Ok, I'm gonna say this because I've been mulling over it for a looooong time and things keep piling up on it so I might as well get it out of my system. That being said my spoons are in the negative rn because of a 5 month delayed period so this is not me wanting to debate, but me just getting something out of my chest so it stops haunting me and draining me of the little energy I have left.
Since season 2 (at least) of Strange New Worlds it was clear the bioessentialism and overall far right (I refuse to call them conservative cause the only thing they conserve is their power to make others miserable) vibes in SNW were a prelude of what it was later to come not only in the US or UK politics panorama, but a worldwide pandemic of fascism.
With the recent SNW interview with Celia Rose Gooding saying "This is Paramount's Trek", when asked about future LGBTQ+ rep in the show (if any). And the announcement of Paramount itself of this "Trek Lives Here" promo video with references to all Trek (including AOS) but not Prodigy. It's seeming clearer and clearer to me how they (Paramount) want to establish themselves as the only legit canon source that determines what and how ST is, and nobody else.
Because "it's Paramount's Trek", which is, if you stop to think about it, a very weird thing to say since... as far as I know... ST has always been in Paramount, right? And they have gloated about it A LOT. Even if they've tried to tank it from day one and basically every step of the way. And even when they took Prodigy and all TOS and TNG movies from Paramount+ but chickened out on the movies just after people started to complain and cancel subscriptions.
Idk it's like saying "This is natural water" ... is there any other kind of water? Is there any other kind of water I don't know about? Is this really not so natural so you feel the need to stress it to make me feel better? What are you hiding from me?!
I know this was most likely Celia just trying to say, in a way that wouldn't get her fired, that Paramount, as we've obviously seen, doesn't care shit about LGBTQIA+ rep and is more busy in fact trying to get rid of it at all costs (see what they're doing to Spock), but not because she supports it. Still it feels like Paramount itself told her to say those words to remind us who's Star Trek's "owner" and therefore ruler of canon and fandom and determines forever and ever the absolute truth about it.
To me the rampant number of canon dissonances (to put it in a polite way) in the show are a feature, not a bug. In fact I think that Paramount has been trying very hard to bury TOS as if it was a shameful thing (which ofc it has its flaws, like all Trek) they want to detach themselves of, as if it had nothing to do with them. But only to replace it with their new shit, which is... ironically more oppressive and far right leaning than the 60s OG material. (I say ironically but it makes me want to cry fr how the newest Trek is the most fascist leaning Trek wtf).
There's many proofs of this in the last few years of Paramount, how they purposely excluded TOS Captain Kirk from their captain's official line up to name one out.
Anyway, I have many more thoughts about this, but I hope this will be enough to sate the manic goblin living in my head, because now I have to cook and feed myself and all I want is to go into my cocoon and sleep for a week.
Try to Live Long And Prosper despite of what these assholes may do or say. Star Trek is a communist IDIC utopia and it will always be.
The canon may "forget", but the fanon remembers.
