Original Star Trek's Masculine Vision Was Superior to Modern 'Hollywoke' Adaptations
Source: https://www.facebook.com/americanspectator/. "Star Trek’s 60th: Where No Man Has Gone Since | The American Spectator | USA News and Politics." September 9, 2026. spectator.org
The Gist
The author argues that the original Star Trek was great because it celebrated traditional masculine values like brotherhood and adventure, created by a writer who had real-world combat and law enforcement experience. He claims modern Star Trek shows have failed because they've abandoned this masculine spirit in favor of 'woke' values, even though talented writers exist who could bring back the original's magic.
Conclusion
The original Star Trek series succeeded because it embraced a masculine, adventurous vision of exploration, and modern Star Trek adaptations have failed by abandoning this vision in favor of 'woke' sensibilities.
Premises
- The original series was created by Gene Roddenberry, a WWII combat pilot and cop who brought authentic life experience and understanding of good/evil to adult-oriented entertainment.
- The original series drew from the Western genre's 'cavalry spirit' of men exploring the unknown and expanding territory, giving it emotional authenticity.
- The core trio of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy provided the show's heart through brotherhood, male camaraderie, and respectful disagreement.
- The original series employed acclaimed science-fiction authors (Ellison, Sturgeon, Matheson, Bloch) rather than typical TV writers, elevating its quality.
- NBC executives initially rejected elements of the first pilot, including a 'mannish female second-in-command,' suggesting even network executives recognized certain character types didn't fit the show's vision.
- Modern adaptations like Star Trek: The Next Generation and Starfleet Academy failed to understand what made the original special, as evidenced by killing off Captain Kirk ignominiously and producing poorly-received films.
- Contemporary Hollywood ('Hollywoke') refuses to recapture this masculine vision despite having capable writers who could do so.
Assumptions
- Masculine traits (camaraderie, adventurousness, traditional male leadership) are inherently more compelling or valuable in storytelling than alternative approaches.
- There is a monolithic ideological movement ('Hollywoke') actively suppressing traditional masculine storytelling in favor of alternative values.
- The commercial and critical success of the original series was primarily due to its 'masculine' qualities rather than other factors (novelty, production quality, timing, cultural context).
- Female characters who don't fit traditional gender roles (e.g., 'mannish' characters) are inherently less appealing or appropriate for the show.
- Modern writers are capable of replicating the original's success but are prevented from doing so by ideological constraints rather than other factors (creative differences, audience taste changes, commercial pressures).
- The quality of a show can be primarily attributed to its embrace or rejection of a particular gender dynamic rather than multiple complex factors (writing, acting, production values, cultural relevance).