Transcript
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Kirk
Mid life crisis
Friends with elders on the Enterprise
Has never faced death, until Spok dies
Lost his best friend
Khan
Cryogenic sleep kept him from aging
Strong relationships with crew of the Botany Bay
Has experienced a great deal of death
Lost his wife and son
Age, Friendship and Death
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Kirk
Needs glasses to see
Exiled the crew of the Botany Bay to a lifeless planet (he didnt know that)
Khan (anti-heroic)
Lost his wife
Trying to save his people
Becomes obsessed with vengeance
The flawed hero
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Kobayashi Maru Ship cannot be saved
Kirk changed the program (cheated) to escape
Genesis Project
Can create life, but can also take life away and replace it with new life
Kirk narrowly escapes, but loses his friend to radiation poisoning
Khan almost destroys the Enterprise
Kirk knew something about the ships that Khan didnt
Spoks sacrifice
Spok sacrifices himself to save the Enterprise, which leads to his death
No-win situations
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Science has always been a pawn of the military Science creates
Military uses creations intended for good for use as a weapon
Nuclear energy
Ironman Afghan Rebels capture Tony Stark and want him to make the Jericho missile for them
Genesis Project
Starfleet has the power to take control of the project and implement as they wish
Science vs. Military
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Only God has the power to create
Genesis Project allows humans to play God
In the wrong hands, it can be used to destroy
Moral and Ethical implication?
David Marcus vs. Starfleet
David vs. Goliath
Relationship?
Science vs. Religion
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Kirk had a brief interlude with Dr. Carol Marcus Resulting in a son (David Marcus)
Carol wants Kirk to stay away from son
David sees Kirk for what he is, and accepts him after he proves himself
Scotty has a nephew on board
Peter Preston dies in an attack
He remained after everyone else left their post
Khan lost his wife on Ceti Alpha 5
Also lost Joachim (his son)
Joachim tried to reason with Khan Didnt want to go into the nebula
Thought they should abandon their vengeance
Family: Kids are Smarter
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Moby-Dick Khan quotes Ahab
To the last I grapple with thee.
From Hells heart I stab at thee.
For hates sake I spit my lest breath at thee.
Kirk is the whale (always escaping) Khans blind pursuit of Kirk mirrors Captain Ahabs obsession with Moby-Dick
Both Khan and Ahab pursue their quarry against the better judgment of their crew, and
end up killing themselves in an effort to take their foe with them
Tale of Two Cities
Spok gives Kirk a copy for his birthday
Kirk recites the first and last lines of the book during the film
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times
It is a far, far better rest I go to, than I have ever known
In the end, Carlton- a man who wasted his life- goes to the guillotine and his death for
the better man, Darnay.
Other Literary References
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Bifurcated: splitting of something into two parts
Dueling halves of the human condition
Spok
No emotions
Logical and infallible
Kirk
Impassioned
Human reality- prone to error
At odds with self
Bifurcated Hero
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Spoks sacrifice at the end of film allows for Kirks spiritual rebirth
Kirk goes from feeling old to feeling young
Kirk never faces death until Spoks sacrifice
Resurrection
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