Am I the only one who found the message of "Arena" to be questionable?

[BlastHardcheese]

We all know the story. Enterprise finds Cestus III destroyed, chases down the Gorn ship responsible, are waylaid by the Metrons and Kirk and the Gorn captain are forced to fight in the hammiest, most iconic fistfight in trek history.

I find the ethical message of the story to be extremely questionable. Kirk's whole attitude right up until the end of the episode was that the Gorn were hostile and belligerent, and by his own admission, made his blood run cold for the simple crime of being reptilian and therefore too alien in nature to inspire empathy.

Kirk and the Gorn fight, both display equal intelligence and cunning, with Kirk's ingenuity allowing him to emerge as the victor. It was Kirk's mercy and recognition that he was wrong to see the Gorn as nothing but dangerous monsters that provided the message that mercy was a greater virtue than justice.

What I don't like is how the Gorn were demonised in that episode with the only line from the Gorn captain spoken to justify showing them mercy:

"We were repelling invaders!"

Is that it? I can't see how the Gorn could even be slightly vindicated in their actions because they felt threatened and were just protecting themselves and their interests.

This is how I think the final confrontation with the Metrons should have gone:

Kirk: "No, I won't kill him – do you hear? You'll have to get your entertainment someplace else!"

Metron: "As you wish, captain. You have forfeit yourself and your ship. We will allow the Gorn captain to decide your fate."

(The Gorn's wounds are healed and he rises to strike Kirk down)

Gorn: "I will not kill him either, as he has showed me mercy. His species cannot be intent on destroying us. We will not take the lives of those who simply wish to be, as we do."

Metron: "Very good, captains. You have both displayed the advanced trait of mercy. We will not destroy either of your ships. It would not be... civilized."


In my mind, this would've been a far better resolution to the episode. It would have challenged Kirk's own ideas and gut feelings about the Gorn being nothing but dangerous and hostile threats. He would have learned his own lesson about not judging other life forms too quickly and trying to see the "human" side of something that initially felt reptilian and cold.

I think the Gorn as they stood in the episode were just a plot device to reinforce the idea that humans are "better" and more noble than any other species that appears too alien and repulsive. The Gorn never had a chance to show themselves as anything but hostile, reactionary xenophobes who should be kept at arm's length and would not know mercy and empathy even if it were given to them by aliens with no reason to do so.

"Arena" could've been a true morality tale about not judging books by their scaly covers instead of another sermon about how men are more noble than the beasts.

 

[scotpens]

Re: Am I the only one who found the message of "Arena" to be questiona

. . . This is how I think the final confrontation with the Metrons should have gone:

Kirk: "No, I won't kill him – do you hear? You'll have to get your entertainment someplace else!"

Metron: "As you wish, captain. You have forfeit yourself and your ship. We will allow the Gorn captain to decide your fate."

(The Gorn's wounds are healed and he rises to strike Kirk down)

Gorn: "I will not kill him either, as he has showed me mercy. His species cannot be intent on destroying us. We will not take the lives of those who simply wish to be, as we do."

Metron: "Very good, captains. You have both displayed the advanced trait of mercy. We will not destroy either of your ships. It would not be... civilized."

And, had it been an episode of TNG or Voyager, that's probably how it would have been written. And, IMO, the ending would have been talkier, preachier, more self-consciously P.C., and not nearly as effective.

 

[Warped9]

Re: Am I the only one who found the message of "Arena" to be questiona

Actually the intent of your ending is not contradicted by the episode as shown. I can easily imagine the Gorn waking up aboard his ship with wounds healed and thinking the exact thing you're suggesting.

I don't see a flaw in how it ended onscreen. If anything perhaps we just needed to see the Gorn's perspective after he woke up.

 

[plynch]

Re: Am I the only one who found the message of "Arena" to be questiona

Don't the Gorn end up as Fed allies in nonCanonical stuff, due to Kirk's mercy?

