Primitive Culture: A Star Trek History and Culture Podcast - 17: Everybody’s Human

17: Everybody’s Human

12/13/17 • 82 min

Primitive Culture: A Star Trek History and Culture Podcast

Star Trek and Human Rights.

Star Trek’s progressive, humanist outlook has always involved the extension of legal protection to a wide range of non-human entities. The courtroom battles fought by Data and Voyager’s EMH reflect how legal status is called into question in our own world as a way of justifying exploitation. Although Starfleet—for the most part—upholds the same moral principles enshrined in the UN and European rights charters, other species, such as the Cardassians, show a systematic disregard for the rights of individuals—human or not.

In this episode of Primitive Culture, host Duncan Barrett is joined by Guinevere Nell of The Briar Patch and Clara Cook for a special episode to mark International Human Rights Day, recorded live at the London School of Economics. We consider how Star Trek has engaged with real-world debates about human and animal rights, the impact of war on our most dearly held principles, and the limitations placed on the Federation’s role as an interstellar moral police force.

Chapters Intro (00:00:00) Rights for Non-humans (00:09:37) Moral Dilemmas vs. Legal Debates (00:29:20) Rights in Other Cultures (00:34:40) Cardassian Rights Abuses (00:41:50) When the Laws Fall Silent (00:57:00) Privacy (01:02:25) Collective Rights (01:08:00)

Hosts Duncan Barrett Guests Clara Cook and Guinevere Nell Production Tony Black (Editor) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer) Amy Nelson (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Patreon Manager)

Star Trek and Human Rights.

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16: More, More, More, More, More!

Live from London: Star Trek and Director’s Cuts.

As Star Trek fans, we know there may be more to a story than what we see on screen. We pore over deleted scenes, read novelizations and comic books, listen to behind-the-scenes stories, and scour unrealized versions of shooting scripts—all to find subtle nuances of character and plot as we imagine how things might have been. But what does it mean when the creator themselves decides that the original cut isn’t final?

Three of the six movies featuring the crew of the original Enterprise 1701 now exist in multiple versions, creating a dilemma for the most devoted audiences. Is it better to experience them as originally released, or should we trust that those who take the time to tweak them have the right to say which version is final?

In this episode of Primitive Culture, recorded live at the Prince Charles Cinema in London ahead of the UK premiere of the extended director’s cut of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, hosts Duncan Barrett and Tony Black are joined by Clara Cook and Tony Robinson to discuss the director’s cut phenomenon and how it affects the relationship between a film and its audience. In addition to the changes made to the 1982 classic, we consider the alternate versions of The Motion Picture and The Undiscovered Country—along with other films—and debate which Star Trek movies might benefit the most from another go-around.

Chapters Intro (00:00:00) A Special Message from Nicholas Meyer (00:02:45) Star Trek: The Motion Picture (00:08:27) For Better or Worse? (00:12:56) How Long Is a Piece of String? (00:21:25) Blade Runner (00:25:25) Beyond the Farthest Shot (00:29:44) Final Thoughts (00:50:28)

Hosts Duncan Barrett and Tony Black

Guests Clara Cook and Tony Robinson

Production Tony Black (Editor) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer) Amy Neslon (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Patreon Manager)

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18: The Mother of All Resolutions

A Christmas Carol and Tapestry. The halls are decked, the wine is mulling, and the presents are neatly stacked under the tree. But what hope is there of a white Christmas in the inky black of outer space? Traditionally, Star Trek has steered clear of more than glancing references to the festive season, yet popular holiday stories—such as A Christmas Carol and It’s a Wonderful Life—have worked their way into the plots of fan-favorite episodes.

In this special Christmas installment of Primitive Culture, host Duncan Barrett is joined by Clara Cook to consider the influence of Charles Dickens’s classic on The Next Generation’s “Tapestry” and how Patrick Stewart’s experience playing Mr. Scrooge might have informed his characterization of Captain Picard. Along the way, we talk about regrets and redemption, how a good person can follow a bad path, and the role Christmas plays in the secular societies we see in Star Trek.

Chapters Intro (00:00:00) “Tapestry” (00:07:26) A Christmas Carol and It’s a Wonderful Life (00:13:40) “All Good Things...” (00:23:40) Why Christmas? (00:32:52) Regrets? We’ve Had a Few (00:41:39) Dickens the SF Writer (00:51:26) Christmas in Star Trek? (00:58:50) Final Thoughts (01:09:30) Host Duncan Barrett Guest Clara Cook Production Tony Robinson (Editor) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer) Amy Nelson (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Patreon Manager)