Star Wars: The Force Awakens: Part 1A, The Finn Factor

I want to use a separate space to discuss Finn because what he represents is also critical to a deeper understanding of what TFA was all about. Come, let's to it.

Finn: The Black Stormtrooper/"Magic Negro"

For those unfamiliar with the concept of the magic negro please follow the link.

Finn fights with Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber

From the announcement of his character all the way to opening day, a big deal was made about the personality of Finn as played quite elegantly by John Boyega. The biggest conflagration centered around why a black had to be in the lead and why, presumably, he was to be the individual in whom the Force would awaken. The constant advertising for TFA consistently led many to believe that it was the character Finn who would be the center of the story and, perhaps, around whom a new Jedi Order would arise via the training of now Master Luke Skywalker. To be on clear footing, the anger over a black superstar at the heart of Star Wars did exist but was from a minority of vocal opponents and was not shared by most, including this writer. In fact, like most celebrants, I welcomed the idea of another strong black male character and looked forward to seeing his hero's journey to the Force.

Finn, Rey, & Kylo Ren, misdirection in advertising

This, however, turned out to be a clever marketing deception created to misdirect the expectations of hot-to-trot fans and, I dare say, preserve Disney's "gotcha" surprise bait-and-switch of non-Force-sensitive Finn for super Force-adept Rey. And this is why, in advertisement after advertisement, it is Finn, and not Rey, who is seen holding and wielding a lightsaber. Finn as main protagonist and hero turns out to be a complete falsehood as the last 30 or so minutes of the film ultimately reveals, though many breadcrumbs are dropped along the way to clue us in. However, this particular gripe is not about preserving the surprises of the storyline, but about fooling the fanbase in order, the Subspace Meditator suggests, to serve a larger, yet more subtle agenda. It is that agenda which I flesh out more in part two of this meditation. For now, let's analyze Finn a bit further.

Strong, but Nuanced Black Male Inclusion

Lando Calrissian, a black man of mixed motivation in Star Wars

In real-world terms, Finn's ostensible purpose is to prove the diversity of the "galaxy far, far away," to embrace the fact that humans in space aren't just lily white, and further, that non-white humans are capable of more than being a sidekick to the white hero. But a sidekick is exactly what Finn turns out to be. And upon inspection he turns out to be far, far less. In the beginning of the story his character is portrayed as an elite stormtrooper with a conscience who faces a moral dilemma and thus must choose which side he will serve. In this choice is a powerful moment for the character and one that opens up a host of possibilities for his long-term development. However, this angle is given bare bones service. The story later reveals that Finn is not after all one of the First Order's elite, but a sanitation worker who just happens to also don stormtrooper armor from time to time, and who just happens to mysteriously know very, very important things about the First Order's prime weapon, Starkiller Base. How he, a janitor, is supposed to know such things is not even mentioned. He just does so that, somehow, he can, at last, become important to the audience. Though he's marketed as such, in this movie Finn is no hero in any real sense of the term, but instead an inveigler (Han Solo recognizes him as such with his line, "Women always find out the truth. Always."), a coward, and a kiss-up to the female lead. He is the comedic relief of the show. And though this is executed quite well from an onlooker's perspective, and is certainly reflected in Boyega's performance, Finn is obviously out of his element in the course of events and using humor to hide both his fear and lack of resolve. He spends the majority of his time trying to find ways to run away from peril or rescue Rey and gain her approval even after she's repeatedly demonstrated that she doesn't want his help, nor is interested in his romantic overtures.

Mace Windu, a powerful warrior-priest 
black man in Star Wars

But to see only these characteristics is to miss the greater mark behind Finn's inclusion. For sure, he is no Lando Calrissian and certainly no Mace Windu. But he is the type of male that feminist SJWs can go for- a wussified man who worships the ground women walk on, who plays second fiddle to an overbearingly strong female, who herself steals the show from men and is, superficially at least, flawless and above reproach. In nearly every scene involving himself and Rey, Finn is given second-class treatment and shown as less decisive, less courageous, and less competent than she. Finn's insertion was not about degrading the black male per se as much as it was about exalting the female lead by using the black male of the show as proxy. It is his purpose to elevate the main woman character to near goddess-like perfection, to pedestalize her above the earth and sky in order to fit the feminist paradigm. To this end, the dude's near lack of real development and his overall purpose as a character was for little more than as a tool to make Rey look so totally awesome that she completely overshadows him from the very first encounter to the very end. In these aspects Finn is a representation of the magic negro, and beyond this what some call a mangina or a white knight. Love-struck Finn will do anything - anything - for his sweetie, Rey. And the culmination of his trouble, the grand prize of his herculean efforts, is a friendzoned hug from her in a "thanks for not abandoning the fight" moment inside Maz Kanata's cantina. And yet for the rest of the story Finn continues to chase his honeypot across the galaxy because he simply refuses to leave her no matter what.

