Its already here...
Why do the Borg say "Resistance is futile"?
- Thread starter at Quark's
- Start date
They say it because they lack the resistance to not say it, and to even try and not say it would be futile.
I wish they had said, "Resistance is measured in Ohms". At least then we would have learned something.
Well now I'm just picturing the Enterprise crew trying to defeat the Borg with the power of meditation.
Oooooohhhhhmmmm. Oooooohhhhhhhmmmmmm.
Did they pronounce it right?
I, for one, am glad that they (with the exception of seven of nine) went with the few-tile rather than the few-tul pronunciation.
It has a nicer ring to it, but I suppose it would be futile to argue which is the better sounding pronunciation.
I, for one, am glad that they (with the exception of seven of nine) went with the few-tile rather than the few-tul pronunciation.
It has a nicer ring to it, but I suppose it would be futile to argue which is the better sounding pronunciation.
To the Borg I think the idea is to reduce enemy morale. It wouldn’t work on Federation planets, but that blue fellow from Allegience may surrender.
"Resistance is futile" was a one-off line in response to Picard saying he would resist them with his last ounce of strength, and in turn spoken by Picard for dramatic effect after he was assimilated. Somebody must have thought it sounded cool, so it ended up becoming their over-played catchphrase.
Kor
Kor
Last edited:
Big reason to love Star Trek and this board: how a simple little question can spark such a fascinating conversation. Personally, I suspect the recurrence of "resistance is futile" comes down to the one time it was undeniably effective, coolly delivered by a freshly assimilated Captain of the Enterprise D, and defiantly responded to by Riker.
Other than that, it did lose currency, agreed. For me the lowest point was Data's "resistance is feudal" at the climax of First Contact, which does undermine the moment somewhat. The US pronunciation just doesn't carry the same weight, for some reason.
Not coincidentally, I pinpoint FC as the major point in the Borg's decline. Introducing a ruling, focal figure, the Queen, took away much of what made them so disturbing and formidable in the first place - the implacable, impenetrable, coldly mechanical hive-mind-on-a-massive-scale identity, which leant the (in)famous phrase a measure of genuine strength and menace.
Other than that, it did lose currency, agreed. For me the lowest point was Data's "resistance is feudal" at the climax of First Contact, which does undermine the moment somewhat. The US pronunciation just doesn't carry the same weight, for some reason.
Not coincidentally, I pinpoint FC as the major point in the Borg's decline. Introducing a ruling, focal figure, the Queen, took away much of what made them so disturbing and formidable in the first place - the implacable, impenetrable, coldly mechanical hive-mind-on-a-massive-scale identity, which leant the (in)famous phrase a measure of genuine strength and menace.
The Borg have assimilated the tactic of mind games and the concept of getting in your opponents' heads.
I always liked the idea proposed by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens in their Star Trek novels: That the Borg make the order because, should a target comply, it would be more efficient than starting off with combat without attempting verbal intimidation first.
Yeah, but the problem of linguistic evolution over 400 years is inevitable no matter how you structure your dialogue. So you might as well structure your dialogue in a way that's not formally prescriptivist and which connects meaningfully with your intended audience (especially since formally prescriptivist grammar and vocabulary are inherently classist).
Similar threads
