Star Wars vs Star Trek

I have a very clear memory of seeing Return of the Jedi (1983) in the theater when I was a kid. I LOVED the Ewoks. But even more than that, while I have no idea if I saw Empire Strikes Back in the theater or not, I knew going into Jedi that Han was encased in carbonite. I had a book that had me super hyped for the battle on Jabba’s ship. And as for Leia in a gold bikini? I do not think I had ever wanted to be her more. Here she was, made a slave, and she still kicked ass.

I also have a very distinct memory of seeing The Search for Spock (1984) in the theater. I am relatively certain I had not seen Wrath of Khan, but they replayed the ending of Khan – Kirk and Spock’s farewell – at the start of Search for Spock, and that resonated with me deeply. I knew these characters. I knew why this was so sad and terrible.

Even now, there is a picture of Leia on my office door. My coffee mug says “To boldly go where no man has gone before”. I have Star Wars nesting dolls between my monitors. I also have a Star Trek Kre-O (think Lego) Transporter build on my desk and a USS Voyager hanging from my bookshelves. My tribute wall, to those celebrities we have lost that had a significant impact on me, includes both Leonard Nimoy and Carrie Fisher.

All of this is to say that both Star Wars and Star Trek have been a part of my life since I was child. I truly love them both. In a world before fan fiction (or at least before you could find it all over the internet) I wrote stories in my head about living in those worlds.

So suffice it to say, I am very happy to live in a world where I do not have to choose between Star Wars and Star Trek. Yet as a geek/nerd/sci-fi fan, that is a question you often get asked – Star Wars or Star Trek? And for me, the answer is simple – Star Trek.

Why? you might ask. (And really, that’s the whole point of this post.) It has nothing to do with the writing, the characters, the acting, the movies, or the television shows. For me, it is all about the world.

On some level, Star Wars kind of feels like the present world, the world where we have to fight, the world where there is always an evil empire, a world where even though the Rebellion won, in a single generation, instead of having a new nascent Republic, there is instead a new overlord bent on destroying all who would disagree. In Star Wars, there are exactly two sides of life that we are shown – the Empire/First Order and those who support them, or those actively fighting in the Rebellion.

There are no “regular” people. There are not even worlds (at least that we hear about in the main storyline – I will admit to not having read every single Star Wars novel) where neither the Rebellion nor Empire/First Order hold sway.

Star Wars is a dark vision, a vision where we not only must always be fighting for the good, but the good never really wins. Even when it wins, it does not last for long.

Star Trek is a vision of the future. It is a hopeful vision. It acknowledges that there are challenges to overcome, but in Star Trek, the good guys do not just win for a day. They have, in general, won. That does not mean they get complacent. That does not mean there are not still some fights to be had. But it means that it believes the human condition tends toward the good. We see regular people. We see people who do not belong to the Federation. Sure, some are in conflict with the Federation, but there are plenty of others who are just apart. We see basically good people in all walks of life. In Star Trek, if you are just a “dude”, you are likely to be a good guy.

And in a sense, this is actually what it all comes down to – representation. How do we see ourselves, how do we see ourselves reflected, and do those reflections match?

I am a middle manager. I am a bureaucrat. I am a basically law abiding citizen who believes in incremental change, and working from the inside, though I do recognize the importance of rebellion and simply tearing the whole thing down occasionally.

In the Star Wars universe, I am a member of the Empire/First Order. I am Finn, before The Force Awakens. (This might be part of why I collect Storm Trooper Disney pins, just maybe.) In Star Wars, there is no one like me who is a “good guy”. I am not a soldier. I am not a General or high level diplomat. I am not a smuggler trying to live outside the law. I am just a person. I sit at a desk and read information off of a computer screen. I question orders (laws), and I live as best I can my conscience. But in Star Wars, people like me are cogs in the Empire/First Order.

In Star Trek, I am a member of the Federation. I am likely not part of Star Fleet, but maybe I help do the finances for the Academy. In Star Trek, there are people like me everywhere. And they are good people. They may not be the heroes, but they are still “good guys”. They still represent the values and ideals the world itself holds dear.

And whether you see me that way or not (and there certainly are people who would see me more as a bad guy than good), that is how I see myself. And it matters. It matters in how I relate to the material.

I love Star Wars. I always will. But in Star Wars, I am the Storm Trooper assigned to the control room. In Star Trek, I am the faceless Ops person who makes sure the ship’s crew manifest is accurate. They really are not different roles. But one lets me be a good person, and the other does not.

So yeah, Star Trek. Star Trek is my “Star” of choice. And even the name says it. I would always rather be on a Trek than in a War. But maybe that is just me.