TheBoost said:It's a combination of racism, bad science, and lazy writing that plagues all Star Trek.
Lazy writing in that it allows endless "I'm torn between two worlds!" character moments.
Endless? This may have been expressed to a small degree in the original series, I honestly don't remember if it was. But the new movie you seem to really appreciate is the one that made a huge plot point of the "I'm torn between two worlds!" theme with Spock. Even though I didn't like the new movie much, I wouldn't have called that bit lazy writing. In my own personal experience, I have come across a lot of people who were torn between too cultures, or two races, and have had a hard time finding their own identity through it. I think perusing this aspect of Spock could potentially be very interesting, though the movie over played it and it just came off as Spock having a really low flash point, and being in the habit of going berserk on people, which is something even most of us emotional humans seem to be able to refrain from. Odd that someone from a culture of highly restrained peoples would have more trouble controlling himself than the average human. This is where we can talk about lazy and convenient writing.
Strangely, my memories of Spock's character seem to be the exact opposite from your take on him. I always remember him being depicted as very vulcan in nature, and facing the challenge of being surrounded by humans and struggling to understand their behavior.
Bad science in that any two organisms that can breed and produce fertile offsprings (like every race in Star Trek) should be considered the same species.
Given that we have had zero known contact with extra terrestrial lifeforms, I just don't think the science is there to prove this. Yes, it is true with earth species, a dog can't mate with a cat. But I am more than willing to suspend disbelief and go along with the idea that various alien species in the galaxy have evolved so closely along the same lines that they are able to produce viable offspring with one another. Ultimately, it is pretty ridiculous that all these different aliens look so much alike. At the end of the day, you could peg the "bad science!" label on every single sci-fi and fantasy story ever told.
Racism in that all alien races are defined by a single trait (/flaw) that can only be overcome by being more human.
Interesting take. I thought humans were usually considered inferior to vulcans, as well as any number of other races in the ST universe (for example, when observing emotional human behavior, Spock's response was often to cocked eyebrow and say, "fascinating" in a semi-condensending tone, as if observing a much lower species. I think it has always been suggested that vulcans have evolved further than humans. There is a lot of racism shown from the sides of Klingons, Ferangi and other species, but I have always felt Star Trek has done a good job of painting racism as a negative thing, and shown the Federation to meet all alien races with open arms. Perhaps I am wrong on this. Mind citing a few examples of aliens needing to act more human in order to become better?
Gaffer, like DF stated, Romulans and Vulcans are not the exact same species, but represent a split in their evolutionary chain. They have the same common ancestors, but somewhere along the line they went their separate ways and continued down separate evolutionary chains. Romulans continuing along the same warlike, barbaric path, and the vulcans taking the high road and becoming more spiritual and intellectual, and eventually throwing emotions out the window.