There's probably an interesting essay to be written (or already has been) about the different Spocks (and T'Pol & Tuvok) and their different interpretations and thematic significance. Quinto's was (arguably) learning to overcome his emotionlessness; Nimoy's to reconcile his two sides; etc.

..turn away from the idea of pacifism/pacifists. I think I actually wrote a full length, proper essay on this topic...but couldn't find anyone interested in it (I think I just tried a Star Trek site).
13/13

..almost apologetically tells Spock they may have to use lethal violence. Anyway, I think it's interesting how Spock/Vulcans started out as metaphors for machine coldness, were quickly re-purposed as Space Buddhists/pacifists reflecting the zeitgeist of the era, but later Treks (and sci-fi TV)
12/13

Consider the Halkans in "Mirror, Mirror" or Surak in "The Savage Curtain": Kirk disagrees with Surak but calls him a "brave man" (which blew my mind as a kid: you could respect someone's principles even if they didn't share them? Who knew?) Likewise there are little moments in TOS where Kirk..
11/13

Because creators (& fans) seem to prefer warlike cultures in general. Not just in Star Trek, but in so many sci-fi series "warrior" cultures/races are common. In fact another aspect of TOS was the way they seemed to respect the *idea* of pacifism; not necessarily agree with...but respect.
10/13

In later iterations of Trek (TV, novels, etc) there is often much more emphasis on Vulcans violent roots, emphasizing them as still aggressive and war-like (in Discovery explaining Vulcans' approach to interstellar diplomacy is essentially the "Chicago way"). Which is really...sad.
9/13

..shaped by Michael's up-bringing). I reiterate: I think the post-60s writers n actors genuinely didn't grok (see what I did there?) the cultural inspiration for Vulcans – and some were outright hostile to what they understood. Because the Vulcan-pacifism thing is mostly out the airlock.
8/13

(Indeed, I've maintained the makers of Enterprise *despised* Vulcans and it shaped how they portrayed them); I excluded Ethan Peck from my list because I think he come closer to "getting" it (I also struggle with deciding how much Sonequa Martine-Green's characterization was supposed to be...
7/13

..as ruthless pragmatists (going back to the *initial* ver of Spock). This is NOT to diss the performances of Jolene Blalock, Tim Russ, Zachary Quinto, Ben Cross, James Frain, & various guest stars (I liked Blalock, etc) just that they seemed to be working from a different foundation than TOS.
6/13

..and I think later Treks (and Vulcan actors) have struggled with the characters/culture. No longer understanding – and/or outright hostile to – the 1960s hippy/Eastern culture that spawned them. Vulcans often portrayed as just people with pointed ears, as smug bureaucrats, as robotic, even...
5/13

Not only does Nimoy nail Spock as a character, but the other significant Vulcan guest stars like Mark Lenard, Arlene Martel, and Barry Atwater convincingly convey a shared cultural identity even as personalities vary. And Atwater's Surak is 100% a Vulcan Gandhi/MLKJr. But the 1960s ended...
4/13

..as he had been in the first few eps, Spock is every bit as moralistic as Kirk n McCoy, even moreso; he comes from a culture of a vegetarian pacifists! To fill in the background we are told Vulcans used to be violent (allowing episodes like Amok Time) but fundamentally they are reserved monks.
3/13

BUT then something happened. Remember: this is the 1960s; Vietnam War, a growing awareness of Eastern culture. And someone had the idea: what if instead of Spock being "the machine" he is "Space Buddhist?" (Obviously he remained both, but anyway...) Suddenly instead of the pragmatist...
2/13

Was just musing about this lol: arguably it's an allegory that's so obvious/literal it doesn't add to our thinking (the point of SF allegory) or leave much to chewover. Folk complain MCU/Trek/etc can have mixed messages but that can be what leads to convos and thinkpieces.
bsky.app/profile/dkla...

I 100% agree (tho Peck's found his own take).
I find Vulcans in TOS (Mark Lenard, etc.) were in general more effective (IMO) than later Treks. I don't know if that was because Nimoy provided the model, or (as I suspect) post-'60s no one really "gets" the Space Buddhist inspiration lol

Back in 2023, nearly all of it could be attributed to side-hustle culture. Non-writers misled into thinking this would be easy money by YouTube and TikTok "experts." In the last year, it's been more co-writing than fully-generated. More of it is coming from inside the SFF house now.

This has prob been addressed elsewhere but is there any sense of who & why? Are these (delusional) get-rich-quick schemes? Are these people who want the "fame" of being published? Genuine wanna-be writers? Writers-with-writer's-block?
To most artists, surely the creative process is the main point