Star Trek: The Motion Picture - Comparison of the Novel and Movie Essay

What should an army commander do when he finds himself tasked with the responsibility of protecting planet earth and humanity from a powerful alien army? This dilemma forms the subject of the movie Star Trek: The Motion Picture and its novel adaptation of the same title. In the film, an alien spacecraft is spotted approaching the earth. Within no time, the alien entity destroys three warships on earth, making it extremely terrifying. The only ship that is close enough to stop the alien spacecraft is Enterprise, which is, unfortunately, undergoing renovations. James Kirk, a former captain of Enterprise, seizes the shop from William Decker, the ship's current captain. Arguing that he is in a better position to intercept the alien ship, Kirk assembles his crew and sets for the almost impossible task of saving planet earth from obliteration. True to his determination, the alien ship never gets the opportunity to destroy the earth.

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Like a blockbuster movie, The Motion Picture has certain elements that are characteristic of epic movies. These are heroes, some conflicts, a journey and a reward. In both the movie and the film, the big question is whether Kirk resumes control of the ship out of genuine concern and love for planet earth or as an opportunity to resume service as a military explorer. There are strong arguments to support both sides. On the one hand, no other captain is well qualified to defend earth from the impending apocalypse apart from Captain Kirk. On the other hand, the sheer temerity and macho displayed by Kirk make the audience to think that he is an opportunist keen to resume his career. Either way, Kirk is one of the many characters that struggle with a great sense of duty in both the novel and the film. Most importantly, his dynamism plays a great role in directing the plot.

In The Motion Picture, the conflict is interstellar. The plot opens with sinister-looking cloud energy, which is nothing but an alien spacecraft entering earth. Even worse is the fact that this alien spacecraft has the potential to destroy the earth. In this regard, the novel and movie are similar in that both are based on the same work of fiction. However, the nature of fiction in these two literary works incorporates futuristic technologies with aspects of mysticism. Based on the current state of technology in the 21st century, the Star Trek sounds more realistic because it is rooted primarily in science fiction.

An important element of literary style that is featured in both the film and the novel adaption of The Motion Picture is an allegory. This refers to a story that has a deeper meaning, which is very different from the surface story. The use of allegory makes sense since the essence of science fiction is to talk about the present in light of a reality drawn from a distant future. To this end, The Motion Picture is an allegorical genre in its very nature. The film has explored everything from destructive nuclear war to racism through the lenses of events that are imagined to materialize in the future. By focusing on the events of a distant future, the movie and novel bring to light two important themes, namely the nature of consciousness and technological advancement.

The theme of consciousness is evident when the Enterprise crew sets out to explore new civilizations and new life in the outer space. To the shock of the crew, there is indeed an intelligent life in space. This becomes clear when the Enterprise detects V'Ger, which is a self-aware machine. The strange looking machine causes the Enterprise crew to change their perception about the nature of life and consciousness. Besides raising serious questions about the real nature of consciousness, V'Ger is an embodiment of the terrifying power of logic. This power is completely absent of the vulnerabilities that characterize human consciousness such as emotion. In both the film and the movie, the philosophical theme of consciousness is explored through the character of Spock. In most instances, Spock is seen experiencing a great conflict between logic and emotion as he attempts to make connections with his Vulcan heritage.

The theme of technological advancement is based on the theoretical concept of singularity. This concept posts that in future, human beings will fuse with technology to become one inseparable entity, which is a completely different species from the present human race. The theoretical event of singularity is at the core of The Motion Picture. When the unmanned probe called V'Ger is launched from a tiny and humble planet called earth, it is saved from destruction by a group of sentient machines. These machines send the probe off to complete its mission, that of reuniting with the creator. However, it turns out that the creators are human beings. The logic here is that technology has advanced such that human beings can create machines that mimic human emotions and thought, and which can make critical decisions.

Other important themes that paper in both the movie and novel adaptation of the motion picture are love and duty. The most important aspect of love revolves around the relationship between Decker and Ilia. After several decades of separation, this couple eventually reunites aboard the Enterprise as the ship's crew prepares to battle V'Ger, a terrifying alien entity. Although the union sounds simple, things take a spooky turn when Ilia's body merges with V'Ger and becomes a mechanical body. Most people would think that Decker will give up on his love for Ilia after her body becomes mechanical. On the contrary, his love does not end. He continues loving her in the new form, which essentially is nothing but a human fused with technology. Thus, the notion of singularity is apparent in Ilan's transformation. Through it, humanity gets s to understand the alien technology in a much better way.

The theme of duty is clear in the manner in which Kirk takes up his new role as the captain of Enterprise. On the face of it, Kirk is moved by the desire to utilize his experience to save the world from the alien spacecraft that is about to strike the world. Although he has never been involved in a similar situation, Kirk believes that his vast experience will be critical in saving humanity. Kirk's sense of duty inspires the rest of the crew to commit themselves to developing a strategy for countering the alien spacecraft. In effect, Kirk becomes an effective leader who unites the entire Enterprise crew despite not being the ship's official captain. His decisive act saves the world from an unprecedented apocalypse, which makes the undisputed hero of the movie.

Both the title and ending of The Motion Pictures have special significance in the movie and the novel. When the Enterprise crew learns that the V'Ger is a super-evolved form of an old space probe used by NASA, they hack old access codes with which they command it to release all its data. This seemingly simple but ingenious act stops V'Ger's assault on earth and hence saves humanity from destruction. To the shock of the crew, the alien spacecraft has sabotaged itself and is no longer focused on the meeting is a creator. Rather, it wants to merge with the creator to form a completely new life.

Conclusion

In the distant future where The Motion Picture is set, human beings are capable of traveling faster than light. This aspect, together with rapid expansion in other technologies results at the end of capitalism and the concurrent rise of humanism. Moreover, humanity has befriended (and in some cases made enemies with) with several alien races. This friendship leads to the formation of the United Federation of Planets, whose headquarters is earth. Thus, not only will the earth be destroyed by the alien spacecraft but also all planets in the federation. Despite the fantasy inherent in this futuristic imagination, much of the action in The Motion Picture takes place around and on the earth. Besides the physical setting, most of the events described in this movie are easier to relate to concerning the current technology in the world. In conclusion, the movie and the novel are very similar regarding thematic scope, characterization and literary styles.