My latest blog for Women at Warp went up at the end of last week, and I wanted to take a few minutes to talk about why I love Star Trek so much.
There are the obvious reasons. Its hopeful outlook, its love of diversity, the amazing worldbuilding. Taken together, those factors create the immutable heart of the show, which appears again and again in series after series, movie after movie.
But beyond that, Star Trek is comfort food for me. My parents were watching Star Trek when I was still in the womb, so I’ve been a Trekkie since birth. And returning to this familiar world – the world of the Federation and Starfleet, the Prime Directive, transporters, starships, Vulcans, Klingons – over the years has felt like a reliable constant.Â
The last couple of years have, of course, been tumultuous for most of us. And there is something extremely comforting about having this world I love so much to come back to. Star Trek has always been that place of comfort for me.
And I think the fact that the world of the Federation persists throughout so many different series and context gives viewers the sense that it is unchanging, dependable. Of course, nothing in life is ever truly unchanging. But during a time when so much of our experience of daily life is so unpredictable, even the feeling of reliability can be very comforting.
It’s a series with amazing writing and acting, and unforgettable characters and worldbuilding. And that coupled with its inherent optimism makes it the perfect thing to come back to when I want to feel like I’m wrapping myself in a warm blanket.
If you’re interested in checking out my blog, it’s about Kaminar and the Kelpiens, and how I feel there’s a lot of storytelling potential there that hasn’t been fully tapped yet.