鈥淩isk is our business,鈥� James T. Kirk 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what this starship is all about. That鈥檚 why we鈥檙e aboard her.鈥�
More than a half-century later, the performer who breathed life into the fabled Enterprise captain is, at age 90, making that kind of risk his own business and under dramatically different circumstances than his fictional counterpart. And in doing so, William Shatner is causing worlds to collide, or at least permitting parallel universes to coexist 鈥� the utopian spacefaring vision of 鈥淪tar Trek鈥� and the evolving, increasingly commercial spot that 鈥渟pace鈥� holds in the American psyche.
When boards Jeff Bezos鈥� Blue Origin NS-18 in Texas at around dawn Wednesday, his one small step into the craft creates one of the ultimate crossover stories of our era.
It鈥檚 about space and exploration, sure, and certainly about capitalism and billionaires and questions of economic equity. But it鈥檚 also about popular culture and marketing and entertainment and nostalgia and hope and Manifest Destiny and, and, and 鈥� well, you get the idea.
鈥淲hat will I see when I鈥檓 out there?鈥� Shatner wondered last week, An equally valid question is this: What will WE see when he鈥檚 out there?
It will be a complex blend of human dreams superimposed upon technology and hope, braggadocio and cash, and the notion that space travel elevates us 鈥� all orchestrated by a company under criticism for what some call the decidedly un-utopian, tech-bro ways that it operates.
Is all that and 鈥淪tar Trek鈥� a good fit?
THE WORLD OF `STAR TREK鈥�
Since its 1966 premiere with one of the most diverse casts TV had ever seen, 鈥淭rek鈥� has grown from Gene Roddenberry鈥檚 fever dream of a 鈥溾�榃agon Train鈥� to the stars鈥� into an intricate transmedia universe full of subtleties and traditions and rules.
Among them: Human 小蓝视频s avoid killing each other. Money is generally outdated, as are hunger and poverty. Greed is aberrant. Noninterference in other cultures is the most sacred principle of all. And within the United Federation of Planets, the spacefaring United Nations of 鈥淪tar Trek,鈥� exploration, not domination, is the coin of the realm. In short, unlike a lot of humanity right now.
That 1966-69 original series used allegory to evade network censors and tell stories about racism and xenophobia and even the Vietnam War. How could they get away with all that? Because the adventures of Kirk's Enterprise took place against a backdrop of 23rd-century space travel 鈥� something directly relevant to the world as well, given that humans 47 days after the original series鈥� final episode.
Over the next half century, backed by a vocal fan base, 鈥淪tar Trek鈥� roared back for more and, in the process, led the way in cementing space travel as an ideal canvas for relevant storytelling.
Even as NASA's Apollo era ebbed into the space shuttle program (where was named 鈥淓nterprise鈥�) and eventually into uncertainty, 鈥淭rek鈥� remained one of the culture鈥檚 central vehicles for a spacefaring future.
Nichelle Nichols, who played Lt. Uhura on the show, was working with NASA to recruit Americans of color and women and make sure they could occupy the center of such ambitions as the missions marched forward.
In the 1980s, movies about the original crew dealt with aging and regret. 鈥淪tar Trek: The Next Generation鈥� offered a more cerebral but still utopian vision. Another spinoff, 鈥淪tar Trek: Deep Space Nine,鈥� set at an outpost preserving a delicate detente, presented a darker take 鈥� but still one in which avarice was anomalous and worthy of scorn. And 鈥淓nterprise,鈥� a 2001-2005 prequel, offered a season-long arc about the aftermath of a 9/11-style extraterrestrial attack on Earth.
Two of the latest iterations of the myth, 鈥淪tar Trek: Discovery鈥� and 鈥淪tar Trek: Picard,鈥� have dipped deeper into darkness than their predecessors and have toyed with the notion that not all humanity wants to be quite that utopian.
In all that varying storytelling, though, one constant remained: the notion that human space travel would become a vector of ethics and goodness that elevated the galaxy rather than plundered it.
THE PROFITABLE FRONTIER
Which brings us to companies like Blue Origin, Elon Musk鈥檚 SpaceX and Richard Branson鈥檚 Virgin Galactic 鈥� endeavors that build their brands not upon countries but corporations.
They offer the culture a late-stage capitalism variation on the theme 鈥� a narrative that space travel isn鈥檛 just for scientists and diplomats but for you and me, too. If, that is, you and me happen to have a few hundred thousand dollars or more of walking-around money on hand.
鈥淭he United States always has had private people working for the public purpose,鈥� says president of the California Institute for the Arts and a 鈥淭rek鈥� fan since childhood. 鈥淏ut how much is done privately and how much is done publicly, that changes.鈥�
Many have impugned the billionaire space moguls鈥� actions, including the and the troubles of Blue Origin鈥檚 are of late.
