Star Trek IV; The Voyage Home 1987

Editor: This is the 1987 poster for "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home," by Robert Peak. The medium is listed as just "poster." The scale is interesting, right? A spaceship flying under the Golden Gate Bridge, dwarfed by the bridge itself... it kind of shrinks the future. What do you see in this piece in terms of the social commentary? Curator: Beyond the exciting visual of sci-fi meeting a familiar cityscape, I think the poster's power lies in how it reflects the 1980s anxieties. Look at the tagline: "How on Earth can they save the future?". The Cold War tension was peaking, environmental concerns were growing. The return to Earth, the need to *save* it, isn't just a plot device, but a mirror to real-world fears being played out on a grand, space-faring stage. Do you agree it connects anxieties over the planet? Editor: Yes, the connection to then-contemporary fears about the planet makes sense. Is there something more profound here in the choice of setting? I mean, San Francisco is fairly forward-thinking, even today. Curator: Precisely! San Francisco in the 1980s, and perhaps still today, was a site of counter-culture and social change. Using it in a mainstream work suggests an effort to tie progressiveness, or an acknowledgement of change, to its location. Perhaps that’s wishful thinking. However, putting this futuristic storyline inside very recognizable landmarks also says something about accessibility; even something futuristic can be imaginable within today's existing frameworks. Editor: So, the poster uses both the futuristic and familiar to reflect and engage with audience anxieties and optimism. Curator: Exactly. The Golden Gate Bridge is not merely a backdrop. It's a symbol grounding the narrative in a specific cultural and socio-political moment. Editor: I hadn’t thought of it as directly reflecting its specific era. Thank you. Curator: And thank you for bringing a fresh perspective to this. Considering how artwork, even a poster, can encapsulate public anxieties is something to take forward.