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On “First Contact”: Little Ships

I rewatched First Contact today in honor of the only real Star Trek holiday, First Contact Day, April 5, 2063. We’re 44 years from Star Trek’s canonical first contact between humans and an alien race.

It’s established in the fandom that First Contact is the best of the TNG movies, and it gives TWOK a run for its money. One of the reasons for this is the casting and acting. Alfre Woodard as Lily is remarkable in the ready room scene with Stewart’s Picard. I got choked up on this rewatch multiple times throughout this, even knowing almost every word from memory. 

The scene climaxes with Picard’s self-righteous and self-centered “this-far-and-no-further” tirade. Picard’s speech seems like it’s about the good of the people of the galaxy, but his final words betray his motive: “I will make them pay for what they have done.” It has to be Picard who makes them pay because “what they’ve done” is not “assimilate entire worlds;” “what they’ve done” is what Lily realizes: “They hurt you, so you’re going to hurt them back.” 

It feels, on the surface, just looking at the words, that Lily then utters a non-sequitur. In his rage, Picard broke a glass display of old Enterprises. Lily says: “You broke your little ships.” But she spits these words at him, nonchalantly, contrasting with his rage. She has the perspective that Picard doesn’t--that his vengeance is petty. That his rage is a small thing in the face of the stakes: the assimilation of humanity. Rage is not justification; it’s a feeling. And how we as people respond to our feelings matters--it often needs to be tempered with perspective and with logic. This was also a theme in a recent DISCO episode, “Through the Valley of Shadow,” with Spock’s counsel to Michael, “Rage is the enemy of logic.” In short, Lily isn’t buying into the reasonableness of Picard’s rage; she sees a bigger picture and is responding rationally to it.

Though it’s unclear whether Lily meant this as a persuasive move, it does persuade Picard. He realizes his error, changes his mind, and makes the rational decision that Lily and the crew want him to make. Every line delivery in this scene is pitch perfect--a credit to Frakes’ directing and Woodard and Stewart’s acting. 

I think what makes it so clearly an example of superb acting is that I struggled for a long time with that scene, in part because I do not get angry easily. I get perturbed and frustrated, but I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve been so angry as to wish ill of another person. But in a play that is well acted, if you are paying attention, the actors will guide you to that emotion even if it is rare in your experience. And Woodard and Stewart have that quality.

First Contact is worth a rewatch even for just that scene, although Data and Cochrane’s stories are also well worth exploring as well. Cheers! on First Contact Day.

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Past Prologue

I’m a geek. I’m a nerd. And this is my story.

I grew up watching afternoon matinees of Star Trek films and TOS reruns.  I played with a toy Enterprise-D and shuttle. I watched the original run of Star Trek: Voyager as it aired. It was my first Star Trek.  

Star Wars was much hyped in my family. The box set VHS trilogy had been a Christmas present that I cherished. I still remember the nights my parents and I watched the original trilogy for the first time. I saw the ANH & ROTJ Special Editions in theaters. I saw all the Star Wars prequels in theaters. I played with a toy Death Star and Millennial Falcon. I imagined all kinds of new adventures in that universe.

I read Superman, Star Wars, and Star Trek comics. I still have them all in a box in the basement. I dig them out every once in awhile and read and remember.

I saw all the Jurassic Park movies in theaters. I still remember seeing Jurassic Park in theaters with my dad. He made me cover my eyes when Nedry got eaten because he was afraid it would be too graphic. I had a model of the T-Rex and the boardgame. For awhile, I wanted to be a paleontologist.

I guess I mention this to establish my bonafides as a geek. But I also realize, upon reflection, that these touchstones of nerd culture were a kind of seed planted that would not become important in my life until years later.

I came from a very religious family and attended a Christian college. While the college was Christian, the liberal arts education I received there was not an indoctrination. Instead, it was what a liberal arts education should be--an exploration of human experience. It was an incredible opportunity to be curious and to pursue curiosity wherever it led. And in that education, I began to question my faith. For a time, I lost it completely. 

In that moment, the seeds planted by my time in nerd culture came to bear fruit. I had started to watch Deep Space Nine on DVDs I rented from the local library. Even at its darkest, DS9 gave me hope. It gave me a belief in the goodness of humanity. It gave me comfort. It told me, as The Oatmeal’s comic on Gene Rodenberry eloquently explains, that it’s going to be okay.

I’ve since moved on to a career and marriage. But I am still a geek. I am still a nerd. These stories and ideas have been and continue to be a part of how I live my life and part of what gets me through the day. They make life interesting. The themes nerd culture explores are valid and important and fascinating. And I hope this blog contributes in some way to the conversations we have about the culture.