This week we watched Star Trek and the film Majorie Prime . I have to say that the episode of Star Trek this week made me emotional because it was so good. I didn’t think a science fiction show would make me feel so many emotions but it did. I must say I think I will start watching Star Trek: The Next Generation on my own time even after this class ends.
Starting with the episode of Star Trek titled “A Measure of a Man”, I realized how influential memory is on humans and more so how it makes us human. This episode of Star Trek revolves around the debate on whether or not Data can be dismantled for examination because people are arguing the star fleet on Data not having any say in what happens to his body. Something that stood out to me as important was when they’re in the court and Data is asked why he carries around 2 items. His response is that he does not know. I think that this is true for actual humans. I hold onto to things without really knowing why other than that it carries a memory or some emotion to it. Although Data wasn’t a human to some, the people that really knew him believed he was just as human as them. I do believe that Data was cognitive. He had memories a past intimate relationship and furthermore in the lecture it was stated that cognition is constituted and extended by our interactions with the environment. I think Data definitely felt and was sentient. I also really loved the scene when the was Data was being treated was compared to how slaves are treated. Data was described as an “it” and was expected to not put up any argument to being dismantled because he supposedly had no emotions and feelings. They assumed he had no memories or cognition because he was an android. Slaves are treated the same way; they aren’t seen as human and therefore people think they can do whatever they want to them.
The film “Marjorie Prime” was crazy. I feel like that is an understatement somehow. The movie was just really mind boggling and good at the same time. The film revolves around an old woman spending the end of her life with a computerized version of her husband. I think the main thing I learned from the film was that a memory of someone is all we have left after someone passes. I think something the film really focuses on is autobiographical memory. The relationship of Majorie and Walter was remembered differently throughout time. As time passes the memories that Marjorie has of Walter changes slightly the more times she thinks back to certain times. This is true to real life and even how I think back at certain moments. Over time the way I remember things changes because I add different emotions to the experiences.
4 thoughts on “Why Did Star Trek Make Me Tear Up?”
Hi Ceili,
I am so delighted to hear that you enjoyed “Measure of a Man” (and Star Trek: TNG) so much. There are definitely some less than stellar episodes of TNG (especially in the early seasons), but there is a reason why Star Trek is so beloved, and its episodes like this one. I am glad that you are drawing our attention to the keepsakes that Data has with him. I think you are right that holding onto things like that (often without knowing why) is a very human thing to do. I think it is connected to memory and extended cognition. Part of the reason why we keep those things is because of what they remember for us; as we interact with them, they help us to remember people, places, and events.
In Marjorie Prime, we do see how our memories change, so that we remember things differently, or misremember them entirely. As the movie explains, that is, in part at least, because we are not just remembering the original event, but our memory of the event as well. That is actually one of the reasons why eye-witness accounts are often wildly unreliable. Eye-witnesses of crimes become increasing certain in their identification because they are not just remembering the crime, but also their previous identifications of the criminal. Often, they are not correct, but they feel certain that they are.
Jessica Hautsch
Hey,
Star trek made me tear up; I was genuinely surprised. But thinking about how people treated data because he wasn’t a “human”. What defines us being a human, having a heart and a brain? But our heart feels emotions and our brain holds the memory, right? Isn’t that the old tale of time. But data had all of that without having a so-called brain and heart. I really liked how your brought up that slaves were treated the same way and the worst part is that people didn’t see them as human, but they were just as human as them.
gcoito
Hey Ceili!
I have to say, I love Star Trek and this episode is definitely one of my favorites. I think in general I love Data’s storyline not just in this episode but in the entirety of the show and various movies. His purpose as a character within the show is that longs to be more human (Star Trek: First Contact has a great Data storyline if you’re interested). Anyways, I really loved how you explained the various possessions Data has. It shows that the connections we have to certain memories are often times very intimate and shape the way we act and feel today.
tpenske
If you are looking for more Data content, might I also make a recommendation for “Brothers,” “Offspring,” and, of course, “Data’s Day.”
Jessica Hautsch