Star Trek; The Motion Picture 1979

Curator: This electrifying visual is the 1979 poster for *Star Trek: The Motion Picture*, designed by Robert Peak. It’s a fascinating piece of late-modernist illustration intended to draw the viewer in, promising spectacle and a leap into the unknown. Editor: Spectacular indeed. The colours feel almost aggressively optimistic! Those vertical stripes are intensely bright and suggest forward momentum, but also maybe... a slightly dated visual language. Very much of its time. Curator: Definitely a product of its era, capturing that optimistic, yet slightly corporate feel of late 70s futurism. And the presentation of the main characters themselves...it speaks to the ideals presented by this cast! Kirk represents masculinity. Spock alienness. And Uhura a sophisticated strong femininity in a world mostly controlled by men. It’s more than just science fiction; it hints at progressive cultural attitudes, at least superficially, during a time of political shift. Editor: I agree that these heroic figures symbolize power in that way, but they also illustrate the problematics that still define popular culture today. Notice the ways the image prioritizes particular identities in these productions and reproduces these social values: Uhura has equal billing in terms of representation, but is her position in the story truly of equal relevance, is she more of a token of "strong" womanhood in this still male dominated adventure? I want to believe that Trek transcends those conventions, but such mainstream appeal often asks more questions than it solves! Curator: The power dynamics are embedded in the marketing imagery for sure. However, seeing how the production and promotion team represented them to society at large remains important for discussing the way power operates behind and on screen! Editor: Fair point. As a social artefact it’s incredibly telling. I particularly appreciate the starship in the lower third; how that sense of upward-thrusting potential energy mirrors and reinforces the themes being expressed via those faces! Curator: Absolutely. And how the tagline reads: "There is no comparison" That kind of confidence, bordering on arrogance, sums up so much of the ethos that shaped that period in cinema. It certainly prompts reflection about progress, hope and representation even today. Editor: Exactly, a thought-provoking artefact of its time. Thank you.