There are two types of people in this world: Those that like Star Trek and those that don’t. Then there are two types of Star Trek fans. Those that like non-Abrams Star Trek and those that are wrong. J.J. Abrams might be the most divisive director in Hollywood these days. Abrams has split Trek and Star Wars into two camps and has turned the fans against one another. It should be his job to unite the fans because they are stronger together than apart. Not reignite the war between the Klingon Empire and the United Federation of Planets.
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When it was announced that there was going to be a reboot of the hugely popular sci-fi series, fans were ecstatic. It was something to look forward to. J.J. Abrams is a fan-favorite, with popular credits under his belt such as Lost, Fringe, and cult-favorite Cloverfield. Fans were excited to see where Abrams could boldly take us where no man has gone before. Sure, he has some issues as a writer and director. Lens flare being his absolute favorite effect that he thinks makes everything look better. Set your phasers to dank while you see what the meme factory has been hard at work with.
15 ABRAMS RUINED STAR TREK
This is a commonly heard cry from the hardcore fans because they feel Abrams changed the franchise into something it was never meant to be: an action series. Unfortunately, something you fans have to keep in mind, Abrams made Star Trek for a new generation and made it interesting for those that might not have ever been interested in it before.
It’s easy to say that you were happy with it the way it was, that you don’t need all the new fans. Well, Star Trek performing so well and garnering more fans means more Trek merchandise and properties in the future. Eventually, there might be a writer and/or director that understands what Star Trek is about and we’ll get the movie franchise we deserve.
14 WRONG
We typical advocate against gatekeeping a franchise and choose to let people enjoy things. Not everyone is going to have the same opinion. Some people like X-Men Origins: Wolverine more than Logan. On the other hand, you either like original Star Trek or you’re wrong. We don’t recommend punching everyone that says they like Abrams’ movies more than Roddenberry’s original vision, but you should definitely walk away from that person as fast as possible.
To say that Abrams made Star Trek better is to say that mayonnaise belongs on a cheeseburger or that the prequel trilogy of Star Wars was reinvigorating. Abrams is good at many things: creating mystery without any sort of payoff, barfing up lens flare, and making people think that every show with his name on it is the second coming of Lost.
13 INTO DARKNESS
This image is perfect to convey a lot of feelings for a lot of different situations. You have undoubtedly seen it before used for something else. Besides the “facepalm” meme, this is the most relevant meme image ever. There is a long list of issues old school Star Trek fans have with the new Star Trek franchise jumpstarted by renowned director J.J. Abrams. This might be near the bottom of that list, but anything they can use against Abrams-Trek they’ll take.
Seriously though, where is the colon? Was Abrams trying to say Star Trek goes "into darkness"? If you’re a fan of the original series or one of the old school shows, you’d probably say the franchise went into darkness the moment Abrams put his butt in the director’s chair. We’re just used to the movie’s title and sub-title being separated by a colon.
12 CIVIL WAR
Do you want a civil war? Because this is how you start a civil war. Even the Next Generation movies might not have been that great, but at least they were true to the soul of Star Trek. Because even when the crew of The Enterprise were fighting the Borg, it was less about the action and more about collectivism vs. individualism. A concept audiences all over can relate to and leave the theater discussing.
Alas, Abrams was successful in dividing Star Trek fans into two different camps, which could be the makings of a thesis for a philosophy Ph.D. all on its own. It’s probably already been done. Needless to say, signup J.J. Abrams to revive an old franchise and you’re bound to upset some fans.
11 NOBODY CARES
Ignore the typo in this meme, but make sure if you’re going to make a meme in the future, use spellcheck. This is a great meme that gets used for a lot of different situations when somebody gets ahead of themselves and jumps up on that high horse. It can even work against original series fans. Some fans of Abrams Star Trek might be afraid to vocalize their love of the series, which is understandable since original fans can be fairly aggressive with their own opinions.
However, enough time has passed, and Star Trek Beyond did make an attempt to get back to the roots, that most fans aren’t going to care. In this day and age with a lot of younger generations having a slight “recent-bias”, you would probably be in good company if you were to admit that you’re fond of what Abrams did with Star Trek.
10 DIDN’T LIKE STAR TREK
Please, sit down and step away from your computer or put your handheld device down if you’re prone to fits of anger. Especially if you are a fan of non-Abrams Star Trek because this will get your blood boiling. If it doesn’t, then you are living in a state of enlightenment. Imagine someone making a movie based on a series of multiple TV shows but they were never a fan of the older shows.
That’s exactly the type of person J.J. Abrams was when he signed on to direct Star Trek. Jon Stewart is the voice of every die-hard Star Trek in the last two panels. To him, thank you. J.J., kindly step away from legacy properties you know nothing about. Then again, he brought in the money and a whole slew of new fans to the franchise, so the studios don’t care.
9 MORE THAN JUST ONE TREK
It is okay if you saw Star Trek and Star Trek: Into Darkness and thought they were good movies. There is nothing wrong with that. We are okay with you enjoying things. However, it is important to understand that there are more than just those two movies out there, and they’re equally as good. They might not be as flashy with modern CGI or other special effects, but just because it is newer doesn’t make it better. That’s all the gatekeepers of this franchise are asking. Broaden your horizons.
The costumes might look silly, it might be a little campy at times, but try to see what the writers and showrunners were trying to convey to their audience. It is called Star “Trek” and not Star “Wars”. It’s about a lot more than just the action scenes or making a punchline out of the one logical, non-human on the crew.
