#but this moment was incongruous and really threw me off my enjoyment of the episode

[hylianengineer]

I love Discovery, I really do, but I really really hate that speech Michael gave at the very end of season 4.

She talked about new planets joining the federation and all the others out there seeking understanding and connection. And I just... ew. This positively reeks of cultural imperialism. You think you're the only source of understanding?

Can we please stop acting like joining the Federation is the only valid path for a spacefaring civilization? Can we please stop trying to bring our knowledge and understanding of the universe to other cultures without seeking to accept theirs as well? It reminds me of how European colonial powers - heck modern Western powers as well - come into less powerful countries and try to remake them into little copies of themselves. It reminds me of Christian mercenaries and the way they believe that everyone must worship their god, not any other. The god of Star Trek is the Federation itself, and the ideals which support it. But like actual gods, this ideology is not the only one which is correct - we may assume there are countless others which are all equally respectable. And I feel like sometimes Star Trek believes that in name only. They don't force their way of life on people overtly, but why, says the Federation, wouldn't anyone want to adopt it? There's an implication that the Federation knows better than anybody else, so of course they should join them and play by their rules. Isn't it obvious their way is correct? They're trying so hard to respect other cultures and if they just do it hard enough, they'll all want to be like them.

We talk about this fandom's legacy of cultural imperialism quite a bit, and I am not pleased to see a new show repeating it. But I also don't believe for a second this is the kind of message Discovery's writers were trying to send. Because the message they intended is writ large across the entirety of this show - and that message is hope and human connection in the face of division; it is mutual respect and communication; it is a message wholy incompatible with the implications of this speech.

It just shows how deeply these harmful ideas have been embedded in our culture, that we can perpetuate them without realizing it. So let's learn from it and do better next time.

#star trek #cultural imperialism #colonialism #star trek discovery #disco s4 spoilers #discovery season 4 #no hate to the writers or anybody they all deserve the benefit of the doubt #it's still a great show which i love dearly #but this moment was incongruous and really threw me off my enjoyment of the episode #this is not a cancel post it is a 'let's engage in media with our critical thinking skills' post #i can love something and recognize its imperfections and i am doing both wholeheartedly #hylian rambles #a bit #negative #but that is not the point #sort of a rant #sometimes my brain makes a connection and smacks me in the face with it