The difference to me is that, in Trek, Roddenberry had a very specific vision he was trying to communicate. Starfleet had an ethical code, Earth had become a post-scarcity society, and while everyone knows it certainly wasn’t the best science fiction out there, Gene and the people who worked with him and inherited his vision mostly agreed and just got it. I think a large part of the fandom does, too - at least, those who go out of their way to wear merch to some everyday thing. I’d trust the morals of someone in a Starfleet shirt faster than I’d trust those of someone wearing a cross around their neck.
Star Wars on the other hand was just a fun movie. There’s some Jedi stuff that the writers were never super clear on, but that approximated Lucas’ idea about samurai who were space zen.
That’s an oversimplification. The Empire and First Order are very clearly fascist organizations. The resistance is fighting space fascism. The design of the storm troopers and Vader are partially inspired by nazi uniforms. The way I see it there’s a lot of politics in Star Wars, while Star Trek is more about morals. And morals is a more trust-inspiring hobby than international politics.
I used to always play Imperial in online games, because let’s be real they do have the cooler aesthetic, until I ran into people that liked the Empire for different and much worse reasons.
Needless to say I pick Rebel/Republic now, my character might not look as cool but at least I won’t accidentally find myself on the same team as literal Nazi fans.
The difference to me is that, in Trek, Roddenberry had a very specific vision he was trying to communicate. Starfleet had an ethical code, Earth had become a post-scarcity society, and while everyone knows it certainly wasn’t the best science fiction out there, Gene and the people who worked with him and inherited his vision mostly agreed and just got it. I think a large part of the fandom does, too - at least, those who go out of their way to wear merch to some everyday thing. I’d trust the morals of someone in a Starfleet shirt faster than I’d trust those of someone wearing a cross around their neck.
Star Wars on the other hand was just a fun movie. There’s some Jedi stuff that the writers were never super clear on, but that approximated Lucas’ idea about samurai who were space zen.
That’s an oversimplification. The Empire and First Order are very clearly fascist organizations. The resistance is fighting space fascism. The design of the storm troopers and Vader are partially inspired by nazi uniforms. The way I see it there’s a lot of politics in Star Wars, while Star Trek is more about morals. And morals is a more trust-inspiring hobby than international politics.
and star wars often appeals to those who are just a bit too enthusiastic about the Nazi imagery
I used to always play Imperial in online games, because let’s be real they do have the cooler aesthetic, until I ran into people that liked the Empire for different and much worse reasons.
Needless to say I pick Rebel/Republic now, my character might not look as cool but at least I won’t accidentally find myself on the same team as literal Nazi fans.
One is a hopeful future the other is a mythical past. I lean towards trek because i want to believe a version of that future is possible.
Star Wars was supposed to be a one off. They re-wrote it while they were shooting.