Primitive Culture: A Star Trek History and Culture Podcast - 85: The End of History

85: The End of History

05/30/20 • 83 min

Primitive Culture: A Star Trek History and Culture Podcast

Cold War Détente and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. When Nicholas Meyer returned to the Star Trek cinematic universe with Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, he produced one of the franchise’s most flagrant—and successful—examples of “ripped from the headlines” storytelling, reimagining the collapse of the USSR in space. Gorbachev became Gorkon and Chernobyl became Praxis. And, in the story’s imagined cabal, who will stop at nothing to preserve the Cold War status quo, the film tapped into an anxiety that lingered around this pivotal moment. After the “end of history,” as Francis Fukuyama memorably described it, what kind of future might lie around the corner? Would the old cold warriors still find a place for themselves in this new, as-yet-undiscovered era?

In this episode of Primitive Culture, host Duncan Barrett is joined by Tony Black for a look at Fukuyama’s seminal 1989 essay “The End of History” and its influence on The Undiscovered Country. We consider some of the inherent risks—as well as the pleasures—in borrowing from current events and also ponder a tricky question: If only Nixon could go to China, does that make Kirk, who once seemed like an echo of JFK resurrected on the bridge of a starship, the heroic president’s most cynical and untrustworthy successor?

Chapters Intro (00:00:00) Discovered Countries (00:08:55) Make Peace or Die (00:15:36) Dinosaurs (00:40:55) Klingon Lives? (00:55:25)

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

Chapters Intro (00:00:00) Discovered Countries (00:08:55) Make Peace or Die (00:15:36) Dinosaurs (00:40:55) Klingon Lives? (00:55:25)

Previous Episode

84: The Ultimate Family Doctor

Voyager’s “Critical Care” and the current global pandemic. A healthcare system struggling with inadequate resources. Patients dying, untreated, as politicians and administrators grapple with a humanitarian crisis. In some ways, the Star Trek: Voyager episode “Critical Care” seems eerily prescient. Originally intended as classic Trek-style social commentary on the health maintenance organizations that exercise a vise-like grip on the US healthcare system, this dystopian parable has been interpreted as a swipe at numerous other medical models around the globe, including the “socialized” healthcare provided in the UK and continental Europe.

In this episode of Primitive Culture, recorded during the height of the coronavirus lockdown, host Duncan Barrett is joined by Clara Cook to look at some of the parallels between this 20-year-old Voyager episode and the current global pandemic. We focus in particular on its critique of the US healthcare model and consider how our own health service in the UK—the NHS—is coping during the most challenging time in its history.

Chapters Intro (00:00:00) The NHS (00:07:09) Getting Critical (00:09:15) Sicko (00:34:45) Intensive Care (01:03:03) Classic Trek-Style Social Commentary (01:29:00) Final Thoughts (01:35:44)

Host Duncan Barrett

Guest Clara Cook

Production Duncan Barrett (Editor and Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Tony Black (Associate Producer) Clara Cook (Associate Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer) Amy Nelson (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager)

Next Episode

86: The Best Is Yet to Come

Ocean’s 11 (1960) and “Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang.”

Long before George Clooney assembled his star-studded gang of high-rolling thieves, the original Danny Ocean—Frank Sinatra—successfully knocked off five casinos in a single night in the original 1960 Ocean’s 11. With help from Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and the rest of the Rat Pack, Sinatra brought his own brand of cool to the caper genre in a film that, arguably, proved more iconic than creatively successful. Three decades later, when the producers of Deep Space Nine began plotting their own casino heist in “Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang,” it was to Sinatra’s job that they turned for inspiration, even renting particular period-specific costumes because they matched those featured in the movie.

In this episode of Primitive Culture, host Duncan Barrett is joined by Justin Oser to look at the links between Ocean’s 11 and “Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang,” two stories in which a crack team of decorated war veterans must pull off the most audacious mission of their careers. We consider what the DS9 writers added to the mix (not least a bit of nifty shapeshifting), as well as ponder how high the stakes can be in a film about rich people getting richer—not to mention a robbery committed by those who barely understand the concept of money.

Chapters Intro (00:00:00) Hanging with the Rat Pack (00:03:55) The Lie (00:15:25) The Eyes Have It (00:40:35) Monopoly Money (00:54:25)

Host Duncan Barrett Guest Justin Oser

Production Tony Black (Editor) Duncan Barrett (Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Tony Black (Associate Producer) Clara Cook (Associate Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer) Amy Nelson (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager)