sweet dreams R made of cheese who am I to disabrie

in modern trek, they always present the idea of logic vs emotion, with spock being logic and kirk being emotion, but thats not how tos has it. in tos, the logic vs emption debate is spock vs mccoy. kirk is supposed to be the mediator between the two, sometimes siding with one side over the other, sometimes finding a middle ground between the two. thats why hes the captain, hes able to see all angles and pick the best course

when you make kirk the emotional one, it completely breaks the format, because 9 time out of 10, it means kirk has to be correct. theres no more balance

When I teach rhetoric in my college essay writing/analysis course, it's always with the example of Kirk, Spock, AND McCoy. Ethos, Logos, Pathos--you need all three. Kirk isn't the counterweight to Spock; he's the fulcrum that balances Spock and McCoy.

Kirk isn't emotion. Kirk is ethos: credibility, authority. Spock and McCoy are there to stop him from damaging that credibility by falling back on an authority he doesn't actually have in the situation, to remind him of the logic or compassion that's lacking when an abuse of power would be the easy or basely satisfying thing to do.

I often say, we've heard the "space, the final frontier" speech now said so many times by so many characters that it's easy to think of as just a thing that starship captains say. But it's put into Kirk's mouth for a reason, "to explore strange new worlds, seek out new life and new civilisations, to boldly go where no man has gone before." Those are his words; that's who he is.

And then I went to the USAmerican Midwest

Rains frequently, but the worst is like standing under a bathroom shower. Genuinely inhospitable rainstorms are uncommon.

Along the coast, it's pretty easy in most areas to walk to at least one store, or else there's usually a bus or shuttle available. There are sidewalks and bike lanes everywhere.

It's a temperate boreal rainforest, so while there are many freshwater lakes and rivers, they're usually pretty cold. The biggest danger is typically getting caught in a strong current, and the most dangerous animals in swimming distance are on land.

Earthquakes happen almost every day, but the vast majority go unnoticed. Buildings are designed to withstand bigger seismic activity, so unless it's a 5 or higher it just kind of feels like having low blood sugar for a second. There are no tornados

Rural Illinois, USA:

One minute it's sunny, then ten minutes later that distant smudge on the horizon has swallowed the entire sky in black clouds and the water is coming down like waterfall and you literally CANNOT SEE. Then there's a crash like cymbals and you need to get indoors because the thunder and lightening are on TOP of you

No sidewalks until you are in the smack dab center of town, which is a three hour walk or twenty minute drive from wherever you are.

There aren't many natural bodies of water other than small ponds and creeks, and because the environment is so much warmer, those are filled with snapping turtles that can grow bigger than a nine year old child and water snakes that are incredibly venomous. These are paired with leeches and mosquitos for that sweet umami flavor.

Claudius can be an evil conniving general who potentially got Hamlet's father killed in battle - which helps us understand why Hamlet is simultaneously sure and unsure that Claudius is responsible for his father's death. Like he knows Claudius did something but he can't prove what.

Ophelia can have had her first taste of independence in the 1920s (especially with some women having the vote at this point) as a flapper/young women in the city. Ophelia going mad and what was once a beautiful 1920s art deco dress being destroyed and shedding sequins everywhere.

All of this to recontextualise: something is rotten in the state of Denmark. Because people know another war is coming. But they don't know when. Hamlet being one of the only characters tuning in to the radio/reading newspapers. Ophelia being the other. Ending the play on war being declared. Need I say more.

Bonus things I need:

Gertrude in a horribly outdated dress (like 1900s style with the high collar and lace) Because she is clinging to a life she no longer has

The flowers Ophelia holds could be showgirl feathers...

Hamlet's father in a soldiers uniform (bonus points if he makes a lot of noise that only Hamlet can hear)

Laertes being too young to have fought in the first war - like the generation of young men desperate to prove themselves in the next war.

Subtle use of newspapers and radio to show the war getting increasingly close as Hamlet looses his grip on reality

You could even make the whole get thee to a nunnery scene being Hamlet's desperation to get Ophelia safe but eventually degrading into misogyny - which seals her fate

part two

part three

part four

And then I went to the USAmerican Midwest

✨🌙 This wild star wolf bites, but maybe you can make friends with him? 🌙💫

Guy tied up in chair: uh…theres just one guy over there.

Mafia boss: Yeah. That’s Lil’ Tony. He’s got one of dem conditions where he’s got multiple mooks n’ his head. But when Big Tony fronts you’re gonna be in big trouble.