We’re All Trekkies Now

That may be a tonic for moviegoers beaten down by a surfeit of grim fantasy visions over the past decade, including the dour "Matrix" films, the discontents of Spielberg's "A.I. Artificial Intelligence," "Minority Report" and "War of the Worlds," Alfonso Cuarón's relentless "Children of Men" and even the "Harry Potter" films, which dwell much more on the rise of evil than the eventual triumph of good. Of course, "Star Trek" is also a reboot, a shakeup of sacred "Trek" canon that changes lots of details even as it respects many ground rules. There's always the chance that could go down badly with Trekkies, able to Twitter instantly about anything they don't like all through opening weekend. To smooth over the continuity hiccups, Abrams's screenwriters, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, have devised a black-hole–triggered time-travel scenario that explains away all the differences between the "Trek" universe we've come to know and this one, which is literally an alternate reality. Fans may be debating the logic all summer. But chat-board worrywarts should ultimately be very happy with Abrams's decision to lure veteran Nimoy into the center of this rewritten-history plot, in a substantial role as "Spock Prime." Don't ask us any more details, or we'll have to nerve-pinch you.

It's the Spock plot strands that give the new "Trek" its best shot at once again commanding the zeitgeist. Spock's cool, analytical nature feels more fascinating and topical than ever now that we've put a sort of Vulcan in the White House. All through the election campaign, columnists compared President Obama's unflappably logical demeanor and prominent ears with Mr. Spock's. But as Spock's complicated racial backstory is spun out in detail in the new "Trek"—right back into childhood—the Obama parallels keep deepening. Like Obama, Spock is the product of a mixed marriage (actually, an interstellar mixed marriage), and he suffers blunt manifestations of prejudice as a result. As played by Zachary Quinto, the young Spock loves his human mother, but longs to assimilate completely into his Vulcan father Sarek's ways, eschewing messy emotions the way all Vulcans do. Young Spock is constantly being told by Vulcans and humans alike that he's either seething with inappropriate emotions—indeed, he takes Kirk by the throat at one point—or that he's not emotional enough and shouldn't be so repressed. Obama may or may not be a fan—the White House says he isn't, but Trekkies have claimed him as one of their breed ever since he said, "I grew up on 'Star Trek'—I believe in the final frontier," at a campaign stop last year. If he does check out the new movie, I can imagine he might feel a special empathy for Spock's position, given the chattering class's insistence that he needs to show more emotion, too.

There's one more intriguing allegorical overtone to the new "Trek," perhaps completely accidental. With the willfully hegemonic Bush administration now gone, the tenets of Roddenberry's fictional universe feel very much in step with current events. Whether you're happy about it or not, the Obama foreign policy, at least for now, emphasizes cross-cultural exchange and eschews imperialistic swagger. That sounds very much in sync with the Federation's Prime Directive, which stipulates that humanity should observe but never interfere with alien cultures (no Iraq-style invasions, in other words).

All this metaphoric resonance may or may not strike a chord with a mass audience. Teenage ticket-buyers may not give a darn about egghead-talk overtones. Old-school Trekkies, some of whom say online that they're insulted by Paramount's recent "This is not your father's 'Star Trek' " promo campaign—a blatant attempt to attract younger viewers and avowed non-Trekkies who don't know a tribble from a tricorder—may not care as much anymore about the ritual of keeping the faith with a pilgrimage to movie theaters. I can vouch for my own deep satisfaction at seeing an old favorite resurrected, and at discovering that it speaks so directly to our place and time. A movie built to celebrate diversity, understanding and hope is definitely audacious. It's enough to make anyone feel that right now, here on earth and out in the final frontier, we have liftoff.

© 2009