Ladies and gentlemen, we must discuss the most important question to arise from the new Star Trek movie:
Why is Spock so ridiculously hot?
Personally, I’m working with the theory that having (usually) superbly controlled emotions roiling beneath the surface is unfathomably sexy. A logical facade, in this sense, is no different from Byronic brooding. Why, ladies, why, will we always swoon for that?
There’s also the matter of Spock’s gigantic mind. Blogs and Twitter feeds (and everyone’s pants) are abuzz with mad Spock crushes, and it’s just more confirmation that, right now, an intellect is the ultimate in hot.
Or maybe it’s the sideburns.
And now for some under-the-cut talk with SPOILERS AHEAD.
I know J.J. Abrams has sort of shied from the idea that Star Trek is a commentary on or metaphor for the times, but creative works reflect the era in which they were made whether it is the creator’s intent or not. The alternate timeline of this Star Trek, in which Kirk’s tenacity and drive arises not from the encouragement of a strong father but by the absence of a dead one, in which the planet that represents the power of reason is destroyed out of revenge, only to emerge with renewed hope for the future is so much a distillation of where we are now in our country. Star Trek is not an intellectual movie, but it engages with our intellects anyway, all while showing us a good time.
…OK, not just our intellects.
