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| What is wrong with the youth of America? | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Aug 26 2003, 09:33 AM (416 Views) | |
| 24thcenstfan | Aug 26 2003, 09:33 AM Post #1 |
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Something Wicked This Fae Comes
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After Sunday lunch with the family this week, the two young boys that were visiting (well teenagers that my cousin mentors), asked to watch a movie. So we are flipping through pay-per-view looking for a movie and we get to Die Another Day (James Bond). I suggest the movie because it is an action movie. They say who is James Bond? I am stunned that they asked…I recover quickly and after giving them a little reminder they vaguely know who he is. We move on and get to Star Trek: Nemesis. I say how about Star Trek? In unison they both say, "I hate Star Trek," "it is stupid," yada yada yada. Ok, I am really looking at them now like they are crazy and I go into a small speech about the greatness of Trek and I finally stop when they are looking no more convinced than when I started. Ultimately, they chose Final Destination 2 (all about death collecting its supposed due, blood, car wrecks). Later, I thought more about their reaction to Trek and I couldn't help but feel like there is a whole generation of young people who are missing out on one of the greatest sci-fi adventure series made. Why? Is it the quality of Enterprise? The nature of what attracts youths today (violence, blood, carnage)? I don't know…but it is sad, very very sad.
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| mrbastard | Aug 26 2003, 09:45 AM Post #2 |
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Lieutenant
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It may be just a co-incidence that the franchise has failed to attract new blood just at the same time that Star Wars has ben releasing the prequels...my two young nephews love the Star Wars films, yet tur their noses up at Star Trek... Star Wars had a break of 14 years between Return of the Jedi and The Phantom Menace, and I for one feel that Star Trek is in need of a well earned break. But I reckon the one main reason for the decline of the :angry: franchise is the 'leadership' of Berman and Braga...they know it is failing, and think they know why...they are completely out of touch...it would be better if they had absolutely no idea why the franchise was losing viewers, because their current medicine 'the Xindi', will only make things worse. :angry: |
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| Admiralbill_gomec | Aug 26 2003, 12:06 PM Post #3 |
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UberAdmiral
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"Is it the quality of Enterprise?" I think that a lot of the youth of America has moved past Enterprise and the Trek franchise. Look at the more popular shows out there for an idea... Smallville, Angel. Yes, there are Voyager fans in their teens who populate Startrek.com, but by and large they watch other TV. Braga tried to appeal to this audience in snips and tidbits... catsuit for T'Pol, making Archer super-sensitive to try and draw the young in. Personally, I think a good adventure story that doesn't have to rely on special effects would draw more people in... across a broad spectrum. I've ridiculed young Enterprise fans as the "Dawson's Creek contingent," among other things. Dawson's Creek, lame as it is, had detailed storylines, and things that kids could relate to. Enterprise doesn't, and neither did Voyager and the last few seasons of TNG. The problem with the writing in recent Trek (post 1991) has been ego. Before you all spam me with "you just hate Braga", hear me out. It isn't just Braga, and it isn't just Berman. It is both of them AND Paramount. With B&B, they wanted to put their mark on the franchise... something to where they can puff out their chests and say, "I did this!" With Paramount, the Trek franchise was to be foundation for UPN, so having Voyager and DS9 out there were huge strokes to their collective ego. Enterprise is just a continuation of a large Hollywood circle j**k (pardon me for being so blunt). Braga doesn't care (go to his narcissistic website, brannonbraga.com, and see for yourself), Berman doesn't care, and Paramount doesn't care. Of course, UPN is now controlled by CBS, and is calving off stations, but as long as the revenue comes in, CBS/UPN doesn't care. So, what does it boil down to? The networks and producers don't CARE enough to put out a quality product. The fans suffer now, but they'll feel it soon enough. |
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| mrbastard | Aug 26 2003, 02:14 PM Post #4 |
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Lieutenant
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can see where you're coming from, admiral |
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| TribbleMom | Aug 26 2003, 05:28 PM Post #5 |
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Commodore
