Came across this article, and it’s a very interesting take on how Star Trek has changed with the times, and how modern audiences seem to have a harder time trusting institutions or imagining Trek’s utopia.
Came across this article, and it’s a very interesting take on how Star Trek has changed with the times, and how modern audiences seem to have a harder time trusting institutions or imagining Trek’s utopia.
I’d argue that the theme is less about following orders and more We are all individually flawed and are at our best when we follow our shared values - which is represented by both Starfleet and the utopian setting as a whole.
I can see the argument (for fiction and real life), that as we trust institutions less, our focus becomes more on individual judgement rather than collectivist ideas. It also tracks for me that as this occurs in real life, our media would reflect individualism more and more.
Sure, and if the core of the article is “today’s values are somewhat different than those of the 90s”…yes, they are, just as the values of the 90s were different from those of the 60s. I think there’s an interesting academic discussion to be had in there, but I don’t think this article is it.