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Star Trek
Movie

Star Trek

2009 • Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

Woke Score
2
out of 10

Plot

On the day of James T. Kirk's birth, his father dies on his damaged starship in a last stand against a Romulan mining vessel looking for Ambassador Spock, who in this time, has grown on Vulcan disdained by his neighbors for his half-human heritage. 25 years later, James T. Kirk has grown into a young rebellious troublemaker. Challenged by Captain Christopher Pike to realize his potential in Starfleet, he comes to annoy academy instructors like Commander Spock. Suddenly, there is an emergency on Vulcan and the newly-commissioned USS Enterprise is crewed with promising cadets like Nyota Uhura, Hikaru Sulu, Pavel Chekov and even Kirk himself, thanks to Leonard McCoy's medical trickery. Together, this crew will have an adventure in the final frontier where the old legend is altered forever as a new version of the legend begins.

Overall Series Review

The film acts as a high-octane origin story for the classic crew, prioritizing adventure and character-driven drama over political or social commentary. The narrative is focused entirely on the personal journeys of the main characters—Kirk realizing his potential and Spock reconciling his dual heritage—amidst a major crisis. The crew itself is a famously diverse cast from the original series, inherited in the reboot without any narrative explanation or heavy-handed dialogue on race, gender, or privilege; their competence is their primary characteristic. The United Federation of Planets is portrayed as an aspirational, protective, and unified civilization. Moral themes are clear and objective, emphasizing honor, sacrifice, and duty in the face of a villain driven purely by revenge and nihilism. There is no attempt to deconstruct traditional family dynamics or introduce sexual ideologies into the central plot.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics2/10

The crew's diverse composition is a carry-over from the franchise’s universalist tradition, which celebrates a future that has moved beyond past prejudices. Characters are defined by their merit, intelligence, and unique skills, such as Kirk's command ability, Spock's logic, and Uhura's linguistic talent, rather than their race or immutable characteristics. The narrative does not dedicate time to lecturing on intersectional privilege or systemic oppression.

Oikophobia1/10

The central organization, the United Federation of Planets and Starfleet, is consistently portrayed as a virtuous, aspirational, and highly advanced civilization that acts as a shield against chaos and an external, nihilistic threat. The film's primary conflict involves defending the core institutions and values of this Western-derived, utopian future, not tearing them down. The story structure is fundamentally a celebration of this civilization's ideals.

Feminism2/10

The main female character, Nyota Uhura, is portrayed as highly intelligent, competent, and a vital officer in a relationship with Spock, but she is not an instantly perfect 'Mary Sue.' The male leads, Kirk and Spock, are both portrayed as strong and competent leaders with distinct and complementary forms of masculinity. The movie does not contain anti-natal or anti-family messaging.

LGBTQ+1/10

The movie does not contain explicit LGBTQ+ themes, focusing instead on the established heterosexual dynamics between characters like Spock and Uhura, and Kirk's womanizing behavior. The nuclear family structure is not deconstructed, and no gender ideology is centered in the plot.

Anti-Theism3/10

As with the overall franchise, the setting is a secular-humanist utopia where traditional religion is largely absent among humans, which earns a slightly higher score than one. However, the movie’s morality is objective, featuring themes like honor, sacrifice, integrity, and rejecting the corrupting poison of revenge, which functions as a higher moral law. No religious characters are presented as villains or bigots.