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Maybe what's "wrong" with youth today is that they've already been given a plethora of choices in what to watch, and they ususally opt for what's easiest to understand (i.e., action, action, action -- passive entertainment) rather than choosing a quality show which causes brainwork. I'm one of the old fogies who got hooked on Trek in my youth partly because there were only 3 networks at the time (plus PBS), so there weren't nearly as many options as are offered today between cable channels and satellite TV. In the "olden days" Trek stood out as a quality show that made you think, unlike sitcoms or variety shows which focused only on passive entertaining. As a 6-year-old starting to watch Trek, the weird aliens and phaser fights caught my attention. But I kept watching it as I grew, and came to appreciate the underlying messages the Trek episodes gave us as well. Kids today have SO MANY different things to choose to watch. It's little wonder they'll gravitate to "easier" shows than to something that may contain a message. Messages are "boring" for kids. And I think that's one of the differences between Star Wars and Star Trek. Star Wars movies tend to be filled with action and adventure which overshadow any message. That's not a bad thing -- I enjoy their entertaining quality. But Star Trek, having the advantage of TV epiodes in addition to movies, is a better vehicle for sending out messages because of their depth. Very likely, unless kids see kids on Enterprise, they'll think there's nothing there for them to relate to. Berman & Braga, I believe, are just trying to follow the statistics from demographics studies and they're trying to tailor the current show to the young male population making up the largest demographic of the audience. Hence, skintight catsuits, more "war stuff," and less morality plays. Another question to think about is this: many times kids are influenced (while they're young) by what they see their parents or role models watching on TV. Are their parents watching Star Trek and discussing the episodes later? Or are they watching drivel and drek? |
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| Cool Vulcan | Aug 26 2003, 05:34 PM Post #6 |
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Captain
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Will I agree on not knowing who James Bond is. Many non Star Trek fans claim to say that they hate Star Trek, may I ask this? "Have they ever watched Star Trek?" the answer would be no. It happens all the time, even at work I have a password that has a part with 1701, some girl wanted to know how I came up with my password I said it came from my favourite ship. What ship, I just said its a Star Trek ship registery number. She then asked what the heck is a starship?. :rolleyes: My next question was have you ever seen Star Trek? no she repied I hate Star Trek. Ask them, I bet they never even watched it. |
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| Admiralbill_gomec | Aug 27 2003, 08:38 AM Post #7 |
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UberAdmiral
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Gabe, you just reminded me of something... back when I was a teenager (around the time the dinosaurs ruled the planet), Star Trek showed in reruns on WPIX in New York. My annoying little sister, who was 9 or 10 at the time, used to call the program "Tar Streak", which annoyed me no end. Since this was the age before remotes, whoever was first into the den got to control what was on TV (until Dad walked in, and he ruled from then on). So, we watched a lot of TOS. In time she grew to like it, but it took a while! |
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| Jmkeepingca | Aug 27 2003, 09:12 AM Post #8 |
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Master Chief
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Its not just in America folks... its everywhere. I think that children in this day and age just can't seem to focus on anything at all, let alone being wrapped up in somthing that might make them learn. I was an officer with the cadet program for kids 12 - 19 up until a few months ago. I had come up through the system and have been an officer since 1996 and lt me tell you... most kids today have the attention span and moral compass of a gnat. I was once teaching a lesson on leadership and in this class I start with the opening line "John Kennedy, John A. Macdonald, Winston Churchill and even Adolf Hitler all have what in common?" and the usual reply is that they were good leaders ( Hitler might have been evil but he still got people to do what he wanted them to do ). Anyway, I have taught this class for almost 10 years... the first year I taught it I got the answer I was looking for... last year I was actually asked the question on who these people were. These kids had no idea!!!! This is a disturbing trend I think. When kids don't read, don't study and don't learn things become stagnent. How can we as a society learn and grow and evolve if kids are not learning lessons, and are being exposed more and more to "consequence free" actions? While Trek may be "just a show" to some people, it actually does hold a deeper message... and this message is simply not being conveyed in other televison shows... and hardly conveyed anywhere else in the media. |
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| 24thcenstfan | Aug 27 2003, 09:55 AM Post #9 |
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Something Wicked This Fae Comes
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I agree that ego is a problem with Braga, Berman and Paramount. Its obvious to me that they have come to take Trek fans for granted. They use our loyalty against us and figure that there will always be at least a small contingent of dedicated Trek fans that will never turn away from the series. Also, that there will be just enough fans to float the show, so why should they bother producing a quality product if that loyal contingent of fans is going to stick around anyway. If they were smart they would be saying…ok how do we reward that loyal fan base. Maybe by investing in the quality of the writing, continuity, character development, creating a decent startrek.com message board….yada yada yada you get the point. Then they might be surprised by the return of former Trek viewers and just might find themselves in the lap of luxury as far as ratings are concerned (like when TNG was on). |
