Wednesday, December 12, 2012

J.J. Abrams' fear of Trekkies

Director J.J. Abrams has done it again. In an interview with MTV, (video below) Abrams says his upcoming movie, Star Trek Into Darkness was "not made for Star Trek fans. It was made for movie fans." This echoes his comment in 2008 about his first Star Trek movie, where he said, "We weren't making a movie for fans of Star Trek. We were making a movie for fans of movies. Entertainment Weekly, Oct. 24, 2008 pg. 30. As a Trekker, I was offended when he made that comment four years ago and somewhat annoyed about the recent comment.

Abrams' comments reflect a fear of Star Trek fans. Now to be fair, he did tell MTV that there will be stuff in the new movie that Trek fans will like. But why must Abrams continue to suggest that his movies can be divorced from Star Trek? It's because he seeks a broader audience outside of Star Trek fandom. It's a fear that only Trek fans will come to this movie. However, it was the Trek fans who saved Star Trek and made it into the franchise it is today. His comment reflects a certain nod that Trekkers are geeks. The problem becomes is this new movie Star Trek? If Abrams makes a movie for the lowest common denominator, the movie ceases to be Star Trek. We'll see in May of 2013 whether Star Trek Into Darkness is Star Trek.