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| Lessons in Humanity: Part One |
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Watch in High Def.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keZlextkcDI&fm
t=18
"The Drumhead" is the 95th episode of the
science fiction television series Star Trek:
The Next Generation and the 21st episode of
the show's fourth season. Guest star Jean
Simmons portrays Rear Admiral Norah Satie, a
special investigator who visits the
Federation Starship U.S.S. Enterprise.
Synopsis
A Klingon exchange officer on board the
Enterprise, J'Dan, is suspected of being
involved in a security breach and in the
possible sabotage of the warp core reactor.
With no clear resolution as to the cause of
the explosion, Starfleet Command dispatches
retired Admiral Norah Satie to head up the
investigation. She is accompanied by two
assistants, one of whom is a Betazoid. Worf
discovers that a Hypospray used to treat
J'Dan's Balthasar Syndrome is being used to
convert digital information into amino acid
sequences. J'Dan is interrogated, where it is
revealed that he is indeed a Romulan
collaborator, yet he remains adamant that he
was not involved in the dilithium chamber
explosion. Satie and Picard agree that J'Dan
could not have acted alone, and that a larger
conspiracy is present. They establish an
agreement of mutual cooperation.
Following the questioning of medical
technician Simon Tarses, who is noted as
being one-quarter Vulcan, Satie's Betazoid
assistant senses the young technician is
hiding something. Afterward, Picard refuses
to place restrictions on Tarses' movements
based on Betazoid intuition alone. An
analysis of the dilithium chamber finds that
the explosion was caused by metal fatigue,
due to a hatch casing with an undetectable
defect being installed at McKinley Station.
A subsequent (and now open) hearing reveals
that Tarses, contrary to his Starfleet
application, is actually one-quarter Romulan.
Afterward Picard takes Worf aside and likens
the investigation to a drumhead trial --
summary justice dispensed on the battlefield.
He speaks with Tarses in private to gauge his
level of involvement in any conspiracy, and
is satisfied that covering up his Romulan
ancestry was his only misdeed. Picard meets
with Satie to protest her unethical methods
and call for an end to the hearings. She
advises the captain that she reports directly
to Starfleet Command on the proceedings and
does not require his approval, and that the
hearings will continue. On the bridge, Picard
receives a summons to report for questioning.
Admiral Thomas Henry, who worked with Satie
in the past, arrives to observe the hearings.
Picard makes an opening statement about the
xenophobic and paranoid nature of the
investigation. Satie picks apart Picard's
career aboard the Enterprise, citing numerous
infractions of the Prime Directive, his
capture and assimilation by the Borg, and
finally directly questions his loyalty to
Starfleet. Worf nearly loses his temper with
the investigators over accusations regarding
his heritage. While making his final
arguments Picard quotes Satie's father, a
prominent Starfleet judicator, about the path
of limiting freedom. Satie furiously berates
Picard for invoking her father's name in his
own defense, stating that she has "brought
down bigger men than you Picard!"; Admiral
Henry leaves the room in the middle of the
tirade. The prosecution calls a recess,
leaving a disgraced Satie sitting alone in
the courtroom.
Worf later finds Picard in the observation
lounge to inform the captain of Admiral Henry
ending the hearings, and of Satie's departure
from the Enterprise. Picard remarks that
history can still threaten to repeat itself.
Worf laments that he was quite eager to
assist Satie in her witch-hunt at first.
Picard speaks of the ever-present, but
subtle, danger of those who would spread fear
and suspicion in the name of righteousness
and (paraphrasing Thomas Jefferson) of the
need for vigilance against that kind of
threat.
Tags : Humanity Civil Liberty Constitution Freedom Justice Star Trek McCain Republican Conservative United States America |
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Affichage : 747
Durée : 659 s |
| Man's Inhumanity |
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A thought provoking journey through "his"
story, and reflecting on war, politics and
race. Produced by Aisha Molake, featuring the
music of Bob Dylan.
Produced in Art 360 Digital Cinematography,
BSU. Tewodross Melchishua, Asst. Professor.
Tags : Bob Dylan Aisha Molake ART 360 war race politics foreign policy |
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Affichage : 14
Durée : 388 s |
| Lessons in Humanity: Part Two |
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Watch in High Def.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXJyxXavBn0&fm
t=18 "The Outcast" is a 5th season episode of
Star Trek: The Next Generation first
broadcast on March 16, 1992. Commander
William Riker (played by Jonathan Frakes)
falls in love with Soren who is a member of
an advanced, humanoid alien race called the
J'naii. The J'naii are an androgynous species
that views the expression of any sort of male
or female gender, and especially sexual
liaisons, as a sexual perversion. According
to their official doctrine, the J'naii had
evolved beyond gender and thus viewed the
idea of male/female sexuality as primitive.
Those among the J'naii who viewed themselves
as possessing gender were ridiculed, outcast,
and forced to undergo "psychotectic therapy"
- a psychological treatment to remediate
gender-specificity and allow acceptance back
into J'naii society. When the affair between
Riker and Soren is discovered, J'naii
diplomats force Soren to undergo this
therapy. When Riker beams down to the planet
to rescue her, she has already undergone the
therapy. She refuses to go with him, claiming
that she is happy now, and that she was sick
during her affair with Riker. She apologizes
to him for his feelings of love toward her.
Riker remains unconvinced of the
righteousness of the procedure. This episode
contains obvious allusions to the debate over
homosexuality in our own world. The
conclusion of the episode does not espouse
one point of view over the other but instead
allows the viewer to decide whether being
forced to undergo therapy was right for
Soren. Although many Star Trek fans were
pleased to witness the Star Trek franchise
tackling complex gender and sexuality issues,
others felt that the episode was incongruous
with Star Trek's legacy of controversially
presenting an egalitarian, prejudice-free
future society. Jonathan Frakes, notably
commented that the episode wasn't "gutsy"
enough and that "Soren should have been more
evidently male". In fact, while the J'naii
actors were all female, Frakes thought there
should have been male actors, including
Soren's character. Many felt that the episode
did not adequately condemn J'naii society and
that Star Trek had faltered given the
opportunity to condemn modern societal
prejudice in the same way it had confronted
societal racism in Star Trek: The Original
Series.
Tags : star trek gay marriage rights prejudice homosexuals government |
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Affichage : 153
Durée : 655 s |
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