Anything that happened in TFA could have proceeded so with or without Finn. He was just that inconsequential. Therefore, any outrage by those with prejudiced hearts about a black male lead who gets the white girl and/or who becomes the epic hero of the story was absorbed by this bigger agenda.

Of course not all black men are strong and do not have to be shown in fictional stories as such. However, some inkling of the hero's journey should have been seen in Finn as he is the second lead protagonist. Some elements of him finding his purpose, separate and distinct from his association with Rey, or on her behalf, should have been portrayed.

But there's a way to remedy this, my people, and it doesn't mean Finn bosoming up to Rey. Hear me.

Getting Those Interstellar Babes

There's more to the galaxy than white chicks!

Though some actually criticize the idea, at this pace it would be better for Finn to be seen in the next installment actually getting some action from a sexy space alien chick. And I personally would have no problem with this! After all, Captain Kirk made out with many intergalactic honeys in his time with no incompatibility issues with interspecies mating. From green-skinned lovelies with great...belly buttons, to grey-toned beauties with tails, James T. Kirk lacked for nothing in the universe's manifestation of feminine diversity. His experience was bountiful! So what would be wrong with Friendzoned Finn hooking up with a blue-bodied babydoll with awesome curves? Why should the space-faring white guys have all the fun? Moreover, it's a big galaxy. Why should Finn limit his horizons only to the white human female? Should he genuflect to her just because she's in close proximity? Hell no! Rey isn't the only game in the stars.

However, not either should he be paired up with a black female space jockey because that also is too simplistic and is what everyone would expect. And quite frankly it's too comfortable; it would too easily satisfy black critics who'd see Finn coseying up to "white" Rey as an insult to black pride, and him getting with a "sister" as only more condescending tokenism; and it would just as too conveniently be an out for white supremacists insulted at a black man "stealing" another of "their women." No, make the audience think! and in the doing, perhaps make them all uncomfortable! Take risks, which is what novel films are supposed to do! So, saying "fuck it" to both of these easy answers is the right way to bring Finn back and let him stretch his horizons, and see all the galaxy would have him see!

Yes, let Finn shag the alien girl with 
head tentacles and Force powers!

The cheeky humor of my proposal aside, I really do think it a great idea. And though I do not want to see Finn's character polluted into a sexual degenerate nor Star Wars into an X-rated freakshow, it would be nice to see him get some meaningful nuances to his character in the form of a smooth-talking playboy who grows some courage rather than a mangina afraid of the whole universe. Also, giving Finn some of those Han Solo bad boy qualities would be a splendid way to atone for killing off that iconic character in this Episode VII stupidity. Finn obtaining a ship of his own and pursuing a critical subplot of Episode VIII with his new alien space babe in tow would be a great redemption for the "cowardly lion" we observed in TFA! And to avoid the feminist bullhockey, his new girlfriend doesn't need to be the one rescuing him from every hidden danger around the corner; they should share responsibility for each other. Finn doing his independent thing, more than some casual horizontal hulu or one-off smooch with Rey, would show audiences that the black man is definitely capable of being more than the sidekick or mere shadow of the white lead. He can explore the galaxy by himself, get into (and out of) hot spots by himself, and build great relations with the universe's many peoples on his own terms. This is what you want to see of black inclusion in science fiction, is it not? This is what black sci-fi geeks, male and female, have been longing for for ages, isn't it, a black person who can meet the challenge of space exploration without having to be guided by a patronizing white hand? And that of course is not limited to mere romantic indulgence - though that has been our example here - but to all endeavors of sophistication and significance.

