As the latest reboot of a classic series hits the screens, it's a good time to reflect on what it really tells us.
Being an action film, Star Trek into Darkness has plenty going on. Reviewers have noted how well Abrams directs the action scenes, which make the Original Series seem quite tame: I don't recall any episodes where the Enterprise was seriously trashed and many of the crew killed (sorry for the spoilers).
But what is more interesting is what it tells us about the USA. Apart from the obvious nostalgia for the late sixties, when the US had a better idea who it was: running the Galaxy (global economy) supported by the Federation (UN) policed by Star-fleet (NATO), there are wider references to the present day.
The plot involves terrorism perpetrated by someone linked to Star-fleet, that modern day US fear of the enemy within. The response to this September 11th type event is unusually hawkish for Star Trek but quite in character with US policy. In what seems to be a cowboy-style revenge story, the Klingons also appear, now possibly seen as the North Koreans rather than the Soviet Union they used to represent. Still framed as the Federation's greatest foe, they are targeted for attack as part of the repost to terrorism, paralleling President Bush's 'War onTerror'. Indeed Peter Weller's Admiral Marcus sounds like Donald Rumsfeld at his most vitriolic.
This brings in a key theme: militarisation, worries about security and global (galaxy-wide) significance. How will Star Fleet defend its Federation in the future with all the changes going on? Will there need to be new and unsavoury alliances or development of more complex and even less ethical weapons? Or is the Federation finished? Is it time for someone else to rule the galaxy?
Worrying, the Klingons may now represent China, the real threat to the USA, the newest global superpower with money to throw at weapons and trade links that equal or surpass America's. A country in ascendancy while the US declines. Symbolising the tattered state of the US's economy (and self-image) the starship Enterprise endures a serious trashing in the film.
There are also a number of positive themes. Brave individuals, yet again, save the day. Team work and co-operation are valued. And the Enterprise crew rediscover their purpose. By the end of the film they restate their mission.
In fact this is the real message it gives us. After been forced into military action, driven by the Hawks, Kirk finally puts his shipmates first. He makes the ultimate sacrifice to save his crew in a thinly veiled Christian (and also Star Trek the Wrath of Khan) reference.
So he and the Enterprise are reborn. The ship, Star Fleet and the federation are back on track. Tellingly, Kirk gives a speech where he says 'we need to re find who we are.' Then he repeats the oft-heard Star Trek mission statement, always given at the start of the TV show, about boldly going where no man (no one) has gone before.
What this final point means for the USA is a little hard to pin down but it does suggest that there is currently less enthusiasm for wars and military intervention. That being the global policeman is no longer at the top of most American's list. However, the frontiers they intend to explore have yet to be sought out. This was not the focus of the film but must be the main topic for the US populace to debate. As American hegemony fades, what comes next?
Maybe Star Trek three will tell us...