Violence | ||
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Star Trek
In the episode
The Enemy Within, a transporter malfunction splits Captain
Kirk (William Shatner) in two.
One Kirk seems good, the other violent and evil.
As the episode unfolds we learn that the negative-seeming aspects of Kirk's
personality are fundamental to his ability to function professionally as the
Captain.
He must embrace both sides of his nature in order to be an integrated human
being.
Kirk
Despite an erroneous image of being a bit of a clown, Shatner's Kirk is nothing
like the caricatures.
Captain Kirk is typically very serious. He is cool headed, focussed; tightly
disciplined.
He puts the safety of the ship and its crew first. His orders are Law.
Kirk brooks no incompetence; he will step in immediately and take over if a crew
member falters in their duty.
Self-control
When intoxicated by an
inhibition freeing virus
Kirk chooses his ship over the women in the crew.
This occurs again in the episode
This Side of Paradise.
All business
Captain Kirk's good and bad sides work in harmony to produce an impressive
balance.
Although moderately patient and courteous with the crew, he is often terse and stern;
speaking in a clipped, concise manner at all times. Kirk reserves his humour for his friends.
Star Trek: The Next Generation
In the episode Tapestry, Captain Picard is given the opportunity to
re-live an incident from his Academy days which nearly cost him his life.
Instead of behaving rashly, he plays it safe.
The subsequent course of his life is changed and he finds himself a much
meeker man.
Picard recognises that even the bad choices we make are perhaps instrumental
in making us the person we are today.
Suppressing his violent traits makes him ineffectual as a Captain.
Real life
Ideally, we may seek 'to do the right thing' and
'do unto others as you
would have them do unto you'.
It is not always possible to please everyone all the
time.
Often, we may do what seems necessary rather than what is right.
The morality of our choices is perhaps a matter
of perspective... Sometimes, we fail to be our
better selves.
Violence in modern culture
There are popular characters in our culture who serve to highlight people's
need to express socially inappropriate aspects of their personality e.g.
Batman, Darth Maul or Captain Nemo.
Society is not fair and never will be.
Frustration, anger, resentment, injustice continue to exist.
Characters who express 'violent behaviour' in fictional stories enable the
audience to experience negative and often hostile emotional states in a
relatively innocuous manner.
If you recall the example of
The Enemy Within from
the original Star Trek series, these antisocial emotions are not 'bad' per
se; they are part of what make us who and what we are.
The thrill of violence?
These film clips represent exciting examples of violence:
Star Wars Episode 1 trailer: Fear is my ally
Not so friendly?
But is violence something to embrace?
Violence
Occasionally, situations require us to inflict pain in order to survive.
This is not something to be proud of or to get lost in.
But it is part of us.
Light resides in darkness. Easiness is attained
with difficulty.
(Lao Tzu)
Reasonable force
Aim for
strength, control, patience and focus.
Be resolute, fierce yet
intelligent.
Avoid the use of violence but recognise that is occasionally necessary.
Page
created 1 September 2002
Last updated
04 May 2023
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