As not only a black man in sci-fi, but more as a rogue stormtrooper searching for a righteous cause, Finn has awesome potential. If it is developed properly, this character can be one of the most endearing and beloved - and if not beloved, then at the least, controversial - in Star Wars history. He can take a place right beside, if not superior to both Lando Calrissian and Mace Windu. Spin-off stories and even films could one day be created about him. But he must be developed appropriately, now, starting with Episode VIII correcting the idiocy he was wrapped in with TFA. Finn can be redeemed, big time, but it's up to us as fans to DEMAND the writers give this guy a fair and proper shake at being a true hero just like Luke Skywalker, Calrissian, Windu, or Han Solo, and not another marginalized magic negro.

In my next and last meditation on Star Wars: The Force Awakens, some conclusions.




Until next time...


To the upward reach of man.

The Leadership Principle: Starfleet's Finest in the Captain's Chair, Part 2

In our last blog we discussed the leadership styles of Captains Kirk, Picard, Sisko, and Janeway and how each of them expressed their unique command abilities with respect to the starships they served. Let us now turn our attention to how each of these captains were a representation of the real-world times in which they were portrayed on the small, and in some cases, on the big screen.

Captain Kirk: The Fighter, the Hero, the Aggressive Commander

 

James Tiberius Kirk

These four captains' styles of command are as individual as they are, and, the Meditator believes, are all representative of the times in which they led their respective starship crews. Of all that we may contrast distinctly due to the era in which he commanded, Captain Kirk must stand alone for several key reasons. Captain Kirk's Enterprise represented a Starfleet in which the galaxy was less explored, human technology less developed, and, in my opinion, certain rules of Starfleet and starship culture were less strictly defined and enforced. Also, in Kirk's time the Klingons were avowed enemies, as were the Romulans. In other words, James Kirk lived in a Starfleet more aggressive than that of our other captains.

Consider: In 1960s America we were aggressively dealing with the Soviet Union and International Communism; race issues domestically, including riots and the Civil Rights movement; anti-war movements, such as that against Vietnam; and counter-cultural reactionism against the Establishment (Hippie "Flower Power" and "Free Love" are examples of that). All of these subjects were tackled in one way or another by the original series.

Yet even through these seemingly insurmountable problems, the America of the 60s represented a nation more confident of itself and its values than of today. It was a country more firmly centered in classical ideas of Western Civilization as they were then understood, and thus it was a nation that stood firm in its outlook, even when faced with external and internal turmoil. The Meditator affirms that such outlook was reflected in the 1960s Star Trek and personified specifically in the person of Captain James T. Kirk.

None of this is to say that James T. Kirk was a hyper-aggressive brute out to shed blood and start conflict any chance he got, but to illustrate how the personality of this superbly dynamic Starfleet officer reflected both his fictional and actual world environment.

The 24th Century Commanders: Thoughtful, Diplomatic, & Dynamic

Jean-Luc Picard

By contrast, the Starfleet of Picard, Sisko, and Janeway is a much more settled institution, with rules and regulations befitting that of a more organized and mature space exploration agency. Thus, in your writer's opinion, we see a far less cavalier and grittier Starfleet than we do in Kirk's time, at least on the surface.

Comparatively, the three 24th Century captains themselves were dramatized during less turbulent times in both the life of the American nation and that of the world as a whole. While Picard is perhaps the most cerebral and intellectual captain to date - possibly only being surpassed in that mantle by Janeway due to her scientific background - he nonetheless represents a calmer, more thoughtful, less aggressive Starfleet as a whole. Picard is emblematic of a Starfleet that is at overall peace with the known galaxy, and offers a more diplomatic perspective on the application of force than does Kirk.

Ben Sisko

In the real world, the Treks of TNG, DS9, and Voyager represented an America financially prosperous, internationally stable, and more or less socially cohesive on the homefront.

As an example let's briefly think about the first Gulf War which occurred during TNG's run in 1991. Here was a conflict that ultimately set the stage for the toppling of the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein in 2003. Yet, as historically notable as it was, Gulf War I paled in comparison to the monumental and world-altering 9/11/01. Indeed, 9/11 had not yet occurred even while Voyager was still on the air; in fact, Voyager had completed its seven-year run by the time September 11th happened. The last series to date, Star Trek: Enterprise, had the distinction of being on-air when the attacks took place, and of dealing with the event in a fictional counter-portrayal.

