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 "Pretender" Phenomenon & Human Potential, Part 1, repost

This is a repost of a meditation on the late 1990s TV show, The Pretender. Do enjoy!

-- Subspace Meditator



There are Pretenders among us.

Geniuses with the ability to become anyone they want to be.

In 1963, a corporation known as the Centre isolated a
young Pretender named Jarod and exploited his genius
for their research.

Then one day, their Pretender ran away...


From 1996-2000, these were the opening theme words for the belated NBC TV series The Pretender. This TV program chronicled the exploits of a genius named Jarod who was taken from his parents as a child. Over the course of four years, the adult Jarod remembered and sought answers to who he was and where he came from. Simultaneously, the viewing audience was granted a unique look inside the world of a storied mastermind who could assume any identity, any personality, any skill set he chose within a matter of hours or days. Literally! From doctor to race car driver to insurance salesman to astronaut, Jarod used his innate gifts honed at the Centre to defend the weak and defenseless, and to empower the powerless.

For one hour every Friday, Jarod so completely became a fake personality that he was able to convince everyone from a restaurant cook to an FBI section chief that he was who he claimed to be. His talent represented a kind of total immersion into the new identity's world and environment, a total immersion that has been thought on by psychologists and others who are pushing the boundaries of what we know about the human brain and its capability.

In other words, though actor Michael T. Weiss' Pretender may have been nothing more than a fantastic character, there is science behind the fiction. Further, there may in truth have been (or be) factual personalities behind the imaginary one. And it is these investigations, and those real personas, and what they all together could mean for further unlocking human potential, which is the subject of this meditation.

The Fictional Pretender and His Equals

Let's begin with a profile of The Pretender program's fictional representations of this extraordinary talent.

Profile 1: Jarod

Life's a gift.

-- Jarod

Jarod

As stated, Jarod is the series hero and its primary focus. His abilities as a true, natural Pretender are portrayed over and over and consist of two distinct but very different aspects. The first is broken down into two parts. Part A of aspect one is Jarod's unique ability to eidetically remember every detail he's exposed to. This, in effect, refers to Jarod's capability to photographically recall places, events, sounds, smells, etc, with near-total recollection as he chooses them necessary to complete his task. Part B of the first aspect is Jarod's fantastic working memory, which refers to his ability to hold multiple transitory (or temporary) pieces of information in his mind for later manipulation and use.

The second aspect is Jarod's ability to mimic the skill sets and personality types of any kind of profession or work environment he chooses to infiltrate. As in our introduction, this gives Jarod the ability to act and talk (and most importantly to assume the skills and mentality of) a doctor, engineer, teacher, lawyer, mobster, race car driver, professional chef, FBI agent, etc. He's even become an astronaut! And all of these skills are assumed without Jarod setting foot in a classroom or learning from a professor. Jarod learns the skills he requires to accomplish a "pretend" through a process of total immersion into his target environment by setting up what the series calls "simulations." In the TV program, a simulation is a recreation (whether whole or partial) of an environment into which a Pretender wishes to submerge himself. Jarod often used such simulations to teach himself what he needed to know about a place or situation in which he'd never been before so as to prepare himself for the numerous possibilities that would eventually arise from his interaction within said situation. Additionally, it was clear from the TV series that Jarod used his simulations to prepare for what could not be prepared for - that is, those unanticipated variables that arise as a result of the human equation in any circumstance. Though it was rare, Jarod did encounter what the Meditator calls sub-situations of the main situation for which he was not ready. And it was at such times that Jarod's ability to "pretend" was most effectively seen, for this amounted to his ability to think on his feet, rather than merely pre-anticipating and pre-planning for every event. These scenarios were most often observed when, at the end of most episodes, Jarod had to escape, unrehearsed, from the relentless pursuit of his main nemesis, Miss Parker.

As we come to learn, these functions of Jarod's brain are governed by a unique genetic sequence which allows him to access such amazing capabilities and naturally become the kind of person he is. Fundamentally, then, genetics (conjoined with training and certain psychological manipulative techniques) are also the basis for much of the other Pretenders' capabilities we see over the course of the TV program.

