In Star Trek, there’s always a galaxy in need of rescuing. As Star Trek: The Next Generation had run its course for seven seasons, the 1994 film Star Trek Generations served as a grand send-off to the beloved characters of both TNG and The Original Series. It was a golden era in an unraveling story that has carved out a memorable legacy for itself.
In this film, some of the franchise’s finest characters came face-to-face for one of the most climactic and bittersweet chapters of the saga. Whether of secular or spiritual dimensions, Star Trek has long been at the forefront of exploring strange ideologies, seeking out new life, and delving into some of the most controversial social and philosophical constructs of its day.
This is not to say that Star Trek has always been spot on with its moral deductions. For instance, Captain Kirk advocates for a type of birth control in The Original Series back in the 1960s. In Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989), Dr. Bones McCoy is seen euthanizing his father during a moment of supposed guilt over the immense pain his father has while languishing on his death bed. And the writers of the CBS All Access series Star Trek: Discovery seem to be confused in regards to what constitutes romance and natural erotic love.
Despite the all-too-human flaws present in many of the Trekkie characters, the franchise’s truly groundbreaking cultural achievements deserve to be lauded. The films and shows have produced some social progress in the right direction. For instance, Star Trek: TOS was able to capture and promote interracial equality in regards to both employment and social interaction. The acceptance and relatively high profile obtained by the character Lieutenant Uhura is a prime example of this.
However, if we want to find an even more meaningful moral context within Star Trek, we have to glance beyond the surface of visual imagery. Its nuggets of wisdom are subtler inclusions. To get at them, we need to look at what the protagonists are fighting for. What makes them true heroes?
Star Trek Generations actually presents an idea that’s in strong opposition to a great portion of secularism. Secularism typically opposes two things: a) truth, which we know to be rooted in Christ and b) hardship, which we are called to offer as a sacrifice with meaning. In Generations, the pivotal emergence of one of the main heroes requires him to denounce fantastical pleasure and make a sacrifice for the good of many.
The plot of the film revolves around this idea of the Nexus, a dimension whose inhabitants shape their own realities in a sense of peace and ecstasy. Yet, these so-called “realities” turn out to be prisons. They are unauthentic, unrealistic presentations of lost dreams. The people inhabiting the Nexus are living a fantasy detached from the truth.
Captain Jean-Luc Picard ventures to the Nexus and in relatively quick time discovers the allure here is unfulfilling. Here there is no challenge, no denial, no wrong. He has to look for the famous Admiral James T. Kirk. He finds him, taking in the sunny day amid verdant, picturesque fields and chopping up some logs for a fire.
Kirk is living in a sugar-coated existence, where he has a chance to lithely chase after love, glide over trenches on horseback, and ride off into the sunset. But it dawns upon him, as the suggestions of Picard trickle in and he sees how sportsmanship has become empty, that he wants the truth. Living a fantasy is no good. Kirk agrees to go back with Picard and help fight the villainous Dr. Soran.
What’s Soran’s deal? Well, somewhat like Gollum in The Lord of the Rings, Soran had grown comfortable with his vices and, when he lost them, he wanted to cling onto them forever. Just as Gollum seeks the One Ring, so Soran seeks to return to the Nexus – that fairyland which he had been separated from.
Now, Soran seeks to reclaim the Nexus. In order to enter the dimension from the outside universe, he plans to blow up a star, thereby threatening countless lives and endangering the balance of the solar system. He is driven by one sole objective: Pleasure Lost, as it were.
In the end, and through great sacrifice, it could be said that Kirk and Picard triumph over the maddened antagonist. This underlying theme in Generations is a hard one to take. It goes against fallen human nature. It asks us to pursue not what is always certain to be pleasurable, but to seek always what is certainly true.
For us, we recognize Christ as the ultimate truth, the extent and fulfillment of all of creation. He Himself told us that we would be persecuted for the sake of His Name. St. Paul has confirmed this by his own discernment and by his very life. Following Christ is not always easy. It is a challenge.
It’s challenging for us to not fall into laziness. It is hard for us sometimes to go beyond the bare bones of our faith – to strive for a living, trickling, gushing faith. An important dimension to spiritual revival and continual conversion within the faith life comes in personal sacrifice.
Fasting, offering up minor inconveniences, saying a little prayer for the people who rub you the wrong way: this is a remedy for the Nexuses of our own lives. Christ is our example. He certainly did not take the easy way out with the Cross. Likewise, He invites us to bend our backs, submit our wills, and carry our own crosses till He leads us home to Heaven: not a temporary place where pain is avoided and obscured, but instead the perpetual dwelling of eternal light, joy, and peace.
*Dedicated to Cameron Diachun
John Tuttle
John Tuttle is a Catholic journalist, blogger, and photographer. He has written for Prehistoric Times, Culture Wars Magazine, Those Catholic Men, Catholic Insight, Inside Over, Ancient Origins, Love They Nerd, We Got This Covered, Cultured Vultures, and elsewhere. He can be reached at jptuttleb9@gmail.com.