Compare And Contrast Stargate And Star Trek
Stargate/Star Trek Comparison and Contrast Essay The Enterprise was the first space shuttle ever built and was named after the Enterprise star ship in the science fiction series of Star Trek. Science Fiction television shows have created a great reflection and influence on society. Two great examples of the Science Fiction series which had great influence and reflection of our society are the Star Trek and the Stargate series. The early 1960 series of Star Trek came at a time of immense change in our society to include the Civil Rights Movement, Women Equality Movement, and the Protest of the Vietnam War. Similar to Star Trek the modern 2000s series of Stargate was created at a time when America has become an increasingly larger military power engaging in more war’s than any other decade, followed with a severe economic depression, and coupled with the Gay Rights Movement. By looking at how both of these television shows influenced and reflected the different decades, one can learn a lot about our society and cultural differences. It was in the 1960s when the feminist movement began and not too late for the series of Star Trek to play a role in how women should be portrayed in society. It seems that Star Trek was progressive from the start but circumstances did not permit equal rights for the female to their male
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counterparts in the series. Instead early on in the series they stayed with the era’s norm and played women in status quo positions of that day such as nurses and assistants. As the women’s equal rights movement continued to prosper into 1970s Star Trek eventually took an active role in the movement perpetrating women in equal positions to their male counterparts such as officers aboard the ship. In the Original Series of Star Trek there was to have have a female first officer which was the show’s first attempt at displaying equal rights for women in the work force. The strong and almost emotionless captain named “Number One” to be played by a woman would be cut from the show by NBC executives before it was ever aired. This is a clear example of the sexism in society in the 1960s. This wasn’t the only example of blatant sexism in the show. Another example is when female characters were obligated to wear short skirts instead of long trousers like their male counterparts. Number One eventually got a role on the show, but as a nurse and not in the leadership role that she was originally casted to play.
Unlike Star Trek, Stargate played one of their four main characters who was a female, outside of the era’s standard. In Stargate Samantha Carter played extremely important role as an astrophysicist for the United States Air Force with the rank of Captain. She traveled alongside infantry teams through the wormhole “the Stargate”, on recon missions. This kind of front line work was not customary for women in the 2000s. It was not until 2011 that women were allowed in combat enlisted or officer positions in the real world. Therefore the Stargate series had portrayed her leadership and duties outside of the era’s standard. During the series she earns great respect and eventually ranks up to a Brigadier General. A Brigadier General typically commands a brigade around 4,000 troops. Throughout the series her knowledge, command patterns, and her professionalism earns the respect from all of whom that are around her.
Equally as important to the sexism in the 1960s and the continuous improvement of women’s rights throughout the 2000s are the militarism and the peace movements during those same periods. Since America has no end to the list of wars and conflicts in which we develop from, in so militarism and the peace movements will be the next topic of comparison.
For instance Star Trek aired on television during the escalation of the Vietnam War and had a couple episodes which resembled real life situations. American life during this time was tumultuous, and many young Americans protested the war in efforts to bring peace and tranquility to the world. America was at war, increasing crime, and debt. The series took an active role in assuming Earth in the future would be peaceful and prosperous, very much the opposite of what was happening in that era. Several episodes that were aired had been turned into a major plot to coincide with the growing movement against the Vietnam War. These episodes had very obvious subtext against the war.
For instance the episode of Star Trek which was played during the Vietnam War named “The Omega Glory” had a distinct similarity to the war between Vietnam and the United States. The Episode displayed two human like alien nations in a never ending war for a reason that was long forgotten to them. The Yangs worshiped the United States constitution as if it were the word of a holy being. Kirk later reads them the constitution to them and emphasizes “We the People.” He explains to them that those words were meant to resemble all the people of that plant not just the Yangs or the Kohms, who they were fighting. Thus awakening the race from there mindless war with the Kohms and possibly encouraging everlasting peace.
Dissimilar from Star Trek, Stargate didn’t seem to mimic the events of any current war or conflict, but still seemed to have a humane approach to what the future might hold. One example would be the episode where the Stargate crew discovered a human like race called the Nox. These people had a symbiotic relationship with their planet. The Nox did not allow their advance technology to compromise the beauty of their planet. They strictly followed very non-violent lifestyles. They were able to create stealth technology which allowed them to be invisible and therefore eliminating any threat or issues of war. They worked to resolve conflict before it occurred and avoided war at all costs. A stark contrast to the war demented American Society in the 2000s and of today. Where American troops are still fighting wars both in Afghanistan and Iraq and have troops in many other countries as well.
On another note Stargate and Star Trek made substantial advancement towards the incorporation of minorities. Of course Star Trek played a bigger role since the series was coming out in the middle of a the Civil Rights Movement of the United States and Stargate more resembles the aftermath of how far we have come since that period. Both shows emphasized the equality of all people regardless of race. Both the crew of the Enterprise and the Team on Stargate where racially mixed. Symbolically stating how could Earth ever achieve friendships or even alliances with other planets if they couldn’t first allow the equality of all humans who live on earth. Star Trek and Stargate both appear to have made many contributions to the improvement of race relations in the United States of America.
For example, one of the four main characters in Stargate was Teal’c who was an African American in the real world. Teal’c was the First Prime for Apophis which was the highest ranking officer for a wicked intergalactic empire called the Goa’uld. These aliens called the Goa’uld lived inside there host and were arrogant and obsessed with great power.
Later on Teal’c was freed from these hosts by the SG-1 Team and then he rebelled against his capturers and joined the SG-1 team to end the Goa’uld ruling over his people. Teal’c then became an important member of the team who commanded great respect from others. His continuous devotion, integrity, and professionalism earns him great respect from his peers. It seems that this society has changed a lot in the last 40 years to allow for this shift in thinking to accept minorities in high positions for their qualifications and abilities and not discriminating based on race.
Surprisingly, another example of racial equality came from the early series of Star Trek.
The director of Star Trek went out of his way to play an Asian American as one of the leading roles in his series. Even when there were numerous amounts of people against him for his choices he successfully broke the era’s norm. The playing of Mr. Sulu who was an Asian American as a vital and indispensable member of the Enterprise crew was his goal from the start. Mr. Sulu was made out as a capable combat officer and was given command of the Enterprise during a Klingon attack. The directors open minded approach had given the Equality Movement a decisive
win.
None the less Star Trek and Stargate indeed had a huge impact on the culture of its day. From Star Treks affirmative action for equal rights for races to the role of females and fir Stargate to play important and high ranking military officer as a women. Both shows will remind us of the social issues and the society progress to the day we can all peacefully explore and colonize space, when these issues must finally be fixed.
Works Cited Page
Star Trek: The Original Series. Dir. Gene Roddenberry. CBS Television Distribution. 1966. VHS.
Stargate: SG-1. Dir. Brad Wright, Jonathan Glassner. MGM Television. 2000. DVD.
counterparts in the series. Instead early on in the series they stayed with the era’s norm and played women in status quo positions of that day such as nurses and assistants. As the women’s equal rights movement continued to prosper into 1970s Star Trek eventually took an active role in the movement perpetrating women in equal positions to their male counterparts such as officers aboard the ship. In the Original Series of Star Trek there was to have have a female first officer which was the show’s first attempt at displaying equal rights for women in the work force. The strong and almost emotionless captain named “Number One” to be played by a woman would be cut from the show by NBC executives before it was ever aired. This is a clear example of the sexism in society in the 1960s. This wasn’t the only example of blatant sexism in the show. Another example is when female characters were obligated to wear short skirts instead of long trousers like their male counterparts. Number One eventually got a role on the show, but as a nurse and not in the leadership role that she was originally casted to play.
Unlike Star Trek, Stargate played one of their four main characters who was a female, outside of the era’s standard. In Stargate Samantha Carter played extremely important role as an astrophysicist for the United States Air Force with the rank of Captain. She traveled alongside infantry teams through the wormhole “the Stargate”, on recon missions. This kind of front line work was not customary for women in the 2000s. It was not until 2011 that women were allowed in combat enlisted or officer positions in the real world. Therefore the Stargate series had portrayed her leadership and duties outside of the era’s standard. During the series she earns great respect and eventually ranks up to a Brigadier General. A Brigadier General typically commands a brigade around 4,000 troops. Throughout the series her knowledge, command patterns, and her professionalism earns the respect from all of whom that are around her.