Even during the time of Ben Sisko and DS9, the Dominion War was not a representation of any real-world conflict of note, but a fictional portrayal of the ongoing expansion of influence of the human Starfleet and its interaction with the Bajoran and Changeling peoples. And though we might claim that out of all the 24th Century captains, Sisko was certainly the most passionate and dynamic, even this Starfleet officer tempered, and was tempered by, his environment and circumstances. In this regard, I've given considerable space to why I believe Sisko perhaps the most well-rounded character of the new captains. Please feel free to review it.

Kathryn Janeway

It is also worth noting that during the Janeway years, Voyager's encounters with the Borg Collective did not represent any major true-to-life events, but, once again, the continuation (and furtherance) of a conflict began with the introduction of the Collective in the TNG episode "Q-Who." The journeys of Captain Janeway and her crew to get back to the Alpha Quadrant were certainly interlaced with danger and hardship, yes, but represented the on-screen excitement of pure adventure and the exploration of space which Starfleet was created to advance. Does any of this mean that Janeway stood out less than Captain Kirk?

Does it mean that any of the 24th Century captains stood out less than Kirk because they occupied times that were less dynamic in their fictional portrayal of reality? The Meditator thinks not. Any and all of the 24th Century starship leaders proved beyond doubt that they were more than capable of holding their own and giving back as good as they got in all areas of starship command life. They proved that the Starfleet of their time was no less courageous, no less human than that of Kirk's. Indeed, Starfleet, like its captains on the bridges of their majestic vessels, had become more sophisticated and savvy about the universe and the wonders within.

This is the Captain Speaking...

Kirk, Picard, Sisko, & Janeway

The four Starfleet officers we've studied here represent profiles in character, courage, understanding, and leadership on multiple levels. And, in your writer's opinion, they show that the Treks of the late 80s through the early 2000s were quite in contrast to the societal upheaval taking place in the American 1960s or the economic and international uncertainty of today. The more aggressive and passionate Captain Kirk, and his Starfleet, was a reflection of the American times in which he was created. And so was Picard, Sisko, and Janeway, but from obviously different perspectives. Your writer reiterates that these captains' attitudes were a reflection of the real-world times in which they were portrayed.

What will the next Star Trek captain be like? One cannot say specifically, but if Trek tradition continues to hold sway, he or she will almost certainly be a mirror for the American and planetary condition of their time.





Until next time...



To the upward reach of man.

*******************

For those wondering: Why no analysis of Jonathan Archer and the crew of Star Trek: Enterprise? As before, when I first began this meditation, I explained in part one that I rarely watched this series when it was on broadcast TV (and still have not to this day) and thus cannot be as easily insightful with it as I can with the other Star Treks. Perhaps I will actually sit down and watch Enterprise from beginning to end one day and do for it what's been done in this group of meditations. We'll see.

The Leadership Principle: Starfleet's Finest in the Captain's Chair, Part 1

In the Star Trek sci-fi universe there have been five well-loved series. In each of those series, five iconic Starfleet captains have commanded the bridges of mighty Federation starships powered by the imagination of their viewers. With this meditation, I'd like to use three of those five captains as a means to explore what is commonly called "the leader principle." Here, we'll examine what it means to be a leader through the eyes of the legendary Captains Kirk, Picard, and Sisko, and how each of these men inspired their crews through dynamic personal leadership. Furthermore, we'll look at what this means in the real world, and how we might each benefit from a study of these classic leader types, fictional though they may be. 

So, fellow officer, take a seat in the captain's chair as we jump to warp speed and begin.

James Kirk

"I don't like to lose."

-- Admiral James T. Kirk

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

Without question one of the most iconic science fiction heroes of all time is the legendary *first captain* of the Starship Enterprise, James Tiberius Kirk. Known as a man of action, Captain Kirk is a leader with presence who doesn't take no for an answer, and who doesn't suffer defeat gladly. As a young cadet, Kirk proved the latter by famously rigging Starfleet Academy graduates' most despised command test of all, the Kobayashi Maru, enabling him to become the only Academy superstar to ever beat "the no-win scenario," for as Kirk himself would say many years later, "I don't believe in a no-win scenario." 

