“I wish Star Trek could be more realistic in its vision of a utopian society!”
“I wish there could be a Star Trek show that focuses on interspecies alien interactions rather than alien vs. human interactions!”
“I wish Star Trek would do a better job of displaying all the nuances and moral grays that go into maintaining diplomatic relations.”
“I wish Star Trek had a captain that wasn’t just another white dude.”
“I wish Star Trek had at least one canon LGBT character.”
“I wish Star Trek had a well-written female character with flaws and an engaging backstory and good character development for once.”
“I wish science fiction in general would stop assuming everyone will be an atheist in the future.”
“I wish Star Trek could be bolder about calling out real life social issues without their guise of poorly-handled metaphors to protect them.”
“I wish Star Trek would stop assuming that things like intergalactic wars could be resolved or forgotten in just a couple episodes.”
“I want Worf to get more screentime.”
“I want—”
Deep Space Nine.
You want Deep Space Nine.
DS9 does not have any canon LGBT+ characters. Actor intent got overridden and eclipsed by homophobic producers and writers. As much as we would love to credit actors for playing characters as a certain sexuality ex-post-facto, we need to recognize that their intent does not make their characters queer in the eyes of the show. In the eyes of fans? In headcanon and personal theory? Yes. Those characters can absolutely be queer. But in the eyes of the show and its creators? No. There is no representation there.
Let’s get right to the point. 2018 brought us shitty political events at nearly possible juncture, but it was quite a good year for music. Here’s a list of the music I enjoyed most in 2018 in no real particular order - besides the most meager of alphabetizing (and even THAT isn’t done correctly using an artist’s last name).
Alice Ivy - I’m Dreaming
Anteloper - Kudu
Ariana Grande - Sweetener
The Armed - Only Love
awakebutstillinbed - what people call low self-esteem is really just seeing yourself the way that other people see you
I loved their dynamic. Two outcasts on a ship in the middle of nowhere, they showcased the reality that everyone doesn’t HAVE to get along all the time - even though they respected each other’s talents and abilities.
Actually, the fact that any alien race communicates with another is quite remarkable.
tHIS WAS THE ONE TIME STAR TREK GOT PSYCHOLOGY RIGHT, actually!!!
Humans are biologically programmed that during the acquisition of language if something is pointed at and a word is said, we assume that word is a NOUN. Every human in every culture and every language does this. But there’s nothing to say in an alien language their biology would be the same. That word could just as easily be an adjective or a verb or the objects location in space or a million other things.
Good job Star Trek. Just this once, you managed to not piss off every psych student to watch your shows.
Quine uses the example of the word “gavagai” uttered by a native speaker of the unknown language Arunta upon seeing a rabbit. A speaker of English could do what seems natural and translate this as “Lo, a rabbit.” But other translations would be compatible with all the evidence he has: “Lo, food”; “Let’s go hunting”; “There will be a storm tonight” (these natives may be superstitious); “Lo, a momentary rabbit-stage”; “Lo, an undetached rabbit-part.“
this picture is so so funny still. how on earth did they expect me to see this and think “these guys both look pretty straight” they look like they’re judging my clubbing outfit. they look like i’m making them late to brunch
