It’s a question of galactic proportions. It’s been debated, bickered over, and bantered about for thirty-seven years. If you are a sci-fi geek, you have probably asked yourself this question at least once -(Spoilers: It’s not 'Doctor Who?' Sorry Whovians. Not this time.) Which is the superior science fiction franchise- Star Wars or Star Trek?
I can feel the fans who adamantly argue one side or the other gearing up to disagree with me. And you may, but I’m not here to argue either side. Today, I’m going to discuss the differences between the two and explain why, on a closer examination, I think that this decades old question may be irrelevant.
Let’s start with setting. This is the basis on which I think the two series are really comparable. They both have “Star” in the title. Aesthetically, they both qualify as science fiction. They both take place in space. They have cool weapons, ships, droids, planets, aliens, and space battles. If you want to debate this debate, these are your categories. However, setting isn't all there is to a story.
Next up in our survey are the ever-so-beloved characters. Both Star Wars and Star Trek are populated by characters that have shaped our modern culture. When trying to do a side-by-side comparison, however, we really can’t fit them into the same molds. At all.
When talking about character archetypes, Star Wars contains fantasy-type characters. There are: Luke- The hero; Obi Wan Kenobi- The wizard/mentor; Emperor Palpatine- The evil sorcerer; and the like.
In Star Trek on the other hand, the characters take their cues more from nautical and military literature. The captains are noble and brave, and universally admired by their crews. There are also some specifically science fictional character types. The best example of this is the alien characters such as Spock and Data. Though Data is an android, he fills the same role as Spock. Both are incredibly intellectual non-humans looking from the outside into humanity. (I personally hold that Star Trek: The Original Series introduced many of the sci-fi archetypes we use today.)
Though Star Wars has aliens and robots, their alien and robot characteristics do not play a major role in their character arcs.
As for plot, Star Wars really only has one- you may be able to argue for two- major plots. The original trilogy is the classic hero’s journey tale- a young boy finding his destiny, rescuing the damsel and saving the world. The prequel trilogy is the inverse story. It is the story of a promising young man who saves the world, then descends into villainy.
Star Trek, on the other hand is made up of multiple science fiction plot lines. They are the quintessential science fiction plot lines: robots, androids, clones, genetic engineering, super weapons, projected reality, aliens and the like.
The themes of the two franchises are inextricably linked to the plots. In Star Wars, the main theme is the fine line between heroism and villainy. An overarching theme of Trek is what it means to be human.
Star Wars is not science fiction in the way Star Trek is. It deserves it’s place in science fiction history because of the advances it made in special effects technology and the popularization of the “used” sci-fi universe. Star Trek deserves it’s place in the history of sci-fi for the revolutionary plots, themes and characters it introduced. So really, in the multiverse of our beloved genre, the occupy opposite ends of the spectrum. They’re not competing for one spot!
Honestly, the entire reason I've thought through this post is that I love both and didn't want to have to pick one or the other.
Keep on glowing in the dark,
Elora
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