How did he do it? "I changed the conditions of the test. I got a commendation for original thinking," he says to the inexperienced Lieutenant Saavik in The Wrath of Khan. Throughout the Original Series we see a Captain Kirk who time and again beats back death, beats back defeat, saving the day not only for (and with the help of) his gallant crew, but also for Starfleet's noble ideals, and the safety and security of the galaxy itself.

Yet even Captain Kirk is powerless to forever hold back the hand of fate. Twice in the original crew movie series James Kirk faces what for him become the ultimate losses in the form of the death of his most beloved friend, the Vulcan science officer, Mr. Spock, and the destruction of the one true "lady" in his life, the great Starship Enterprise herself.

"I Don't Like To Lose."

Yet even these "defeats" are not enough to break the man, the captain, the leader that is James Kirk, for, as Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy reminds him after the destruction of the Enterprise, Kirk always finds a means to "turn death into a fighting chance to live." He does it when the original Enterprise meets its end in The Search for Spock. And he does it when given the chance to return his best friend to life when it is discovered that Spock has been regenerated on the Genesis Planet.

What principles of leadership can we learn from Captain Kirk?

The greatest lesson I think Kirk shows us is that there is always a way out of a "no-win scenario." To find it takes courage, imagination, cunning, ingenuity, determination, and above all, the will to overcome. Captain Kirk demonstrated these traits repeatedly and in abundance during his Starfleet career, facing down many impossible scenarios - from military to diplomatic to scientific - and proving that the will to prevail shines brilliantly within the human spirit, and is capable of overcoming all obstacles if we are but willing to listen and heed it.

Of course there are many more leadership traits that we could examine with this heroic Starfleet commander. But our focus was to take his core traits and collapse in on a few key examples of how they make Kirk the man he is and why his example is worth emulating.

Jean-Luc Picard

"Make it so."

-- Captain Jean-Luc Picard
 

Following on the heels of his predecessor, the noble captain of the Starship Enterprise-D is our second model for consideration. Jean-Luc Picard is a renaissance man in the finest tradition of the term. Picard is a philosopher; amateur musician, painter, and actor; accomplished diplomat; skilled fencer; trained archaeologist; a student of history; an enthusiast of the natural sciences, particularly the astro and temporal sciences; and, of course, the highly respected and successful captain of the Federation flagship. He is a type of the best of the human species and of human potential which even the superbeing Q recognizes as true.

Picard exudes leadership by first demonstrating the best, and then demanding and subsequently expecting the best from his crew. He inspires his people to go out of their way for him because they recognize that they act in the name of the best Starfleet captain of the modern era. His example of thinking before action has led the Enterprise-D out of treacherous situations on multiple occasions. This is has been especially true in matters of interstellar standoffs where reflection, calm, considered judgment, and reason have prevented armed conflicts from ensuing - both military and political. And one of the greatest examples of Picard's ability to see the "big picture," to use his deep knowledge of the human condition to look down the long tunnel of history and avoid unwarranted bloodshed, is when fellow Starfleet captain Benjamin Maxwell unjustifiably attacks Cardassian territory to the end of preventing what he believes is a clandestine Cardassian military rearmament and future assault
upon the Federation. Picard prevents Maxwell from taking Starfleet and the Federation to war against the Cardassian Union without the firing of a single shot against neither the rogue Starfleet captain nor the Cardassian forces. Yet Picard does not idly dismiss the warnings of Benjamin Maxwell, nor the evidence - albeit specious at best - which he has produced to support his accusations. Picard goes on, in diplomatic, but firm, unadulterated language to warn the Cardassians that Starfleet will be on guard.

Yet a second example is the defection of Romulan admiral Alidar Jarok. Moving to investigate an alleged plot by the Romulan Empire to provoke war, the Enterprise is requested to determine if the supposed evidence of apparent defector Admiral Jarok is true. Picard rushes into the Romulan Neutral Zone on Starfleet Command's orders only to discover that the Romulans have staged the entire affair using the duped Admiral Jarok as an unwitting pawn in a devious machination to frame the Federation. Though Picard is in direct violation of the Federation peace treaty with the Romulans, and though the Enterprise is completely surrounded by enemy vessels and cut off from escape, Picard demonstrates the forethought and superior understanding of Romulan psychology to prepare for such possibility well before entering Romulan space. He again saves the Enterprise from destruction, Starfleet from an unwanted conflict, and the Federation from intergalactic humiliation by the cunning use of a brilliant tactical counterploy alongside the Federation's interstellar ally, the Klingon Empire.