Jarod, as a character, is unique in other ways too. During his time outside The Centre we come to learn that, as a result of his deprived childhood, Jarod is deficient in certain fundamental "growing up" experiences. He's never eaten cotton candy, had a stick of chewing gum. He's never gone to a carnival, played with coloring books, or for that matter had a toy set. Through these experiences and so many more, the viewer comes to learn that Jarod's innocence and naivete is the rationale for his actions. And from these the viewer gets, in a way, to recreate his or her own childhood through Jarod's eyes. And this makes Jarod both a sympathetic  and empathetic character, not only to children, but to others who are not as strong and resilient as he. Further, they highlight Jarod's desire to defend the weak and abused as being motivated by his time at The Centre where he learned that the simulations he performed as a child were often used to bring harm and suffering to innocent people. Once he escaped captivity his every pretend was to "make amends" by using his great ability to balance the scales of justice for those who could not find it on their own, and to bring justice to those who deemed themselves so powerful or so cunning as to be above it. Moreover, Jarod's strong sense of morality, despite all efforts to relieve him of it at The Centre, make within him a courageous personality who does not succumb to using negative means to gain his ends. In each of his pretends, Jarod always takes the high ground of action, never disobeying or breaking the law, even to bring others under the heel of its justice or to win it for those whom he has decided to help.

Profile 2: Kyle, the sociopathic Pretender

I decide who lives or dies.

-- the childhood Kyle in a session with Mr. Raines

Shockingly, we come to learn that Kyle is Jarod's younger brother also kidnapped by The Centre when they were just children. Raised separately at the facility, Kyle's training takes a very divergent path from that of his brother. Abused and tortured by the deranged psychologist, Mr. Raines, Kyle is trained to use his Pretender talent for selfish, manipulative, and destructive ends. When we first meet Kyle, we learn that he has escaped from a maximum security prison and even while inside was using his ability of mimickry to "talk like a doctor, a lawyer," and even to get a prison guard a sizable amount of money on his tax return. Ultimately, however, Kyle is trying to find those responsible for his kidnapping and imprisonment at The Centre, and to punish those he believes responsible for his mistreatment while there. This leads Kyle to finding Jarod after the latter discovers him free and on the loose in the real world working as an assassin.

As a Pretender what is interesting about Kyle is in fact his sociopathic indoctrination by Mr. Raines. Kyle's abilities to pretend are quite similar to Jarod's. In fact, it could be argued that there is qualitatively very little (if any) difference in their overall talent. However, as a pupil/subject of Mr. Raines, Kyle is trained to leave behind all traces of morality and empathy and to exercise his talents to pretend with complete and cold objectivity. The series demonstrates this in flashbacks to Jarod and Kyle's time at The Centre when both young Pretenders are using their skills in various assorted joint simulations. Kyle chooses to ignore the moral implications of the simulations while Jarod chooses to incorporate, or at least raise the moral angles. The choice to ignore the moral angles makes Kyle a much more dangerous target because - unlike Jarod, who chooses not to exercise his great mental gifts to harm others - Kyle has no compulsion against destroying that which he deems unworthy of his sympathy. If he had remained alive and free, it seems quite clear that he could have indeed taken a very serious fight to The Centre and those whom he believed personally responsible for his torment while there. The unfortunate loss, however, of Kyle was a heart-wrenching blow to Jarod - who was in a constant search for clues and ties to his past - and, the Meditator believes, a blow to the series in that Kyle as a Pretender, especially one without moral and ethical boundaries, would have made a great counterbalance to Jarod in his quest to bring justice to The Centre, its creators and allies.

