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Kirk drift—misremembering a character…

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Warped9

Warped9

Admiral
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“Kirk drift.” A phrase coined by the author of this article to describe how misremembering of an original source work can deliberately or unwittingly change the popular perception of said original work. In this article the character of Captain James T. Kirk is used as the example of how the popular perceptions of a well known character are near totally divorced from how the character was originally portrayed.

Warning: it’s a long read and sometimes long-winded, but I think the essential point is quite valid.

http://strangehorizons.com/non-fict...pLmrURefsGSjp5SoQLO_-fi4shpCUnreU2ZEF26C2wyX0

Even before the TOS films Kirk was already being satirized and caricatured in the media by comedians and detractors. From TWOK onward it really took hold as the Kirk in those films drifted from the Kirk of TOS. It was even referenced in later Trek productions such as DS9 and VOY with Sisko saying Kirk was known a “ladies man“ and Janeway referring to Kirk as a cowboy. Even Picard in TNG alluded to ”cowboy diplomacy” that is a thinly veiled reference to Kirk.

As the article asserts it really landed in JJtrek as it painted Kirk (and the other characters) as how mainstream society perceived them rather than how they were actually portrayed in TOS.
 
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I can understand why Kirk is misremembered in-universe; many historical figures are, through imperfect/biased recollections/opinions, third-party re-telling and analysis after the fact, etc, characterized as exaggerations/opposites of their real selves.

However, if you're the real world writer of a fictional character, who can do anything you want, not the in-universe historian/commentator, stuck with the rumors/stories/records you've been given, you ought to have a better understanding of the character as written previously.

Or does it make zero sense to say a real historian should be trying harder than a fictional one and will have a better chance of succeeding at portraying someone accurately, since the fake writer's mistakes mirror what real writers do all the time? That is, holding real people to a higher standard than fake versions of themselves based on their colleagues?
 
The mischaracterization of Kirk drives me nuts. Even in interviews of producers of later shows, when making comparisons to, Archer, writers of Enterprise would say "Kirk nailed every female alien he met" as a way to make their current captain "more enlightened" or otherwise "better." Maybe it they just, I dunno, watch the damned show, they'd get a good idea of how the man was actually written and portrayed.
 
Kirk is definitely a misremembered character. For the most part, Kirk was depicted as professional, thoughtful (even sometimes to the point of very private self-doubt), serious, and even a bit authoritative. In TOS he had a wry but not overdone sense of humor, he was successful with women, but not "nailing everything in sight" and he was typically respectful to the chain of command, even when he disagreed with them (I don't count "Trouble with Tribbles" with Nilz Barris, because he wasn't a Starfleet officer).

In terms of being a "cowboy," I think this is also totally overblown. It's said that he commonly violates the Prime Directive, but I totally disagree. TOS portrayed the starship captain's role to be one of interpreting the PD, not being tied to it word-for-word, and much like Picard in TNG, Kirk was often in positions where he had to make tough decisions regarding the PD that often involved what was best for a stagnant or even "enslaved" society or a society that was already contaminated and needed to be "fixed." Yes, he disobeyed orders in "Amok Time," but that is shown to be a decision Starfleet ultimately supports, even if it was after the fact.

In the TOS movies, Kirk is shown as an older version of himself in TMP and TWOK. He's rusty, he's a bit insecure, and he's doubting himself. All very realistic traits for that phase of his career and the journey the character has gone on. In TSFS, yes, he goes rogue and steals the Enterprise to go on a mission to Genesis. But, that's not just him being a cavalier idiot. He tries other options, he weighs the action carefully, and he realizes that he has no choice. It's not something he does because he's just a complete flippant, cavalier, insubordinate clown. In TVH, he is "friendly" with Gillian Taylor in much the same plutonic way that Picard forges a special friendship with Lily.
 
I personally enjoy Kirk and Spock in TOS and less so in TMP, so the mismembering of Kirk doesn't surprise me. To me, it's a matter of what do I value in a character. Some will remember the humor, others the overacting ("A piece of the action.") and still others will recall the quiet introspection.

I would encourage any who think they know Kirk to rewatch TOS, not TMP or TWOK, which feels very different to TOS.

And, why I love TOS Kirk is also why I love how Kelvin Kirk is portrayed. The personality traits are there but expressed much differently.
 
Gene Roddenberry himself recognized Kirk as a womanizing, shoot-from-the-hip space cowboy. When TNG premiered, Gene gave an interview where he talked about Kirk being the brash, impulsive man that he himself was in his 30s while Picard represented the more introspective man he eventually became.
 
Bea Jonas said:
Gene Roddenberry himself recognized Kirk as a womanizing, shoot-from-the-hip space cowboy. When TNG premiered, Gene gave an interview where he talked about Kirk being the brash, impulsive man that he himself was in his 30s while Picard represented the more introspective man he eventually became.
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Roddenberry in 1987 was not the same guy from 1966 (even the people who knew him said the same). He also went out of his way to differentiate from and remove himself from the original series at that time. TNG was his show, totally under his control. The original series concept and characters were taken from him. He had nothing but a fancy “consultant” title that was ignored by the producers and the studio. So yeah, he said what he needed to make sure TNG was the “better” Star Trek.

Watching the series itself tells a different story.
 
Warped9 said:
and Janeway referring to Kirk as a cowboy.
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It's not an inaccurate assessment, if one is reducing that assessment to a single word.

Whatever else the show may have been, the original Star Trek was undeniably conceived as a Space Western. Gene Roddenberry's own pitch for the show included the tagline "Wagon Train to the Stars!"

Warped9 said:
Even Picard in TNG alluded to ”cowboy diplomacy” that is a thinly veiled reference to Kirk.
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Not even thinly-veiled, given that Picard was addressing Spock when he said it:

PICARD: And I will not return without a full explanation. Ambassador, with great respect for all that you've achieved on behalf of the Federation, this sort of cowboy diplomacy will not easily be tolerated any more.
SPOCK: Cowboy diplomacy?​

And especially given this exchange later in the same ep:

PICARD: Ambassador, your logic escapes me. If I didn't know better, I would say that your judgment is influenced by your emotions.
SPOCK: You speak as my father would if he were here, Picard.
PICARD: I speak as a Starfleet officer, and I cannot ignore the risks to you.
SPOCK: I was involved with cowboy diplomacy, as you describe it, long before you were born.
PICARD: Nevertheless, sir, I'm not prepared to leave until your affairs are completed.
SPOCK: In your own way, you are as stubborn as another Captain of the Enterprise I once knew.
PICARD: Then I'm in good company, sir.​

They don't need to identify him by name. The allusion is already crystal-clear.

One would also need to work very hard to make that allusion out to be disrespectful.

Transcript source
 
F. King Daniel said:
A 34 year old seduced a 19 year old in order to get to her father. And that's just one example.

As a hero of his time though? Awesome. Modern lens? Problematic.
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Well, you can say the same thing about Kirk using Miri to get his way. But changing moral standards isn’t the question. The perception of Kirk being a constant rule breaker who sleeps with every alien girl he meets is the issue.

Anyway, Lenore was a consenting adult. Lots of May/December romances out there. :rommie: And she was far from an innocent teenager....
 
Ssosmcin said:
Well, you can say the same thing about Kirk using Miri to get his way. But changing moral standards isn’t the question. The perception of Kirk being a constant rule breaker who sleeps with every alien girl he meets is the issue.

Anyway, Lenore was a consenting adult. Lots of May/December romances out there. :rommie: And she was far from an innocent teenager....
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She was a consenting adult, and it's not like Kirk slept with her to get his way. He romanced, charmed and sweet-talked her a bit...but that's far from having a sexual relationship with her.

Bea Jonas said:
Gene Roddenberry himself recognized Kirk as a womanizing, shoot-from-the-hip space cowboy. When TNG premiered, Gene gave an interview where he talked about Kirk being the brash, impulsive man that he himself was in his 30s while Picard represented the more introspective man he eventually became.
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What Roddenberry thought has little to do what is actually portrayed on screen. Yes, he's the creator and sometimes-Executive Producer of the show, but Kirk was a character created by many, many people, including William Shatner and the multitude of writers and producers who worked on Star Trek for those 3 years.

