tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post8142531702028496384..comments2024-03-28T14:49:36.133-04:00Comments on John Kenneth Muir's Reflections on Cult Movies and Classic TV: Star Trek 50th Anniversary Blogging: "Day of the Dove" (November 1, 1968)John Kenneth Muirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629979615332893780noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-13170062090350477312017-05-09T18:09:12.447-04:002017-05-09T18:09:12.447-04:00Jerome Bixby strikes again!
Not only that, his &qu...Jerome Bixby strikes again!<br />Not only that, his "agonizer" from "Mirror, Mirror" is now in the hands of the Klingons.<br />I'd mentioned before that John Colicos was asked to reprise his role of Kor from "Errand of Mercy," but was unable to accept due to a film he was making overseas. Thus, the character of Kang was created, but the script's dialogue remained much the same. This explains how Kang and Kirk are acquainted with one another, although we viewers have never met Kang.<br />This episode has a rather surreal quality and never stops to catch its breath, which works in its favor. Its denouement is somewhat abrupt as well; did 400 Klingons really perish? Are the 400 Enterprise crewmen still trapped below decks? However, I love how Kang slaps Kirk in the back as hard as he can amidst the laughter as the entity is chased away. It kind of lets you know that there's no love lost between Klingons and humans, even as they share a metaphorical beer or glass of Romulan ale.<br />Another top-notch episode, as you excellently point out John.<br />SteveAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13101722769411384962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-88156603227130766642017-05-09T12:28:59.480-04:002017-05-09T12:28:59.480-04:00"The alien doesn’t create those feelings. It..."The alien doesn’t create those feelings. It merely augments them." Except, John, the alien *does* create those feelings, inciting Chekov, in whose mind the alien induces a false memory of a nonexistent murdered brother, to commit the only personally motivated attack in the drama! And for Mara, the personal nature of Chekov's attempted rape reinforces *her* specific fears. Both Chekov and Mara uniquely individualize their "othering" of an enemy which is merely generically "the other side" for everyone else. <br /><br />This is an excellent commentary on the nature of war specifically in and of itself--which utilizes propaganda to incentivize "othering" (see WWII propaganda) and in which rape is commonly used as a weapon to demoralize and genetically conquer the enemy (systemically in most tribal wars, on a mass scale in East Asian wars, Bosnia/Serbia, and now the Middle East). "Day of the Dove" comments not just on violence or as a Cold War parable, but on the very mechanisms by which all groups, tribes and societies escalate from individual to global violence--and also the reverse, from the general to the individual and specific. Large-scale violence can and does incentivize individuals to find reasons, even false ones, to personalize the generic. Most people need personal motivation to engage in violence, and where it does not actually exist or when propaganda fails to supply it, they are quite capable of inventing personal revenge motives out of whole cloth. <br /><br />One interesting aspect of "Day of the Dove" is the parallel dynamic of Kang/Mara versus Kirk/Spock. Both tactically and strategically smart commanders who have close, trusting relationships with scientist first officers, we are meant to see these duos as alike so as to focus on the reasons they respond as they do. Kang is more reluctant than Kirk to suppress his violent reactions, but of course that's because Mara was personally attacked, inciting his personal protective instincts. It's Mara herself who, convinced by the enemy of the alien's incitement, convinces Kang to lay down arms--just as it's Spock's more detached observations that convince Kirk to more closely examine the situation and the alien. <br /><br />Kang was originally supposed to be Kor in this episode, but John Colicos was not available again. It would have added another dimension to this story to have encountered a previous enemy again, with the added backstory of his wife in the bargain. Too bad: it would have been glorious! Sherinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-41448696147779586042017-05-09T11:21:35.898-04:002017-05-09T11:21:35.898-04:00John, great review of one of my favorite Star Trek...John, great review of one of my favorite Star Trek episodes of all six Star Trek series. “Day of the Dove” is simply a brilliant episode with a timeless message. I wish “Day of the Dove” would be redone as a motion picture for the next J.J. Abrams Star Trek film.<br /><br />SGBSGBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07137406272001346149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-85671914345859858712017-05-09T10:00:54.576-04:002017-05-09T10:00:54.576-04:00Not a cop-out. The alien wouldn't have been ab...Not a cop-out. The alien wouldn't have been able to turn up the heat if it hadn't been in humans and Klingons already.raitonoreply@blogger.com