But the motives of the Amazon founder himself remain unclear. It is evident, though, that the popular culture of space travel has influenced him deeply.
Bezos, who tells a story of exploring space to help ensure Earth鈥檚 continued prosperity, is a longtime 鈥淭rek鈥� fan. He made in the 2016 movie 鈥淪tar Trek Beyond.鈥� And according to Bezos even fleetingly considered calling Amazon 鈥淢akeitso.com,鈥� after Capt. Jean-Luc Picard鈥檚 favorite command in 鈥淪tar Trek: The Next Generation.鈥�
鈥淭he whole ethos of `Star Trek鈥� showed people who were different-looking, with different skills, working together. We are in the opening moments of something like that,鈥� says vice president of the Space Foundation, a nonprofit that advocates for the global space industry. 鈥淧eople can look at this environment and say, `Hey 鈥� I belong there, too.'"
Prohibitive costs aside (and that鈥檚 a big aside), Cooper has a point. Though the likes of Shatner may not be 鈥渞egular people,鈥� the shift from the dominance of the test pilot and the scientist tracks with the populism of our era, where 鈥� it must be said 鈥� the exactitude of science is 小蓝视频 called into question as never before. And as Cooper points out, 鈥渋t gives people hope. And if there鈥檚 one thing the world鈥檚 in short supply of, it鈥檚 that essential payload.鈥�
That kind of storyline 鈥� hope, heroism, competitive dominance and an unerring sense of competence that can at times overlap with testosterone 鈥� could be one key reason why the commercial space outfits are thriving. At a moment when NASA and nation-focused space travel lacks a compelling Hollywood narrative, the entrepreneurs and their marketers step right in.
鈥淎merican dominance in space, nobody cares about it. It鈥檚 Bezos who says, `We can鈥檛 go on living like this. We have to save the planet,鈥欌�� says a professor of religion and science in society at Wesleyan University. What results, she says, is 鈥渁 kinder, gentler colonialism鈥� in which humans take to orbit under premises that seem justifiable but require closer scrutiny.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the billionaires who have the utopian visions,鈥� says Rubenstein, author of the upcoming book 鈥淎strotopia: The Dangerous Religion of the Corporate Space Race.鈥�
鈥淭he states can鈥檛 muster them,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hey have no story.鈥�
LAUNCHING SHATNER
We live in an era where the fictional and the real have an intricate relationship, and sometimes it鈥檚 hard to separate them. Something like this, a collision of dreams and real-life ambition and achievement, couldn鈥檛 have a more effective ambassador than the outsized personality that is William Shatner.
鈥淚 was there last week rehearsing, whatever they call it,鈥� Shatner told Anderson Cooper.
鈥淭raining I think is what they call it,鈥� Cooper said, to which Shatner responded: 鈥淚 think of it as rehearsal.鈥�
And there it is again 鈥� the storyline, compelling as ever, stealing oxygen from other important questions. Should we even be colonizing space? Don鈥檛 we have enough going on here at home to worry about? Aren鈥檛 there people with problems more pressing than this who could use the cash?
And what if we encounter life that鈥檚 not life as we know it, and harm it out of obliviousness or greed? It鈥檚 not as if that hasn鈥檛 happened countless times here on the ground, in the land that put a man on the moon but still grapples with a history brimming with horrors from slave markets to smallpox blankets. These are only some of the questions that will ascend and descend with Shatner on Wednesday.
Is it a stunt? Sure. Is it a genius marketing ploy? Absolutely. Is it cynical and self-aggrandizing and designed solely to make more money and grab more attention for the world鈥檚 richest man? You鈥檙e going to have to decide that one yourself.
In the meantime, consider the autobiographical song called that Shatner recorded in 2004 with country singer Brad Paisley.
鈥淚鈥檇 love to help the world and all its problems. But I鈥檓 an entertainer, and that鈥檚 all,鈥� he says in it. 鈥淪o the next time there鈥檚 an asteroid or a natural disaster, I鈥檓 flattered that you thought of me 鈥� but I鈥檓 not the one to call.鈥�
Turns out, he is 鈥� this time. But next time? In the future of the final frontier and the culture that has grown up around it 鈥� in this unusual realm where risk IS the business 鈥� that鈥檚 eventually going to have to be addressed.
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Ted Anthony, director of new storytelling and newsroom innovation at The Associated Press, has been writing about American culture since 1990 and watching 鈥淪tar Trek鈥� since 1969. His younger son鈥檚 middle name is Kirk. Follow him on Twitter at
Ted Anthony, The Associated Press
