Grab your space helmet and strap in, folks! We’re about to launch into the one of the universe’s great conundrums:
Which is superior: Star Wars or Star Trek?
As a sci-fi devotee who will sit through the most tedious space-travel saga, I am too familiar with this cosmic clash and how it reflects our culture.
Indeed, tech columnist Kara Swisher explains how this space-opera showdown reveals two distinct ways of perceiving the world:
First, there’s the Star Wars view, which pits the forces of good against the Dark Side… Then there’s the Star Trek view, in which a crew works together to travel to distant worlds like an interstellar Benetton commercial, promoting tolerance and persuading villains not to be villains.
As someone who had the arduous privilege of being a twelve-year old boy when Star Wars came out, you’d figure I would be firmly Team Skywalker, right? While I reveled in it as a kid, though, now I find the Star Wars universe as appetizing as a soggy bantha sandwich.
Kara Swisher nailed it when she revealed the Star Wars universe to be a simplistic tug-of-war between good and evil. It's all so black and white, with little room for moral ambiguity. Sure, they try to muddy it up a bit, but in the end you’re either a goody-two-shoes Jedi sympathizer or—cue the menacing John Williams score!—a cackling Sith Lord. It’s all too pat and too rote and too easy. And the good guys always win…or do they? Oh, wait! Yes. They do. Sort of. Quick, run the sequel!
In contrast, the Star Trek tales offer a more nuanced and, dare I say, realistic moral universe. Yes, the good guys tend to win, but it can be complicated, a little unsettled, and morally ambiguous. Swisher’s description of Star Trek as “an interstellar Benetton commercial” is a gentle and apt gibe, but it’s not an insult. The Star Trek universe privileges inclusion, teamwork, set values, and color-coordinated clothing—just like Benetton. In Star Trek, even old and bitter enemies can become fast allies. Ethical dilemmas and philosophical inquiry abound, and whole plot lines are built around erroneous assumptions and miscommunication, reminding us that—universal translators notwithstanding—cultural understanding isn't a given.
The very titles of Star Wars and Star Trek sum them up perfectly. Star Wars is, naturally enough, about a war, this one being between a ragtag band of goody-two-shoes and a cartoonishly evil empire. Every plot is like a shuttlecock—back and forth, back and forth, and at no point do we learn what’s so desirable about being a Jedi except perhaps innate sanctimony and the opportunity to gavotte about in comfy smocks. And, for that matter, what exactly is the downside of the Dark Side? Hideously deteriorated skin? You just know that the Dark Side is where all the fun is!
Star Trek, on the other hand, is just that, a “trek,” an arduous journey fraught with challenges. The show features a universal striving toward an ideal—not perfection, mind you, but a genuine effort to explore, to learn, and to spread peace. In Star Trek there is some of that same moral back and forth, and the vaunted Federation loves to shoot and blow things up just as much as the guild of Star Wars characters. Still, the Federation also aspires first and foremost “To seek out new life and new civilizations” and revels in "first contact" with new species to befriend rather than conquer or dominate.
"Join us," they say, “we have raktajino and saurian brandy,” before adding, "We also have values, and we're not afraid to self-correct when we stray from them."
Ah, yes, the values. That’s what sets Star Trek apart and makes it more appealing than the moral chiaroscuro that is the Star Wars universe. Simply put, Star Trek truly offers “a new hope” for humanity—not just good guys bashing bad guys. The people of Star Trek are enlightened, educated, intellectually curious, accepting, and rarely fanatical. They want to be good, and they want to share that goodness. Sure, they can be self-righteous jerks at times, but at least they have a clearly articulated and somewhat lived set of values undergirding them and not just some elitist, telekinetic woo woo!
Plus, Star Trek gives us a more realistic way of dealing with our own phaser-less world issues. From the get-go, the Original Series promoted diversity and nobly tackled contemporary cultural problems, albeit ham-handedly. In the future that Star Trek represents, many of our contemporary social ailments have, in fact, been cured, which allows the show to allegorically address the finer realities of being human—our needs, our failures, our hopes—in a way that the morally uncomplicated Star Wars just can’t.
If you know where to look, Star Trek even offers guideposts for how to behave in the workplace, which you just knew I’d get around to. And, yes, valuable leadership lessons abound.
Quick question: looks aside, who would you rather have as your boss—the hairy melon ball, Yoda (or, for that matter, any Star Wars character), or the chrome-domed Jean-Luc Picard? If you have to think about this, you clearly have not been paying attention all these years.
Yoda has his virtues, but he is an arrogant, syntactically-challenged curmudgeon with a needlessly sharp temper. He’s a lonely soul, a lone wolf, just like virtually every other Jedi. By the way, have you ever noticed what happens when the Jedis team up to fight the Dark Side? They get massacred! The Star Wars characters are, at their best, a bunch of loners, as suitable for spaghetti Westerns as for space operas.
Picard, on the other hand, is wise, dedicated, inclusive, and frighteningly articulate. He is a team builder and a man of deep conviction. These are qualities he shares with his counterparts in other Star Trek series. Sure, he's flawed, being human and all that, but that's the core of his appeal. Whenever he, in his human weakness, strays from his values, trouble and plot complications ensue. Then he course-corrects, which is what makes him a mature leader, someone you want to follow because you know he's always striving to do better.
As for Yoda? He just wants to contemplate stuff as a hermit, master the Force, tell everyone what to do, and occasionally kill bad guys. He is a kid’s version of a leader—a short, green, magical G.I. Joe. As ancient as he is, his outlook is child-like but not in the good way.
You see, there is a continuum between Picard-style leadership and Yoda-style. Between the consensus-builder and the boss. And if you are inclined to claim Yoda is a great teacher, I can assure you as an educator that he is not. I’ve been fooled by his type in the past, but he can’t dupe me now.
No, I'd much rather learn from and work for Picard or any of the Star Trek leaders. I would much rather live in the Star Trek universe and toil in the Star Trek workplace where everyone knows the mission, knows their role in pursuing that mission, and actually wants to pursue that mission. Crises usually arise from outside that culture, but even when they come from within, they are no match for the shared ideals of the Federation. It’s not a utopia, but it is a reasonable facsimile, and one that can serve as a lofty aspiration for humanity.
What it all comes down to is that the Star Trek universe—with its aspirational vision and its focus on exploration, peace, and self-improvement—is the one that leaders must strive for. The Picard (or Sisko or Janeway or Pike or even Kirk) style of leadership is far superior to anything that happens leadership-wise in Star Wars. (“General” Solo, seriously?)
It’s no accident that one saga is set inaccessibly “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away” while the other is set in our future—a future filled with potential and optimism. We’d be wise to emulate its starship captains and reach toward their ideals. And finding even glimmers of the Star Trek vision in our present is worth the trek, don’t you think?
Where are you on the space opera leadership continuum? Are are you more a Picard or a Yoda?
Leaders must have, communicate, and live a vision steeped in values, and I can help.
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𝙅𝙞𝙢 𝙎𝙖𝙡𝙫𝙪𝙘𝙘𝙞, 𝙋𝙝.𝘿., 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳, 𝘬𝘦𝘺𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘳, 𝘤𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵. 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 30 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘌𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘳, 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘎𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘏𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘛𝘪𝘯𝘺 𝘏𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘎𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦𝘴. 𝘊𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘑𝘪𝘮’𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴.
Where Are You on the Picard-Yoda Leadership Continuum?