similartity between ST powers and Earth

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similartity between ST powers and Earth

Post by Lt. Staplic »

Has anyone else on here made the connections between some of the different Star Trek Powers and some organizational thing here on earth.

For example the three that stick out the most:

Romulan Star Empire - Roman Empire

Klingon Empire - Vikings

Borg - Bee hive.
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Re: similartity between ST powers and Earth

Post by Tsukiyumi »

Funny, I thought the Borg represented Wal-Mart.
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Re: similartity between ST powers and Earth

Post by Deepcrush »

I'm confused... How do you see the Romulans as Romans? Other then the name of course.
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Re: similartity between ST powers and Earth

Post by Lazar »

I think the Klingons in TOS were really just a simple analog of the Soviets, with extremely obvious Cold War parallels in all the episodes they appeared in, as well as STVI; I think it wasn't until STIII and TNG that they really started to establish their badass Space Viking image. You could also say Space Mongol for a lot of the same reasons; and I've read that Okrand drew a bit on Mongolian when creating the language. Also the Klingon flag was inspired by the Nazi flag, but I think that was more a one-off allusion than anything else.

The Romulans have drawn a lot from Roman culture from the start, with the use of Roman names, ranks and institutions, and a Roman-inspired martial culture (complete with bird allusions); some people have also suggested that they were supposed to be the PRC in TOS's Cold War analogy (with a conjectured Klingon-Romulan alliance and technological exchange, followed by a falling out); some people have also suggested Imperial Japan, having an insular culture and a superiority complex.

The Bajorans show some Indian inspiration with their caste system, and maybe you could make some links between their religion and Hinduism or Buddhism. We could link them to a ton of different peoples with their occupation experience.

And yes, the Borg definitely draw a lot from insect colonies.
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Re: similartity between ST powers and Earth

Post by Tsukiyumi »

Lazar wrote:...And yes, the Borg definitely draw a lot from insect colonies.
And Wal-Mart. :wink:
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Re: similartity between ST powers and Earth

Post by Mikey »

Yes, we get it - Wal-Mart joke, check. These parallels have been discussed for a while; I see a little of shogunate Japan in the TNG+ Klingons, too, with their honor system being both heritable and sometimes hollow, as well as their capability being represented by their skill with a ritualized blade weapon. As to the Borg, Roddenberry had explicitly stated that they were partially inspired by, and meant to evoke, colonial insects.
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Re: similartity between ST powers and Earth

Post by Tsukiyumi »

Mikey wrote:Yes, we get it - Wal-Mart joke, check...
Okay, okay. I was going to say China, but they aren't as voracious as Wal-Mart.
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Re: similartity between ST powers and Earth

Post by Mikey »

:bangwall:
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Re: similartity between ST powers and Earth

Post by Tsukiyumi »

:P
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Re: similartity between ST powers and Earth

Post by Lt. Staplic »

Deepcrush wrote:I'm confused... How do you see the Romulans as Romans? Other then the name of course.
A Praetor head of the Senate: Ceasor's control of the Roman Senate
Corruption and a rise to power through a mix of bribes and assassination
The already stated bird and military structure similarities
and the way the Romulan's prefer the deceitful "sneaky" nature of things, similar I believe to Roman politics.

As to Klingon's as Viking's I make that connection because of two main reasons. One is the TNG era brute mentality which is definitely Vikings. Plus there's the idea of Stovokor, which I see in parallel to Valhalla. Where the warriors go to dine with their gods and wait for the end of time.

The Bajorans I definately agree with as Hindu Indians.

The Cardassians, and Dominion are two that I can't place....
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Re: similartity between ST powers and Earth

Post by Tsukiyumi »

Lt. Staplic wrote:..The Cardassians, and Dominion are two that I can't place....
Cardassians: Arabs. A society that used to have a rich culture; amazing art, architecture, and science. Now they're in decline, way behind their competitors, and consumed with their own perceived self-superiority. All that's missing is the religious fanaticism, which is replaced by fanatic nationalism.

I can't think of a good analogue for the Dominion, other than modern America.
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Re: similartity between ST powers and Earth

Post by Sionnach Glic »

The Dominion seem to me to be (perhaps unintentionaly) a redo of the USSR. A vast and militarily powerful nation with expansionist policies and an ideological hatred of everyone else. The state itself is populated by people who are little more than slaves and are forced to work for the benefit of an elite political group who reap all the benefits. It fits fairly well with the old Cold War era idea of how the Soviet Union was.

As for the others:
UFP = idealised USA
Klingons = in TOS they were an analogue of the USSR, in TNG they're a bastardised mix of various "warrior people" such as the Vikings and Shogunate Japanese.
Romulans = political a copy of the common visualisation of the Roman Empire
Borg = Social hive insects
Cardassians = various military dictatorships
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Re: similartity between ST powers and Earth

Post by Lt. Staplic »

that makes sence, at least I'm not the only one making these connections.
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Re: similartity between ST powers and Earth

Post by stitch626 »

Originally, the Romulans were supposed to represent the Japanese (suicide vs. capture, weakened from a war with the Feds).
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Re: similartity between ST powers and Earth

Post by Atekimogus »

Is that so? I wonder which race the germans should have represented, since they to seem to be popular hollywood villains. :lol:
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