By Matt Zoller Seitz
This is the first video essay for The L Magazine on aspects of film, TV and popular culture. A new one will appear every two weeks.
Mr. Spock, the Vulcan first officer of the Starship Enterprise in the original Star Trek series, is one of the most enduring characters in popular culture — so charismatic, conflicted and, well, fascinating, that his name and character are synonymous with the series, and in some ways synonymous with its potential, both achieved and unrealized.
As envisioned by series creator Gene Roddenberry, and honed by actor Leonard Nimoy and many inventive writers, including original series story editor D.C. Fontana, Mr. Spock is the company man par excellence — a spit-and-polish naval officer whose unstinting excellence stands as an example (sometimes a rebuke) to others. His first thought is invariably not of his own welfare, but the good of the starship, its crew and the highest ideals of Starfleet Federation. He is impressive in every way — eloquent, educated, fair-minded, resourceful and above all else, cool under fire. And on top of all that, he's got cool signature moves: the split fingered Vulcan salute; the mind-meld, and the Vulcan nerve pinch, which can nonviolently disable a foe.
Along with impetuous Captain James T. Kirk and cranky chief medical officer Leonard "Bones" McCoy, Mr. Spock was part of a central trio of characters that dominated the original Trek. Yet from the moment the series premiered on NBC in 1966 through its cancellation in 1969, its resurrection in syndication and as an animated series in the '70s and its reinvention as a movie franchise — including director J.J. Abrams' upcoming theatrical re-boot — Spock stood apart from the rest. To this day he arguably remains the franchise's most popular character, a walking emblem of Roddenberry's earnest attempts to use myth and melodrama to examine the human condition, and the poster Vulcan for a media and merchandising phenomenon that continues to this day.To read the rest of the article, or to view the video essay at The L, click here.
Posts
9 comments:
Matt, that was awesome! Really. And I'm only a casual fan.
Wow, must have taken so much work. Not that it feels like "so much work." It feels perfect. Just figuring, it must have taken sooooo much work.
It took a few days to edit and several more days to pull all the clips and sort through them. As is always the case with editing, the housekeeping part is the part that feels like work. The rest is fun.
Thanks for the kind words.
Awesome, indeed. Despite watching all six original-cast films for my give-and-take with Ed, I hadn't watched any of the TV episodes lately and so it was terrific to see those long clips that so perfectly illustrate your points while also revealing (to me) how the character became less complex (though even more iconic) in the films.
Your Othello comparison is an apt one. Of course, Spock is also a Christ figure, battling between his human emotions and his more-than-human expectations. This is underlined, of course, in the second film when he sacrifices himself, not so much because he wants to but because he knows it's expected of him.
All that said, I'm going to have to watch this again. There's a lot to chew on here. Can't wait to see what's next.
Jason: "The Last Temptation of Spock" would be a great premise for a Trek movie. A story where he got the chance to be human and gave it up for the good of the Enterprise, the Federation and the galaxy. Basically "City on the Edge of Forever" with a Vulcan.
Thanks for this.
As an unabashed Star Trek fan (and student), I'd never considered Spock in TOS as an Oedipal figure but the moment you mentioned it, it rung true. (It probably helped that I happened across "Journey to Babel" on television this afternoon.)
A great piece of work.
And I love the monorail episode.
Nimoy: A solar eclipse. The cosmic ballet goes on...
Passenger: Does anybody wanna switch seats?
I'll try to keep spoilers on the new Trek movie to a minimum, but consider yourself warnedHey Matt,
I saw the new Trek on Thursday and was pleasently surprised. Your essay was in the back of my mind as I watched Spock's storyline unfold. I must say that the underlying Oedipal nature of his character you pointed out not only still holds up, but is now even MORE apparent as evidenced by how the events on Vulcan precipitated his relationship with Uhura. Did you react the same way?
Haven't seen it yet -- I'll see it tomorrow and definitely let you know.
Matt,
Fantastic job! It does look like it was fun putting together, for sure. Being a Trekkie of sorts since I was very, very young, Spock was probably the first 'tragic' figure I recognized when I was 5 or 6. Your piece beautifully put this back into focus as I haven't watched an original series episode in a couple of years. Especially, 'Amok Time', what a great piece of work that was.
Spock worked so well because Nimoy's performance was so disciplined. Never a false move. Haven't seen Quinto's take yet but of the other actors that have played 'Vulcan', none were as impressive as Nimoy. Interesting also that Nimoy himself had such a love/hate relationship with the character. Understandably, a vast array of talent (that may or may not include singing) hidden in the shadow of a character that might be referenced until the end of humanity. How many of those will there be?
Roddenberry's vision and Nimoy's virtuosity remain a strong influence on me.
Thanks again.
Post a Comment