But hey if you're not american - or young enough to not have the relentless exposure to the same story a billion times, then you'll probably love it. (Chuck noted that enjoyment of the episode seemed to trend along national lines.)
From someone who isn't American, I've always thought of Star Trek as deeply American, but in the absolute best of ways.
A beautiful optimism untethered by the cynicism of history that's deeply embedded in Asian and European culture.
The America that wrote the Constitution, won WWII, and went to the Moon because, fuck you, it was the right thing to do. That moved the world forward by sheer force of will.
The characters were the Apollo astronauts. Highly qualified, competent, and professional. They were the best of us. The people we wished we could be.
But it never crossed the line into being jingoistic. There was always a feeling that the writers thought about the whole world, and the issues that face everyone. I never felt alienated, as a non-American.
For all that the rest of the world likes to shit on America, Star Trek represents what we love about you guys.
Nu-Trek is the exact opposite.
The "diversity" is surface level bullshit. It reeks of dumb internet stereotypes. Of writers who have never left their coastal American cities, whose idea of the world has been shaped by Twitter and Reddit. Who have never talked with someone with a funny accent whose perspective on world issues might be different to their own. Who are neck deep in American geek culture, and have no interest in the world outside that might not be as black and white as Reddit tells them it is.
I do feel apart from nu-Trek, in a way that Trek has never made me feel before. I feel like the writers are sitting in their happy little geek culture club, feeling smug about themselves and their "woke" American reddit politics, worrying about which videogames to play to keep from getting bored in the quarantine, while the rest of the world burns around them.