Though we have focused on two military examples of Picard's leadership, the core trait that Subspace Meditator sees - which is in fact demonstrated well and beyond Picard's skills as a military commander - is his ability to think through a situation deeply before taking action; his ability to see multiple possibilities and multiple probabilities, and further, to deduce from these the best likely scenarios with which to guide his crew to the successful completion of their mission. Alternately said, Picard has a well-honed ability - derived from years of experience as a field officer - to foresee a myriad of options and collapse in on the few (or one) that will bring the Enterprise home.

Subspace Meditator believes that, more than any other trait Picard manifests in the TNG era, this trait is what distinguishes and separates him from his counterparts in the Star Trek universe.

And a superior trait it is to have indeed!

Benjamin Sisko

"There's only one order... We hold."

-- Captain Benjamin Sisko



Of course, longtime fans of Trek film and TV will know that Benjamin Lafayette Sisko is not the first nor last individual of African descent to be shown in Trek programming, so his presence in this regard is not unique. What is unique in that regard is that he is the first to be regularly shown in Star Trek episodic television. And this opportunity gave actor Avery Brooks a unique canvass upon which to paint Ben L. Sisko. Let's return to that fictional canvass and highlight some of those areas as well as the leadership style and core traits that make Sisko who he is, and not simply as the "black captain," but as an outstanding Starfleet officer.  

Family Man & Intimate Friend

Though it is known from other Trek lore that Starfleet does not discourage nor mandate its officers from having families, Ben Sisko is the only officer ever featured in its mythology to actively have one. All other episodic captains have been single. So Sisko's relationship to his son, Jake, is quite unique to explore from a storytelling point of view.

But let's back up.

father and son, Benjamin and Jake Sisko

Sisko is not simply a single father, but a widower. Having lost his wife at the climactic Battle of Wolf 359 in which Starfleet confronted the Borg invasion of Earth, led by the Borg-transformed Jean-Luc Picard, when the DS9 series opens, we find an emotionally lost Commander Sisko struggling to come to grips with Jennifer Sisko's death, a transfer to a recently abandoned Cardassian base far from Earth, and a very young teenage son whom he must now raise alone. For the first time in Trek history we are given the chance to see what Starfleet life is like for the married and attached individual. The heartwarming aspect of the father-son relationship across the seven years is how both come to terms with the severance of the husband-son roles neither will ever have or play in the life of their deceased loved one again. Benjamin and Jake learn ever-the-more to lean on each other, both imparting lessons to one another just as real parents and children do. What is most satisfying about this relationship to the Meditator is watching the boy Jake mature into a young man. And what assists this satisfaction best is to see it through his father's eyes. Whether teaching his son to cook his own meals, or about the "fairer sex," or giving him lessons in what true courage on the battlefield (and in life) means, or whether it is teaching Jake to know and be true to himself - no matter what others' expectations are, including his father's - this relationship brings out the best of what it means to be a dad, a mentor, a friend. It is especially heartwarming for those of us who have shared this bond with our fathers. And instructive to those of us who have not.



Jadzia Dax and Ben Sisko

The relationship of Captain Sisko to his son is only paralleled by the relationship to his Trill friend and mentor, Dax. We learn that the centuries-old symbiotic creature Dax is capable of assuming the host bodies of various individuals over the course of their lifetime. We also learn that the creature shares the experiences and memories of these persons, imparting to each new host the life lessons of the previous. As DS9 opens, we're introduced to the latest Dax host, Jadzia. Herself a trained scientist, the young Jadzia is recently bonded to her Trill symbiont, and reuniting with Sisko for first time in many years. She is pleased, as is he, to be joining her new superior officer in Starfleet's bold new venture to bring the recently-freed Bajoran star system into the Federation. She informs him that the previous Dax host, Curzon, has died, but that she shares his memories of a much younger and inexperienced Ben Sisko, and how Curzon mentored and shaped his worldview and future career. The relationship between Jadzia Dax and Sisko progresses over the next six years until Jadzia is sadly killed at the hand of Cardassian captain, Gul Dukat. What is fascinating, however, is that, before her premature death, Jadzia - in the form of her symbiont - continues to mentor the now much more seasoned Sisko. Yet, simultaneously, Sisko does his own mentoring of the young woman herself, returning the lessons in the form of experience she, as a being independent of her symbiont, has yet to have on her own. Across the breath of the series the contrast becomes quite satisfying as the viewer is given a glimpse of the extended family-friend relationship which the two have. 

