Compare And Contrast Star Wars And Star Trek

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The Epic Battle Between the Stars:
Contrasting Star Wars and Star Trek
It’s hard to believe, but Star Trek and Star Wars movie fans have been duking it out for almost half a century. The debut of Stars Wars in 1977 challenged Star Trek’s eleven-year supremacy and led to an on-going clash over which franchise is king of the science fiction universe. While both movies are considered legendary in the realm of sci-fi movies, they are unique in many ways; in fact, they differ in their underlying themes, their technologies, and their franchises’ cultural impacts.
At first glance Star Wars and Star Trek both appear to align with the science fiction genre, but upon closer inspection, it is clear there are subtle differences in the underlying messages of the films. Star Wars is more of a space fantasy filled with adventure and epic space battles. Star Trek, on the other hand, deals more with the expedition of man. Christopher Booker, in his book, The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories, describes the theme of Star Wars as “The Quest”, while defining the theme of Star Trek as “Voyage and Return” (70-71,88). Further, Star …show more content…

The nine Star Wars films produced from 1977 to 2016 netted the franchise over $7.48 billion in worldwide box office revenues (Nash, Star Wars), while the thirteen Star Trek films produced from 1979 to 2016 brought in only $2.27 billion (Nash, Star Trek). Recognition of success by peers and industry professionals is measured by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences with Oscars. To date, Star Wars movies have earned 27 Academy nominations and won nine Oscars. In contrast, Star Trek movies have garnered 15 nominations and only one Oscar. Based on these two measures of franchise achievement, it’s evident that the Star Wars franchise has outperformed the Star Trek

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