“Star Trek” is living long and prospering and the original Captain Kirk, William Shatner himself, is sharing why he thinks that is. The actor feels that the franchise “shows us what we can be tomorrow” and that message has resonated with fans over the years. When “Star Trek” first launched on television it was groundbreaking in many areas, and while the shocking idea of having an African American woman on the deck of The Enterprise is tame these days, at the time it and so many other ideas from the series were new and controversial.
This year, “Star Trek” was honored with the Governors Award at the Creative Arts Emmys by The Television Academy and much of the past and present cast and crew were in attendance. Shatner accepted the Emmy for CBS Television Studios and while doing so shared this sage thought:
“Fifty-two years, what a gift to live in this story and this historic moment. Star Trek represents an ideal. One that is greater than the sum of its parts. … It shows us what we can be tomorrow.
Keep hope. There is possibility in the chaos. We will rise together.”
Gene Roddenberry created “Star Trek” in 1966 and challenged many social norms from giving women jobs of respect and having a black actress in the position of the Enterprise’s communications officer. At this time, that was groundbreaking and has a huge social impact. Past that technology grew leaps and bounds from what was just fiction on the series and even Steve Wozniak has shared that “Star Trek” was one of the major sources of inspiration for co-founding Apple.
Do you agree with William Shatner that “Star Trek” shows us the potential of humanity and that is why it is so loved by fans? Does the love for exploration and innovation still resonate as strongly today as it did when “Star Trek” first debuted? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