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| Dandandat | Aug 30 2003, 09:26 PM Post #10 |
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Time to put something here
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:angry: the question is - what is wrong with parents today? You should have seen the little brats running around the cruise ship I took this past week. One particular incident was with this 12 year old kid in the suit next to mine, one night he was arguing for an hour with his mom (if you have ever been on a cruise you know how thin the walls are) about being able to stay out longer (apparently this kid got into a fight, because some other kid called him fat). She kept telling him no for the whole hour, then (much to my delight because it ended the argument) she gave into him and he was let out for longer. Also I saw the same kid buying gold jewelry buy the handful at the ships gift shop (and believe me this kid and his mom didn’t look rich at all - it was just another case of a parent giving into here kids desires) |
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| Swidden | Aug 30 2003, 11:00 PM Post #11 |
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Adm. Gadfly-at-large; Provisional wRench-fly at large
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If it makes you feel any better 24, my wife's 6 year old niece is very interested in things Star Trek. She discovered by noticing the LCARS based desktop I had on my screen and asking about it. I showed her some photo downloads of the various characters, series and movies. Her favorite is Data with Janeway a close second (she's a girl captain afterall), she likes Insurrection and will look at anything I have related to Trek. She is only one kid, but I am hopeful that her interest will continue. She even turned our living room into her own version of a bridge the same day she discovered that there was in fact a lady captain out there. Not all is lost... |
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| Dandandat | Aug 30 2003, 11:15 PM Post #12 |
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Time to put something here
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24 I try to do my part my daughters name is Ezri and I hope one day (she is only 2) that she will have an interest in how she got her name. |
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| mrbastard | Aug 31 2003, 08:06 AM Post #13 |
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Lieutenant
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Many people would consider that 'geeky', but I think Star Trek has some really great names! My better half and I often talk about what we'd name our kids, should we ever be able to afford to have any (not to think what might happen to the world if I was to procreate! ), and I always say a son would be named James Thomas Kirk *surname* - as in James T Kirk (my grandfather is also James, and I like Jim), and for a daughter Jadziah.
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| Dandandat | Aug 31 2003, 10:44 AM Post #14 |
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Time to put something here
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Yea you are right it is geeky - but Ezri is a nice name in and of its self. So doesnt follow or liked star trek they most likely wouldn’t make the connection. If they do like star trek She has nothing to worry about she will make an instant friend. I wanted to name my kids after a star trek character, but my wife didn’t like that idea. I finally convince her to allow me to name our first daughter Ezri Dax(middle name) because she thought Ezri was a cute name. I tried to convince her to use Jadziah but she said that was to ugly. |
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| Dr. Noah | Sep 16 2004, 02:14 PM Post #15 |
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Sistertrek's Asian Correspondant
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Thought I would resurrect this one before the new season of Enterprise comes out. Trek is losing fans, and failing to attract new ones. Let's hope Braga's absence is a good omen. Personally, I watched old James Bond when I was a kid, but I was lucky enough to have family who introduced me to it. (My favorite is You only Live Twice. A satellite stealing ship, an evil genius with a base in a dead volcano, a single shot cigarette gun, what more can you ask for?) I didn't like Star Trek when I was a kid. I grew up as the Star Wars trilogy was coming out, so I was distracted by the more action oriented franchise. I saw Wrath, Search and Voyage Home in the theaters, and honestly, TOS didn't do anything for me. When TNG came out, I began watching around the third season and was totally hooked. Now, my favorite series is what most fans call the most boring because it's character oriented rather than action. You change a lot from being a kid, my guess as to why kids are not into Trek as I was and the TOS crowd was is that there's more action and less censorship on other shows. The most popular video games now are the Tom Clancy type spy/assasin types. This really bothers me as they are ultra violent and very realistic. I am afraid that the utopian scenario is unpopular with the violence oriented youth. But then again, I can be wrong.
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), and I always say a son would be named James Thomas Kirk *surname* - as in James T Kirk (my grandfather is also James, and I like Jim), and for a daughter Jadziah.

9:13 AM Jul 11