Roddenberry had a lot of interesting retroactive takes on Star Trek. I'm not sure many of them are particularly grounded or noteworthy, to be honest. The guy created a great show and had some massively creative ideas. But he did not have the stamina or longevity to influence the franchise as much as we all pretend. Much of S2 of TOS and nearly all of S3 was administered under other show runners. He created and "wrote" for TNG, but really only for 2 seasons (and even that was not as much involvement as you'd think). He created a clusterphuck on TMP, and basically was never really involved in the films after that.

I don't mean to derail the discussion around the Kirk character, I just mean to point out that I don't think Roddenberry's opinions on the character carry as much weight as the reality that we see portrayed on screen.
 
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Ssosmcin said:
Roddenberry in 1987 was not the same guy from 1966.
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That is exactly the point of my post. Roddenberry recognized this difference in his fictional heroes, Kirk & Picard, each of whom reflected the man he was at the time when he created them.
 
Bea Jonas said:
That is exactly the point of my post. Roddenberry recognized this difference in his fictional heroes, Kirk & Picard, each of whom reflected the man he was at the time when he created them.
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But classifying Kirk as a "womanizing, shoot-from-the-hip space cowboy" isn't accurate. Kirk was a flirt, had charm and used that charm when necessary. And yeah, he had liaisons, but not nearly as many as legend says. Regardless of the "Wagon Train to the Stars" whatevers, Kirk was still a by the book officer who agonized over violating regulations and got laid less often than a lot of other TV heroes of the day (James West comes to mind quickly).

The movies played a big part in the rewriting of Kirk's character.
 
"Rewriting?"

Interesting.

I always thought it was just different portrayals as viewed by the man across his own history. That different facets of the personality shine through based on current age and developmental stage.
 
I see Kirk as a real by-the-book hard ass who is not afraid to chew out his subordinates if they aren't getting the job done or following regulations well enough. Kirk was even said to have been a Herbert! But Kirk also had a lot of compassion and wisdom, and when Kirk saw that following regulations was actually the cruel thing to do, then Kirk would disregard them and do the right thing. That's not being flippant about the regulations, it's having the wisdom and compassion to know when to follow the rules and when to break them.

A few years ago there were a couple of board rewatches going on at the same time, one for the 50 year anniversary and also a production-order rewatch. Watching the episodes for those rewatches, I made a point of paying attention to how often Kirk actually had sex with anyone, and I was surprised that it's not that many. There may only be one or two times over the whole three years that you could say he actually did. Mostly he's using his charms on some lady to get what he needs from the situation, but as far as actually having sex with anyone, it's not that many. He has a number of past loves, but it doesn't seem to be an inordinate number of them.
 
Poltargyst said:
Watching the episodes for those rewatches, I made a point of paying attention to how often Kirk actually had sex with anyone, and I was surprised that it's not that many. There may only be one or two times over the whole three years that you could say he actually did.
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Deela in "Wink of an Eye" and Miramanee in "The Paradise Syndrome" are the two certain times he did, that I can think of. There are times when it was implied, like "Bread and Circuses," where I do not think it happened. He sent Drusilla away for ethical reasons.
 
To be a clear—a womanizer would be someone pursuing women for purely sexual conquests with little to no genuine emotional involvement. Thats not James T. Kirk.

His past relationships are shown to be just that—prolonged emotional relationships and not concurrent ones. And none of those women were airheads or doe eyed innocents. They were all adult, intelligent and professional women.

Jim Kirk can flirt and be charming. At times he has used the techniques of seduction as a form of distraction to illicit information or some means to save his ship in a dire situation. But when did we ever see Kirk put the moves on a women just to bed her? Throughout the series it’s hinted at but once or twice that he likely slept with a woman he wasn’t strongly emotionally involved with. And the one time we know for a fact he slept with her—Miramanee—we know because she was pregnant and Kirk had a form of amnesia when he was involved with her.

The rest is speculation and projected wishful thinking—they kissed so hot sex must have followed.

But half memories of long ago seen episodes become distorted in adolescent like mindsets to accept the idea Kirk pursued and bagged hot human and alien chicks whenever possible. He became the 007 of sci-fi. That image was reasserted in media and pop culture as well as in later Trek productions both in film and television.

Imagine the possible disappointment and/or genuine surprise for those who actually watch TOS only to see the renowned galactic horn-dog Kirk is nowhere to be found.
 
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