Emissary to the Prophets

One of the most intriguing aspects of Ben Sisko is his special relationship to the Bajoran people themselves and to their deities, the Prophets. Known as the Emissary to the Prophets, Sisko is reluctantly introduced to the role Bajor will come to expect of him when he first arrives on DS9. As we learn, Sisko does not want it and is extremely reticent to assume the figure of religious icon to the deeply spiritual Bajorans. It is a part which Starfleet itself will always have difficulty accepting and which Sisko will continually struggle to balance between his life as an atheist human Starfleet officer and the need to strengthen the Federation's ties with the Bajoran people. Such a balance, though continually tested and uneasy, is achieved. And as DS9 continues, Sisko uses this special relationship, long ago foreseen and "prophesied" of by ancient Bajoran seers, to guide Bajor through some of it darkest hours. Sisko meets the Prophets on numerous occasions, joining them in the non-corporeal realm outside of time and space which they inhabit to consult with them, to receive guidance and instruction from them, and even to teach them on occasion what it means to be a creature that exists within time and space.

War Leader & Superb Strategist

Deep Space Nine became the focal point of the Federation Alliance's efforts to repel the Dominion invasion and occupation of the Alpha Quadrant during the Dominion War. On the front lines of this herculean effort was Ben Sisko himself. Tasked with planning and strategizing some of the fiercest engagements of the war, Captain Sisko led DS9 and Starfleet through the blood and horror of billions dead, but trillions liberated from the tyranny of the Changeling Founders' vision of order in the galaxy. The Dominion War was not an easy time for Sisko. Throughout this conflict the captain would not only see many of his crew killed, including Jadzia Dax, but his personal morality and principles as a human being and Starfleet officer would be put to the ultimate test more than once. He would see more conflict than he ever wanted and share in the pain, anguish, wrath, and sorrow of war all soldiers feel. Yet, leading his people through the conflagration, Sisko never lost touch with what it meant to be a man, a human being capable of seeing and feeling the human factor.


The Human Equation Not Forgotten

All of these roles serve to make Ben Sisko one of the most impressive characters and captains in Trek and Starfleet history. Indeed, it may be argued that he is the most unique persona to be conceived in the scope of the franchise. The above aspects of Sisko, Subspace Meditator believes, make him a much more well-rounded character, giving him an edge in observing, and applying, the human factor to all of his endeavors as a Starfleet officer. Sisko's humanity is never left behind, nor his mental and emotional state a mere afterthought. They are directly applied and demonstrated - indeed felt - whether in the loss of Jadzia Dax, the growing pains of his son, the struggles of the Bajoran people to rebuild after decades of slavery and occupation, or the triumphs and tragedies of the Dominion War. He is a complete man, making his leadership style an example of what it means to be a whole individual.

Special Profile: Kathryn Janeway

"Get this crew home."

-- Captain Janeway to Cmdr. Chakotay 



I wanted to include the captain of the Starship Voyager because one of the most unique aspects of Kathryn Janeway's appearance in Star Trek history - in my view at least - is, not that she's a woman, but that, of all the heroic captains portrayed in the five series, Janeway alone was a superbly skilled scientist and mathematician, in addition to being a Starfleet captain. This is depicted again and again in Star Trek: Voyager and is certainly impressive, for Janeway utilizes these skills on numerous occasions to keep pace with - and in fact surpass - her chief engineer, tactical officer, and many others whose scientific and technical skill our other Starfleet captains have merely relied upon to provide expertise.

As an aside, while her appearance as a female isn't unique for much the same reasons Sisko's isn't as a black officer, it would be remiss of us not to notice that, for the first time in Trek history, a female captain becomes regularly featured on the bridge of a Federation starship in the person of Captain Janeway, making her, just as Sisko, another Star Trek milestone.

