Political Compass

Chuck · Apr 29, 2008

Remember - the Klingon's were patterned in the early days of Star Trek to the Soviets, esp Star Trek IV: The Undiscovered Country

TUC is an allegory for the end of the Cold War circa 1990 and the recent peace movement which was happening while the film was being made (the Soviet Union itself had not yet dissolved during the filming or even at the film’s release). An apt reference is made by Spock, when he confronts Kirk’s apprehension of dealing with the Klingons, by quoting what he refers to as a “Vulcan proverb”: “Only Nixon could go to China.”

According to the movie, the Federation and the Klingons have been engaged in a cold war for seventy years (as portrayed in the episode “Errand of Mercy” in the original series).

TUC’s portrayal of the explosion of Praxis resembled the Chernobyl Accident which was one of the largest embarrassments of the Soviet Union and shed a bright light on how quickly the Soviet system was decaying.

In the movie, there is a plot to end the peace movement by removing the leaders. This somewhat resembled the attempted coup d’état against Gorbachev in the summer of 1991 to stop his movement toward the formation of a more federal and less centralized Soviet Union.

Kirk's statement, that “some people think the future means the end of history. Well, we haven’t run out of history just yet.” is a reference to Francis Fukuyama’s essay “The End of History” (1990), which interpreted the fall of Communism as the triumph of liberal democracy, and thus the end of history.

During the dinner on board the Enterprise, the two sides debate about the loss of Klingon culture, which some in Eastern Europe feared with the “invasion” of Western culture as a result of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

By far, the major theme of TUC is the idea of overcoming one’s own prejudice. In the film, many characters on both sides must face the fact that peace has come and they must learn to accept one another. This is most evident with Kirk who struggles morally because of the conflict between his duty to his personal code of ethics and his difficulty in dealing with the loss of his son. Chancellor Gorkon reminds Kirk of this when leaving the Enterprise saying, "If there is to be a brave new world, our generation is going to have the hardest time living in it," echoing the fact that the politicians and servicemen who fought the hardest during the Cold War ironically had the most difficult time adjusting to its ending.

The film’s dialogue contains an enormous number of historical and cultural references. These include many lines of Shakespeare (most of which are quoted by Chang). In fact, the title "The Undiscovered Country" is taken from the popular "To Be or Not To Be" soliloquy from "Hamlet".

During Captain Kirk’s trial, General Chang (Christopher Plummer) asks Kirk a question and then shouts, “Don’t wait for the translation, answer me now!” This is a reference to U.S. Ambassador Adlai Stevenson’s confrontation at the United Nations with Soviet Ambassador Valerian Zorin over Cuban missile bases during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Plummer uses the exact same line nine years later in the TNT television miniseries Nuremberg while his character, Sir David Maxwell-Fyfe, is cross-examining Nazi Hermann Göring.

The character of Colonel West (Rene Auberjonois) was an inside joke reference to a real United States Marine officer: Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North. The West character was omitted from the original theatrical release of the film, and reinserted when the film went to video.
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rdprice64 · Apr 29, 2008

HISlaH

(that's Yes, for those of you that don't speak Klingon)

Although I don't think Worf or any of the other Klingon's would like the quadrant that I'm in. I think they would be more in line with lamebums and Delta Flyer

Chuck · Apr 29, 2008

You must know the orgin of my nickname Delta Flyer.

If I ever have a hound - I'll name him Worf...he will be an HONORABLE WATCHDOG

rdprice64 · Apr 29, 2008

Delta Flyer said: ↑

You must know the orgin of my nickname Delta Flyer.

If I ever have a hound - I'll name him Worf...he will be an HONORABLE WATCHDOG
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I didn't know the origin until now. Very clever. I always thought it had to do with coasting down hill on your own power.

bestmapman · Apr 29, 2008

This is getting a little weird. I took the symbol and dropped it onto the center of the graph. WOW, almost everybody fits right on the curve somewhere. All except Bailout. You may want to retest. LOL

msantos · Apr 29, 2008

Lol

lyekka · Apr 29, 2008

Economic Left/Right: -5.25
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -2.67

Just missed the symbol

locutus · Apr 29, 2008

Economic: -3.75
Social: -6.92

Outside the Klingon Empire as well...

Oh, and hi, Dalai Lama....

BailOut · Apr 29, 2008

OMG... I've been voted off the Enterprise. I must be a Yeoman!

desdemona · Apr 29, 2008

I'm closest to BailOut here, but I also wanted to answer some of them neutrally.

--des

koreberg · Apr 29, 2008

Economic Left/Right: -4.25
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -3.03

Although I think i'd be closer to the middle if they had a neutral option.

GrendelKhan · Apr 29, 2008

Economic Left/Right: -5.38
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -5.64

pdk · Apr 29, 2008

Here I am (rock you like a hurricane?)

Economic Left/Right: -2.88
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -2.31

I agree that the questions were quite a bit loaded and potentially biased...at the very least they were awkwardly phrased. I found myself saying "well, it depends" for at least 6 of the questions...DAMN YOU NUANCE!!!

lamebums · Apr 29, 2008

pdk said: ↑

Here I am (rock you like a hurricane?)

Economic Left/Right: -2.88
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -2.31

I agree that the questions were quite a bit loaded and potentially biased...at the very least they were awkwardly phrased. I found myself saying "well, it depends" for at least 6 of the questions...DAMN YOU NUANCE!!!
Click to expand...

I took the test three times and got different results each time, because it was different times of the day and I felt differently about a question (or I took it differently). I agree, there should be a "neutral" option.

Bailout, fall in.

vtec-e · Apr 29, 2008

Economic Left/Right: -4.88
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -2.72

ollie

bestmapman · Apr 29, 2008

Latest chart

93Hatch · Apr 29, 2008

See where I fall? I'm gonna throw my hat in the ring!

msantos · Apr 29, 2008

Well my wife (ksantos) also did this "questionnaire" last night and she got:

Economic Left/Right: -4.80
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -0.82

Wow!! (that is pretty close to my score)

Cheers;

MSantos

Euroford · Apr 29, 2008

Economic Left/Right: -3.75
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: 0.00

kwj · Apr 29, 2008

Right Lane Cruiser, how do you get that fancy signature with the 6mo, 3mo, 1mo?

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Political Compass

Chuck just the messenger

rdprice64 Still Learning

Chuck just the messenger

rdprice64 Still Learning

bestmapman Fighting untruth and misinformation

msantos Eco Accelerometrist

lyekka Well-Known Member

locutus MPG Centurion

BailOut My favorite holiday is Earth Day!

desdemona Well-Known Member

koreberg Junior Member

GrendelKhan Well-Known Member

pdk Beacon of Sanity

lamebums Member

vtec-e Celtic MPG Warrior

bestmapman Fighting untruth and misinformation

93Hatch Well-Known Member

msantos Eco Accelerometrist

Euroford Well-Known Member

kwj I hypermiled this

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Political Compass

Chuck just the messenger

rdprice64 Still Learning

Chuck just the messenger

rdprice64 Still Learning

bestmapman Fighting untruth and misinformation

msantos Eco Accelerometrist

lyekka Well-Known Member

locutus MPG Centurion

BailOut My favorite holiday is Earth Day!

desdemona Well-Known Member

koreberg Junior Member

GrendelKhan Well-Known Member

pdk Beacon of Sanity

lamebums Member

vtec-e Celtic MPG Warrior

bestmapman Fighting untruth and misinformation

93Hatch Well-Known Member

msantos Eco Accelerometrist

Euroford Well-Known Member

kwj I hypermiled this

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