The oldest debate

So the Star Trek movie opens this weekend and given that I have spent most of this week talking about Jedis and droids you would expect to find me to already be camping out in front of the theater waiting for the first showing. Well, I’m not and it isn’t just because I now have a girlfriend. Ok, that is the main reason but it isn’t the sole reason.

See, there is a distinct difference between Star Wars and Star Trek fans. It really is a rather sharp divide across all of fandom. You can like both of the series but you can only truly be an uber fan of one of the two. You can’t go to the Star Trek convention dressed like a Ferengi on Saturday and then go to the Star Wars convention dressed like Admiral Ackbar on Sunday. That would just be silly and wrong.

I for one fall on the Star Wars side of the ledger and for good reason. I was just a kid when the original trilogy hit and I was Lucas’ target market for action figures and playsets. There is nothing that Star Trek could do that could compare in my mind. Star Trek had things like plots while Star Wars had Darth Vader and the Death Star playset. Nothing could ever compare to the Death Star playset. Even now I wish I still had one.

But there is a serious difference between the two series and it is one of action and contemplation. It can all be boiled down to how do the two ships fire torpedos. In Star Trek Kirk gives the orders to fire photon torpedos, then someone (possibly an unknown actor in a red shirt) presses a button and a single torpedo is launched. Meanwhile in Star Wars if Luke wants to fire a blast from his X-Wing all he has to do is press a button. In Star Wars the characters are individually controlling their action while in Star Trek it is more of a group dynamic.

That is what leads to my love of Star Wars. It is a classic hero mythology with larger than life characters taking extraordinary risks. Each character is an individual, possibly working as a collective but definitely a distinct unit. It is all high risk and high adventure. Star Trek, on the other hand, is much more realistic. It is actually a pretty good representation of life on a submarine or a battleship. It’s view of conflict is really maritime based and the plots revolve around negotiations and political interplay. In my mind, if I wanted to learn about international relations I would watch something more practical than a typical Star Trek episode. Otherwise I would rather watch someone get their arm chopped off with a lightsaber.

Wednesday Night Music Club: I shot this video in England with my band a few years ago. We were going for this whole early 80’s music video retro vibe with the piece and I think it came across quite well. It felt like a video that was at least twenty five years old. And I even got to do my own stunts and dress up like a pirate.

Marshall Crenshaw MTV Music

Sigh, of all the people I could look like in the world the only one I can find is Marshall Crenshaw. Love the music though.