Also, the audience identifies with the protagonist, ol' Kirkaroo, and since he shows mercy, we might just get the idea to do so, and not want to nuke 'em all (as many of my 2010 high schoolers still want to).

(One kid wants to nuke the middle east and sell the glass to the Chinese. I made bold to inquire why the savvy Chinese would want to buy radioactive glass. No answer. But at least he was a good capitalist tryin' to turn a profit on the deal. Wow.)

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Re: Am I the only one who found the message of "Arena" to be questiona

I didn't find the morality or "message" of the episode questionable, so much as I found the turnaround in Kirk's attitude - and McCoy's, for that matter - too quick and too facile. I think that kind of thing was an occasional consequence of TOS telling these "big" stories in fifty minutes, and within a medium that was a little more naive than most television drama is today. But yeah, Kirk going from a nearly obsessive, hard-ass and determinedly military mindset to so openminded - especially in the aftermath of such a massacre - strains credulity somewhat.

"Arena" remains one of my very favorite Trek episodes of all time, though.

 

[Captain Robert April]

Re: Am I the only one who found the message of "Arena" to be questiona

Killing a faceless enemy from a distance of several kilometers with the ship's phasers is quite a bit different than up close and personal, with a pointy rock in the throat.

 

[Mr. Mugato]

Re: Am I the only one who found the message of "Arena" to be questiona

Killing a faceless enemy from a distance of several kilometers with the ship's phasers is quite a bit different than up close and personal, with a pointy rock in the throat.

I agree.

 

[Doug Otte]

Re: Am I the only one who found the message of "Arena" to be questiona

I didn't find the morality or "message" of the episode questionable, so much as I found the turnaround in Kirk's attitude - and McCoy's, for that matter - too quick and too facile. I think that kind of thing was an occasional consequence of TOS telling these "big" stories in fifty minutes, and within a medium that was a little more naive than most television drama is today. But yeah, Kirk going from a nearly obsessive, hard-ass and determinedly military mindset to so openminded - especially in the aftermath of such a massacre - strains credulity somewhat.

"Arena" remains one of my very favorite Trek episodes of all time, though.

I agree completely.

And, I don't think anyone else has pointed out that Kirk's initial belligerance was justified. From his viewpoint, the Federation apparently had no knowledge of the Gorn or their claim to the planet prior to the colony's establishment, nor did the Gorn apparently notify the colony in any way before assaulting it.

Doug

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Re: Am I the only one who found the message of "Arena" to be questiona

I agree completely.

And, I don't think anyone else has pointed out that Kirk's initial belligerance was justified. From his viewpoint, the Federation apparently had no knowledge of the Gorn or their claim to the planet prior to the colony's establishment, nor did the Gorn apparently notify the colony in any way before assaulting it.

Doug

Exactly. The writer spends the first part of the show building a case against the Gorn such that the viewer will probably closely identify with Kirk's aims and motives and then pulls the rug out.

Now, that's actually pretty good writing - preferable, for making his points, to letting the viewer sort of lean back and "appreciate the issues" from the top - but doesn't entirely deliver on the turning point, the "aha" when something happens to change Kirk's POV. The story point is there - we can point to and explain what happens over and over - it's pretty unambiguous but not entirely persuasive...and the reason for that is because Coon did way too good a job of showing that the Gorns' crime was so heinous.

Of course, that was the 1960s - if the exact same story were told on Trek now, a fair number of folks would howl that the whole thing was the worst kind of mushy-headed liberalism that will get us all killed by bin Laden. Well, it may or may not be exactly that but most Trek fans seem to accept it in the context of TOS and Kirk's character without a whole lot of angst.

 

[plynch]

Re: Am I the only one who found the message of "Arena" to be questiona

It's a teleplay. It's gonna have weaknesses. Way better than most tv then or now. Doesn't Kirk overhear the Gorn - no, the Gorn promises to kill Kirk mercifully - and the person to person fight often draws people together, oddly, as someone above mentioned. It happens with teen boys: bonding after a physical fight. They've both been to war "together" sort of.