Gene Roddenberry once said that he had “no belief that Star Trek depicts the actual future, it depicts us, now, things we need to understand about that.” He helmed a show that, in its very first episode, promised to boldly go where no man had gone before... and go there it did. Throughout its run and multiple spinoffs, Star Trek made powerful social commentary in line with its creator’s vision. The original series ran from 1966 through 1969, in an overlap between the civil rights movement’s height
Cynthia Kadohata's Kira-Kira Cynthia Kadohata's book, Kira-Kira, is a story about an American-Japanese family during the mid-1950's who struggle to save money to buy a home. The story begins in Iowa where the family lives and owns a small Asian grocery store. The parents are American born, educated in Japan and still hold some Japanese traditional qualities. Conflict is introduced when they move to Georgia to work in a poultry factory after their family store fails to be profitable. Additional
Tsunayoshi. Meanwhile, Asano is in Edo awaiting a court meeting with the corrupt Master of Ceremonies, Kira. Asano already has a general distaste for Kira, as Kira is notorious for taking bribes under the table. Asano, being taught strict Confucian morals and ethics, sees this as unhonorable. He is to undergo the meeting with Lord Date, another representative of the Shogun. When they arrive, Kira treats Date nicely, and is friendly towards him, but is disrespectful towards Asano, saying “You know
Seppuku, dying to protect your samurai general, and not being with the one you love doesn't have a lot in common, but they do in the movie, “47 Ronin.” You see, all of them are loosely tied to sacrifice, the act of giving up something valued for something regarded as more important. There were many different forms of this prominent theme that were constantly seen throughout “47 Ronin,” especially in the examples given above. The main types seen were forced sacrifice, offering made to protect, and
In 1966 a series called "Star Trek" was created. It's creator, Gene Roddenberry, did not create the show to be a science fiction series. The series was much deeper than that. It wasn't just about discovering new planets and civilizations. It was about controversial issues. Even though the series' take place in the 23rd and 24th century the issues struck with the times and related current issues. Through each series, The Original, Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager, there has been progression