Profile 3: "The Chameleon" Pretender, Alex

We are introduced to Alex in the made-for-TV movie, "The Pretender, 2001." This is the third Pretender program in which a gifted personality other than Jarod and Kyle is portrayed. However, unlike Jarod, the Pretender whom we come to know only as Alex is another sociopath with a vendetta against The Centre and society as a whole. Unlike Jarod - who is trained as a child by Sydney - and Kyle - who is trained as a child by Mr. Raines - we do not know if Alex was kidnapped and imprisoned by The Centre as a boy nor by whom he was instructed while there. We do know that Alex attempted to escape The Centre with Jarod and a fourth Pretender named Edward many years later in adulthood. Alex's escaped failed and he was recaptured and thereafter tortured and then assigned to an organization called the Triumvirate, a superior group to The Centre with whom the latter has intricate ties. Alex first comes to Jarod's attention when a series of taunting messages arrives from a villain identifying himself only as the Chameleon. Within these messages are coded statements ultimately revealing the Chameleon's true identity. Of course, the Chameleon's purpose is for only Jarod to understand their real meaning: revenge for what he believes was his abandonment at The Centre during their escape attempt many years prior. However, simultaneously, a string of odd murders also occur that leave behind clues which lead Jarod to suspect that the Chameleon exhibits superior adaptive skills which suggest Pretender traits. He goes on the hunt for the Chameleon disguised as an FBI agent. However, the Chameleon fights back, attempting to frame Jarod by using his own Pretender skills as the bait and switch. Ultimately Jarod finds and confronts Alex as the Chameleon, but not before Alex manages to kill their fellow Pretender, Eddie Ballinger. The startling factor in Jarod's pursuit of Alex is not his chase and cornering of Alex, but in the revelation Alex makes at Jarod's almost successful apprehension just prior to Alex's "suicide" at a water plant. He tells Jarod that The Centre has not been chasing him all over the country just because he's their prize Pretender; it's much deeper than that. Further, Alex tells Jarod that he will not give him the answers. If Jarod really wants to know the answers to all the secrets then Mr. Parker is the one to seek out. Alex then falls to his "death" in a watery grave dozens of feet below. But his body is never recovered, leaving the viewer to wonder whether - in true Pretender fashion - if Alex actually escaped alive.

Profile 4: The sub-Pretender, Eddie Ballinger

From what we know, the Pretender named Edward (Eddie) was taken from his parents, just as Jarod, when he was a small boy. However, according to Mr. Raines, Eddie, unlike Jarod, Kyle, or Alex, was not a natural Pretender. He was a "sub-Pretender" who was trained in the Pretender talent, but possessing obvious gaps and flaws in his abilities to pretend. This made Eddie less important to the work of The Centre, and when he escaped, the corporation did not pursue his recapture as it did that of Jarod, Alex, and Kyle. Eddie went on to make a life for himself as an NSA agent and family man, free to interact with society as he chose. He continued this life until his untimely reunion with Jarod years later, which ultimately led to his death at the hands of fellow Pretender, "The Chameleon," Alex.

Profile 5: the savant, Angelo

Angelo is not a Pretender, but a supernormal empath, created by Mr. Raines, who is capable of "absorbing" other individuals' personalities and feelings. Angelo was Mr. Raines' failed attempt to artificially create a Pretender from a subject lacking the natural talent to become one. Angelo's subsequent creation as a savant empath, however, was accomplished by first breaking down his real personality via electroshock treatment and drugs and then by "rebirthing" a new personality in the shredded mind of the old one. This combination of torture and drug abuse on the part of Raines somehow brought to life a personality within Angelo that allows him to literally absorb the emotional state of mind of an individual simply by looking at a possession of the target subject- such as something they wrote, drew, or even a long-held personal possession, like a watch. Angelo has used this ability to help The Centre track Jarod's location several times, but also, unknown to Centre personnel, has used his talent to secretly assist Jarod in eluding Centre capture by misleading them.

Now that we've covered some of the special personalities that made up the fiction of The Pretender series, in our next look at this unique program, we shall turn our attention to the science behind the fiction in an effort to understand whether there is actually any reality to the show itself.

I believe the answers we find will indeed amaze us.


Until next time...



To the upward reach of man.