tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354304039046015350.comments2023-08-27T05:45:00.809-04:00Blogging Star TrekDennishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12401627295800239899noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354304039046015350.post-841868224195200052012-11-13T22:34:38.837-05:002012-11-13T22:34:38.837-05:00This is an interesting and well written piece Denn...This is an interesting and well written piece Dennis. It is almost saying something. Write something about this article and have it span over a period of about 10 years. Add a bunch of drama along the way.<br /><br />http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2010/november/web-of-victimsA Veil Of Goldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12324977666509539743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354304039046015350.post-16220922709464404842011-11-25T05:59:18.288-05:002011-11-25T05:59:18.288-05:00I can't believe no one has commented on this. ...I can't believe no one has commented on this. I am just getting into Star Treks and I am starting at the beginning with the original series. What an excellent analysis. I completely missed the parallel between the lithium and the pills. I was focused on the theme of what the mind/body is capable of if one just believes. As the lady returned to beauty without the pill it was all in her head at that time. In the same way then, does the crew really need the Lithium? Are they capable of running the ship without it? Great stuff.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354304039046015350.post-5844854022075971322010-08-26T18:12:17.603-04:002010-08-26T18:12:17.603-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5354304039046015350.post-6971645963569584632009-06-23T13:52:53.189-04:002009-06-23T13:52:53.189-04:00Dennis has identified an important theme in Star T...Dennis has identified an important theme in Star Trek--the feral child, which occurs in several episodes, especially episodes featuring dangerous children.<br /><br />Watching this episode again, in the context of the blog, I was struck by the underlying Oedipal conflict. Yes, Charlie is a feral child, but his "feral nature" is rooted in the absence of a proper "id-ego-super-ego" triad. There is no mother to love or father to kill, and in light of these two missing "human necessities" he becomes maladapted to civilized culture.<br /><br />In the episode, Spock becomes the super-ego, McCoy the id, and, finally and reluctantly, Kirk the ego. Kirk is able to properly balance intellect and emotion--the chess game in which he defeats Spock shows this; he plays with "inspiration." Kirk also shows Charlie the way to balance the demands of the id and super-ego in the realm of sexuality. Sometimes, he tells Charlie in so many words, that you can't have what you want. He tries to get him to see that the timing with Janice isn't right, but Charlie, without a strong ego, collapses under the id's demand for satisfaction and the super-ego's perverse <br />mocking reaction to that demand. The danger represented in the episode is the power of unfettered desire; a desire that is not muted by the super-ego and properly sublimated by the ego. Instead, desire, in a Freudian sense, leads to murder, which is Charlie's constant threat. It isn't until the aliens take him back that we see the necessity of the super-ego; without it we would all be Charlie in one form or another. Our "way," with Kirk-egos, allows us to avoid the over-intellectualizations of Spock, the abrupt passions of McCoy and, finally, the murderous impulses of Charlie. So, Kirk in the episode becomes the analyst/father--the supporting ego that we can transfuse to overcome the competing demands of law and desire.Victorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06747216635782249991noreply@blogger.com