8 NO PANTS FOR YOU
It’s safe to call this sexist, right? It is a TV and film series about exploration, humanity, philosophy, and so much more, but the one primary female crew member has to zip around the galaxy in a skirt? That’s as bad as female pants typically coming without pockets. What’s that about, by the way? Klingons first appeared in the series with a fairly racist look to them. They were allowed to evolve, though if you’ve seen the new series Star Trek: Discovery or heard the complaints about it, they might not have improved much either.
The point is, when you’re exploring new planets, a skirt is not the ideal piece of clothing to be wearing. Some type of pants that provide protection and mobility would be much better. One would think that in a society that has progressed so much, they would be more mindful.
7 RODDENBERRY VS ABRAMS
Fans loved the original series because it was so much more than what you were shown. It was deep with many levels of storytelling. It was a western while taking place in space. While other shows and movies fixated on bank heists, shootouts, and car chases, Star Trek came in to show audiences the world over that not everything had to be about action.
Focusing on the human condition and where our potential can take us. Some people just don’t understand that. One of those people is J.J. Abrams, and it’s evident from the first scene of his first Star Trek film. Ship-to-ship warfare, a Romulan impaling a Starfleet Captain, and explosions. And the movie continues like that, missing the beat of Star Trek’s heart. You’d swear you were watching a Michael Bay movie.
6 OLD SCHOOL EFFECTS
There is something to be said about practical effects. CGI is great for things that can’t be physically created by hand or when a budget isn’t terribly large. Some specialists are artists with their CGI, making it look seamless and real. Other times it sticks out like a sore thumb. One effect that needs to be retired from this day forward is J.J. Abrams’ love of lens flare.
Nobody knows why he throws it in every frame of a movie or TV show that he works on, but he needs to stop. It was a cool, little effect in the early ‘00s. Now it’s overused and repetitive. In Into Darkness even the lens flare had lens flare. Nobody thinks it enhances your films, J.J. Get over it.
5 NEW SERIES
This meme is undoubtedly talking about Star Trek: Discovery which was supposed to have Bryan Fuller as its showrunner. Fuller produced critically acclaimed shows like Hannibal, Pushing Daisies, and Dead Like Me. Crossing over several properties is all the rage these days since Marvel went and started their cinematic universe. If you’ve seen Discovery then you know that there is no connection to Abrams’ series.
Unless you count the lens flare that is bouncing around unchecked in that series. If anything, it takes place in the same universe as the original Star Trek. Discovery takes place ten years before the original series begins, focusing on the Klingon war with the Federation. If you haven’t seen it, give it a chance. It’s what you would want from a proper Star Trek series.
4 LENS FLARE
Have we mentioned lens flare yet? Did you know J.J. Abrams is a fan of the lens flare effect? Have you ever heard this as a complaint from critics? Just like the special effect, this critique is dead. Lens flare is a neat effect that can be accomplished by anyone wielding a Macbook. Why is Abrams so fascinated with this effect and why hasn’t he stopped with it? That’s a bigger mystery than what the smoke monster was on the Lost island or what even happened at the end of that series.
The number of lens flares was counted in both Star Trek movies by Abrams? There were 721 lens flares in the first and 826 in Into Darkness. That is 1,547 lens flares between two movies and that is enough lens flares for ten movies. Somebody start a petition to put a stop to this special effect.
3 PREPARE TO DIE
Just like Inigo Montoya hunting down the six-fingered man, the original series fans would like to hunt down J.J. Abrams for killing their beloved franchise. We’re not condoning hunting down anyone and doing anything to them. This is all purely metaphorical. For the uninitiated, there’s something you need to understand: Star Trek fans made the series their life.
They saw a better future with this franchise and wanted to live there. It was an intellectual’s paradise where logic and reason ruled and feelings were secondary. It was a vast universe where anything could happen and a welcomed escape from the gritty real world. We all have that one fictional universe that we would like to be transported to. This was one of those places long before memes ever existed.
2 BEFORE IT WAS COOL
This one is for all you gatekeeping hipsters out there. Liking something before it was cool doesn’t make you better -- or worse -- than anyone else. And it doesn’t give you ownership over anything. Blockbusters like Star Trek and anything Marvel bring in new and excited fans. Sometimes, no, they don’t care to get as into a fictional universe like you and the movies are enough for them. That doesn’t make them fake.
They just have a different way of expressing their fandom than you, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Among all the newly initiated you will get some that do want to check out the source material. They may or may not like what they find. Everyone is allowed to like a comic, movie, or TV series as much or as little as they like.
1 ALTERNATE UNIVERSE
Like the reboot or hate it, the method in which J.J. Abrams rebooted Star Trek was interesting. Not good, not great, and not bad. Interesting. Especially giving an in-continuity explanation for Leonard Nimoy reprising his role as Spock. It was almost genius. Making Nemo and Spock travel back in time deserves an applause because it doesn’t completely erase everything that had already happened in the original series.
It keeps the timeline intact for those that cry “You’re ruining our childhood”. Abrams clearly kept those people in mind. Bravo to him. This meme makes it seem like it took a lot of brainpower to realize where Spock-Prime came from, so it might be a misuse of the meme. In case you weren’t aware of that, well here you go.
Which side are you on? Let us know in the comments!