Equally as important to the sexism in the 1960s and the continuous improvement of women’s rights throughout the 2000s are the militarism and the peace movements during those same periods. Since America has no end to the list of wars and conflicts in which we develop from, in so militarism and the peace movements will be the next topic of comparison.
For instance Star Trek aired on television during the escalation of the Vietnam War and had a couple episodes which resembled real life situations. American life during this time was tumultuous, and many young Americans protested the war in efforts to bring peace and tranquility to the world. America was at war, increasing crime, and debt. The series took an active role in assuming Earth in the future would be peaceful and prosperous, very much the opposite of what was happening in that era. Several episodes that were aired had been turned into a major plot to coincide with the growing movement against the Vietnam War. These episodes had very obvious subtext against the war.
For instance the episode of Star Trek which was played during the Vietnam War named “The Omega Glory” had a distinct similarity to the war between Vietnam and the United States. The Episode displayed two human like alien nations in a never ending war for a reason that was long forgotten to them. The Yangs worshiped the United States constitution as if it were the word of a holy being. Kirk later reads them the constitution to them and emphasizes “We the People.” He explains to them that those words were meant to resemble all the people of that plant not just the Yangs or the Kohms, who they were fighting. Thus awakening the race from there mindless war with the Kohms and possibly encouraging everlasting peace.
Dissimilar from Star Trek, Stargate didn’t seem to mimic the events of any current war or conflict, but still seemed to have a humane approach to what the future might hold. One example would be the episode where the Stargate crew discovered a human like race called the Nox. These people had a symbiotic relationship with their planet. The Nox did not allow their advance technology to compromise the beauty of their planet. They strictly followed very non-violent lifestyles. They were able to create stealth technology which allowed them to be invisible and therefore eliminating any threat or issues of war. They worked to resolve conflict before it occurred and avoided war at all costs. A stark contrast to the war demented American Society in the 2000s and of today. Where American troops are still fighting wars both in Afghanistan and Iraq and have troops in many other countries as well.
On another note Stargate and Star Trek made substantial advancement towards the incorporation of minorities. Of course Star Trek played a bigger role since the series was coming out in the middle of a the Civil Rights Movement of the United States and Stargate more resembles the aftermath of how far we have come since that period. Both shows emphasized the equality of all people regardless of race. Both the crew of the Enterprise and the Team on Stargate where racially mixed. Symbolically stating how could Earth ever achieve friendships or even alliances with other planets if they couldn’t first allow the equality of all humans who live on earth. Star Trek and Stargate both appear to have made many contributions to the improvement of race relations in the United States of America.
For example, one of the four main characters in Stargate was Teal’c who was an African American in the real world. Teal’c was the First Prime for Apophis which was the highest ranking officer for a wicked intergalactic empire called the Goa’uld. These aliens called the Goa’uld lived inside there host and were arrogant and obsessed with great power.
Later on Teal’c was freed from these hosts by the SG-1 Team and then he rebelled against his capturers and joined the SG-1 team to end the Goa’uld ruling over his people. Teal’c then became an important member of the team who commanded great respect from others. His continuous devotion, integrity, and professionalism earns him great respect from his peers. It seems that this society has changed a lot in the last 40 years to allow for this shift in thinking to accept minorities in high positions for their qualifications and abilities and not discriminating based on race.
Surprisingly, another example of racial equality came from the early series of Star Trek.
The director of Star Trek went out of his way to play an Asian American as one of the leading roles in his series. Even when there were numerous amounts of people against him for his choices he successfully broke the era’s norm. The playing of Mr. Sulu who was an Asian American as a vital and indispensable member of the Enterprise crew was his goal from the start. Mr. Sulu was made out as a capable combat officer and was given command of the Enterprise during a Klingon attack. The directors open minded approach had given the Equality Movement a decisive
win.
None the less Star Trek and Stargate indeed had a huge impact on the culture of its day. From Star Treks affirmative action for equal rights for races to the role of females and fir Stargate to play important and high ranking military officer as a women. Both shows will remind us of the social issues and the society progress to the day we can all peacefully explore and colonize space, when these issues must finally be fixed.
Works Cited Page
Star Trek: The Original Series. Dir. Gene Roddenberry. CBS Television Distribution. 1966. VHS.
Stargate: SG-1. Dir. Brad Wright, Jonathan Glassner. MGM Television. 2000. DVD.