Nov
20
2008
Optimism: The Final Frontier
Today I’m sick as a dog, so why not blog?
First of all, can I just geek out for a moment about the new Star Trek Trailer? I’m not even really a Star Trek fan, but WOW. The most awesome part about the trailer is that I didn’t even KNOW it was for Star Trek for the first minute. It totally threw me off. That’s J.J. Abrams for you. And speaking of Trek, without even seeing the new film, I have a feeling that Star Trek and the Fraggle Rock movie have some things in common.
No, Fraggles will not use transporters in the new film.
I have been watching the Trek project closely, since it is also a re-boot of much loved characters from an old show (and it has its share of fanboy critics). J.J. has dared to restyle the bridge, rewrite Trek history and recast legendary roles. He’s also made a daring leap with a tone that is foreign to current genre movies… optimism.
Hope? Optimism? What times does this guy think we live in? Times that need a boost of the stuff, I believe. In the wake of a new president who’s election was won on these ideals, it seems like there is a hunger for hope, even if it has not trickled down to all of our culture yet. In recent interviews about Trek, Abrams has been quoted as saying, “I’d like to make optimism cool again.”
That’s why now is the perfect time to make a Fraggle Rock movie. The pendulum has swung pretty far into the dark, and we need it to swing back. The original Star Wars came out just after the Vietnam War. People needed escapist entertainment, but they also needed a story that saw clear-cut goodness against clear-cut evil. Star Wars was a ridiculously hopeful movie that came out at just the right time. And we ate it up.
I look forward to the new Trek, and to a new optimism. This can only pave the way for foolish mantras like “dance your cares away,” or a major movie starring a singing puppet.
