Star Trek VI The Undiscovered Country

Star Trek VI The Undiscovered Country 

Star Trek VI The Undiscovered Country is a Christian film review. This final film with the original cast was filmed in 1991 and deals with death, the unknown and change.

MOVIE SUMMARY:

After the destruction of the moon, Praxis leads the Klingon Empire to pursue peace with their long-time adversary the Federation, the crew of the USS Enterprise must race against unseen conspirators with a militaristic agenda.

MOVIE THEMES:

Death, the Unknown, and Change

This movie is the last film with the original cast. It is perhaps the most philosophical of all of the Star Trek films with the original cast. The film continues to deal with the theme of age and significance which began in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. The title comes from a line in Shakespeare’s play Hamlet (Act 3, Scene 1):

But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscovered country from whose bourn
No traveler returns, puzzles the will
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?

In the film, the “undiscovered country” is the death of a way of life as the original cast has known it. They have seen the Klingons as enemies. Now, these enemies are making peace. This theme is a direct parallel to the end of the Cold War which happened in 1991. The Berlin Wall fell and the Cold War ended as democracy spread through the former Communist countries.

This death of society required a change in the leadership of both the Federation and the Klingon Empire. In the film, some leaders don’t want to change. They resist it because it is hard to deal with the unknown. Spock embraces the change, while Kirk is hesitant to accept that the Klingons have true intentions. Kirk’s son (David Marcus) died in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock at the hands of a Klingon, so he is naturally skeptical.

Embracing change has consequences. Because Spock was too quick to involve his shipmates, Kirk and McCoy are framed for murder. As a result, Spock makes his next attempt at pursuing peace (with the Romulans) all alone. This is highlighted in a two-part episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation entitled “Unification.” These episodes aired the weeks before and after the premiere of Star Trek VI.

The Bible teaches that God never changes (Malachi 3:6). At the same time, God is all about change. He sent His Son Jesus to die for our sins, so that we can be changed (John 3:16). God reconciled us to Himself (2 Corinthians 5:19), even as we were enemies to Him (Romans 5:8) – just Spock makes an effort to reconcile two enemies. Just as Spock strived for peace, God strives to give us as Christians peace (Romans 15:13).

QUESTIONS:

1. Do I have a hard time embracing change? What prevents me from letting change happen?
2. What fears do I have about death? How does the peace in Jesus Christ give me hope (Romans 15:13)?