It should also be noted that Janeway's epic seven-year struggle to return her crew to the Alpha Quadrant after Voyager is stranded in the distant and unexplored Delta Quadrant, makes her one of the most gallant and enduring Fleet officers to ever don the uniform. Janeway and Voyager are thrust into an unknown and dangerous space fraught with perils the likes of which no human eyes have ever seen before. And seventy thousand lightyears from home, she and her crew are the farthest any human vessel has ever traveled inside the Milky Way. In such conditions many would be tempted to give up, find the nearest habitable planet to settle on, and call it the next hundred years.

But Janeway does no such thing.

She pushes the Voyager and its crew to never settle for anything less than seeing Earth and the Alpha Quadrant again. The journey is not easy. Nor would Janeway, undaunted explorer she is, have it be. With none of the Federation's resources, none of Starfleet's armed might to back them up, Voyager does not set a direct, non-stop course for Earth, but takes many detours and assumes many missions, charting the Delta Quadrant, its uncounted species and dangers along the way.



USS Voyager's flight path for visual purposes. Far away in the vast reaches of space, Janeway never gives up.

Invincible Borg Fighter

Part of that legacy is Janeway's continued battles with the Borg Collective. Time and again assaulted by the ruthless and unmerciful will of the Borg to assimilate Voyager, Janeway adroitly, and with ever renewed vigor, finds new and innovative ways to confront and defeat them. But this is not only in terms of military strategy, for Janeway must also confront Borg cunning and maneuver in the person of the Borg Queen, she who is the Collective's central mind and governor. It is Janeway who defeats the Queen and takes from her the rescued assimilated human, Seven of Nine. Janeway who preempts Borg efforts to attack and defeat the superior Species 8472 while simultaneously preventing an invasion of the Milky Way galaxy by the aggressive race itself. It is Janeway who more than once thwarts the Borg Queen's efforts to assimilate weaker races, and who frees other assimilated drones from the grip of the Collective. And it is Janeway who destroys the Queen's entire transwarp hub complex, crippling the Borg's hyperspace routes throughout the entire the galaxy for decades.


"But You're a Mother to This Crew"

Q once called Janeway a mother to her crew, the woman who held Voyager's morale together through an array of impossible odds, keeping her people together as a family cast away on a stormy and tempest sea. And in some ways the Meditator can agree with Q's praise and his comparison, especially in observing the nurturing relationship between Janeway and Seven of Nine. But beyond such accolades, Janeway is a proven leader with the skill, the tenacity, the drive to succeed whatever the odds, and no matter how insurmountable they may seem. This drive places her in the best ranks with the elite of Starfleet's center chair commanders. Indeed, the Meditator says that USS Voyager's seven-year odyssey revealed Captain Janeway's strengths in a way that mere service in the Alpha Quadrant would never have. It raised the honorable captain's pedigree because it forced her to run faster, reach higher, strive harder, never quitting until the race was won. This is the finest of Starfleet tradition and Kathryn Janeway is in numerous ways an exception to advancing that tradition!

And this, the Meditator thinks, is the principle lesson to be learned from Janeway: that to be the best one must step out of the norm, the familiar, the comfortable. One must go beyond the acceptable and known, casting away fear, and sweeping boldly into what is unknown. If an individual can do this, is willing to do this, they can distinguish themselves in human history. Captain Janeway most certainly did!



In our next blog on the four captains, we shall compare and contrast their style of leadership and what we can continue to learn from these examples with respect to how each fit in with their era on the small screen.


Until next time...


To the upward reach of man.

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*I know that some of you hardcore Treksters will say that J.T. was not the very first captain of the original Enterprise. Chris Pike was. Some of you will even go back to Captain Robert April. Guess what, Trekkies? I know that! I'm a Trekkie too! But for the sake of argument and popular knowledge, I am listing James T. Kirk as the first acknowledged skipper of the Enterprise, OK?

**I did not include Captain Jonathan Archer in this analysis simply because I did not watch the show with the same frequency or intensity as I did that of the others. So I cannot be as readily insightful with respect to Archer's boat as I can with Kirk, Picard, Sisko, or Janeway. Sorry Enterprise fans.