I know not everybody contemplates the messages found in their preferred media, but it’s hard to imagine someone who thinks like that finding anything to like about Star Trek.
There are a surprising number of conservatives for who the entire message of the show has just gone over their heads.
I grew up in (and eventually left) a conservative Christian church, so I don’t have a good idea of how aware normal people are when it comes to the fears and obsessions of that community. From stories like these I think that there’s hardly any awareness at all – which is totally fine! Those beliefs are erroneous and damaging! But two things worth understanding if you want to know why these complaints of theirs are so common (and wrong of course):
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Evangelicals believe that if the existence of same-sex attraction is kept secret then no one would ever be gay, and
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Evangelicals believe that sexy media leads to horniness, which leads to jerking-off, which is a sin – whereas horrifying bloody violence does not.
I read the words, but my brain is just screamin “REPRESSED. DEEPLY REPRESSED. AND BITTER.”
I would pity them, but they’ve destroyed too many otherwise innocent lives.
Evangelicals believe that sexy media leads to horniness, which leads to jerking-off, which is a sin – whereas horrifying bloody violence does not.
Speak for yourself
🔪 😜
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It does seem that more than a few of this kind of people are quite tonedef. One example is a lot of them liking Rage Against the Machine but objecting when Tom Morello makes a political statement, as if their entire song catalog wasn’t political and literally raging against everything those conservatives and/or fascists hold dear.
All they hear in Killing In The Name is “wearing the badge, they’re the chosen white” and then they call it a day.
That one video of Trump supporters singing it was emphasizing the “and you do what they told ya”. It plays into their belief that trans people are only supported because the mainstream media told you to. This is the start and end of their thoughts on the song.
And also objecting to Tom Morello making a political statement as if he wasn’t an honors graduate in Political Science from Harvard University.
I loved it when Paul Ryan said he was a fan of RATM and Tom Morello said that Paul Ryan is the machine they’re raging against.
The machine gets annoyed when you rage against it in explicit and unambiguous terms. But don’t let that stop you.
but it’s hard to imagine someone who thinks like that finding anything to like about Star Trek.
For those folk, my guess is they cherry pick all the flaws and celebrate them, like the:
- hyper masculinity of the Klingons
- female suppression of the Ferengi
- meritocracy of deception of the Romulans
- female enslavement of the Orions
- authoritarian control of the Founders
- the brutality to the weak of the Cardassians
- biological forced sexual intercourse of the Vulcans
- stubborn and rude arguments of the Telorites
- racism of the Andorians
They take all the flaws introduced to each race and celebrate those as evidence of an ideal. These folks don’t realize that each race has a flaw in them to show their imperfection.
I think it’s much simpler than that. They watch it for the pew pew space battles and ignore the messaging.
Anyone who watches Star Trek for the space battles must REAAAALLLY be into delayed gratification.
For the most part they have a reasonably generous pacing of violence throughout many (if not most) episodes. The ones that don’t probably get panned by these people as ‘one of the boring ones’
VOY was probably the one with the most pew-pew per season and it was the most watched series on Netflix, back before Paramount+.
Violence yes, starship combat not so much (in the TV shows anyway). I love watching the battles from the movies but yeah, that shit’s expensive yo!
pew pew space battles and ignore the messaging.
Hey, we don’t have to get personal here :(
They must have very complex feelings about the moclans if they also watch Star Trek adjacent shows.
I like Steve Shives’s video on why he thought conservatives like Star Trek.
Steve Shives’s video on why he thought conservatives like Star Trek.
I tend to agree, but there are two issues working agaonst Star Trek.
- Successful media appeals to broad audiences by having something to appeal to every demographic. (E.g. Don’t like politics? Stay for the lasers.)
- Good sci-fi (arguably stories in general) gives the best representation of both sides of a conflict, and lets them compete on their merits. So it’s possible to resonate with one side, then miss the critique (e.g. due to modest writing or selective hearing).
So while Star Trek tends to show progressive values winning in the end, many people can enjoy other aspects (e.g. military stories, relationships, and action) while ignoring the upshot.
same shit with nipples. but only female nipples
I think women should be free to show their nipples as much as they want. But I’m biased, because I want to see more of their nipples.
See statements like that are what make women uncomfortable even in countries where they are allowed to go top free. Don’t be so weird to strangers please.
You inferred “be weird to them”, which was nowhere in my jokey comment. Remind me where we are on the “people should enjoy things” to “walk around like emotionless drones” scale? Don’t ogle, be weird to, or make people feel uncomfortable in public?? Yeah. That should go without saying, but of course some people do need to hear it. So don’t do that.
But if you’re a male, you’re probably very visual-oriented and notice these things. I check out men and women, almost as a reflex. I’m straight, and it’s not a sexual thing, I just see it all. So if you put a painting, a sunset, a topless person, or a flower in front of me, I’m going to look at it. The key is to appreciate it subtly and without making anyone uncomfortable. I’m sorry if this sounds incel-y, but I guarantee it’s true for most men…
Same. We have the greatest opportunity as men in all of human history, if we legalize it world wide and let it become widespread, we will be the only generation of men that will get to see a ton of boobies and actually enjoy it. The next generation after that will consider it common and won’t bat an eye.
I will NEVER understand slut shaming.
"Women willing to have sex? Fuck, we gotta humiliate them and discourage that!
Not on my watch… "
Well, but these women don’t want to have sex with THEM! So of course it’s a bad thing
More often they’ve already had sex with them, so they don’t matter anymore.
Bitter people are the crabs pulling everyone back in the bucket
I think the internet solved the whole “boobies seen per capita” thing.
“That nipple is too close up, I can’t tell if it’s pornographic or not!”
