in many episodes the evil is reminiscent of German fascism during the Nazi era. By the way, Janeway was a captain long before women in leadership roles was an issue.
„Star Trek: Starfleet Academy“, appears every Thursday on Paramount+
And on Star Trek Picard I also remember, in my opinion, the best series there was. It was about saving the world from betrayal. Once again.
With the new Starfleet Academy series, the creators are trying to build a new generation. Because many of the former Star Trek icons are old or dead.
It starts with a mistake
That’s why the leading figures of Starfleet of the future are now being trained at the academy. Hopefully. And again it’s about resolving conflicts in such a way that peaceful coexistence is possible. The young cadets are introduced to this.
One of the initial conflicts in the new series has something to do with the Federation admitting a mistake: it separated a child, Caleb Mir, from its mother. The mother had to go to a correctional camp and the child was supposed to become a ward of the Federation. But Caleb escapes and reappears as a criminal 21-year-old, which is the beginning of the series.
Despite his criminal record, Caleb is accepted into Starfleet Academy. Adaptation, resistance, stubbornness, individuality, subordination, responsibility, rebellion and outsiderness – these are themes that affect young people and that are explored in the series. Starfleet Academy could therefore also be useful in school lessons.
For a series to begin with a mistake being admitted by those with power and influence is unusual. Because admitting mistakes on a political or social level is out of fashion. It is such subtleties that form the moral subtext of the Star Trek series.
The legacy of the old generation
What is also noteworthy in this context is how the initial social situation, which was preceded by a devastating collapse, is outlined: These children inherit a broken world that they did not create but must build. I would like to hear from today’s politicians that they see what they are burdening future generations with.
Star Trek, like most shows, is about building prosocial relationships with people in history. They are rooted for and their weal and woe are touched upon.
Who you develop a particular interest in has to do with the biography of the viewer. I’m not young, so I won’t get stuck with Caleb or other cadets at Starfleet Academy. Instead, I like Nahla Ake, the chancellor of Starfleet Academy. She is old, headstrong, mischievous and mysterious. She doesn’t think much of etiquette; authority is her responsibility; She also likes to put her feet on the table. She’s my new heroine and I’m already looking forward to her coming onto the scene.