Star Trek: Mission Impossible
 This is my ‘pre-blog’ blog about the new Star Trek movie by JJ Abrams opening Friday. I wanted to capture some thoughts down BEFORE I see this highly anticipated movie. Don't worry, no spoilers here.
I have been a huge Star Trek fan since a little boy. I remember seeing the first feature film, Star Trek the Motion Picture (what kind of title was that?) when I was 9. Ever since then, I have been a diehard Trekkie, Trekker, Trekko, or whatever you want to call it. Star Trek has had an amazing first run. Its franchise includes 5 TV series, 10 movies, and countless novels, comics, and other paraphernalia. It has a huge cult following and has firmly rooted itself into pop culture lore. However, after 40 years of success, the sci-fi phenom seemed to be boldly going nowhere. Because of outdated and overdone story lines, the great starship Enterprise seemed destined to be permanently dry-docked into the DVD collection of the hardcore Trek nerd.
Only an audacious director like JJ Abrams would be bold enough to take on this ‘mission impossible’ 23rd century mantel. As writer, producer, director, and composer, JJ Abrams has a long list of credits to include Felicity, Alias, Lost, Mission Impossible III, and Cloverfield. Even as successful as Abrams has been, who in their right mind would tackle such a HUGE undertaking of a reviving a comatose behemoth like Star Trek? There is no way he will be able to please both existing hardcore fans and attract new ones. So what’s the key for this impossible mission? It’s re-invention.
As a creative leader, Abrams vision is to go back to the origins of Kirk, Spock, and the Enterprise and tell their untold story all over again. It’s going to be a hybrid of the old and new. It will be something that will honor and forget the past all at the same time- hopefully in a more relevant and compelling way. I admire him for ‘boldly going where only one man (Roddenberry) had gone before’. My guess is that this will be a great beginning and future for Star Trek and for all 'nerd-kind' (for which I am the most). As the ‘master of mystery’, Abrams will most likely spin a tale that will satisfy the diehards and win over new 'Trek-verts' with this single attempt. We’ll know after this weekend.
Creative leadership often times calls us to re-invent. Creativity isn't always about orginality. Sometimes we don’t get the luxury of always creating from raw untapped materials. A large part of a creative leader’s effectiveness is taking what was done before and re-working it to be new again. Creativity is taking the best parts, stripping away the irrelevant, boring, or unnecessary to make a new and improved version. Or it’s like taking the rib of Adam and forming Eve- it’s the same but different. Whether it’s a event, church service, music, art, or website, the ‘mission impossible’ for creative leaders is re-invention. You have a chance to put your unique fingerprint on what you create. The ability to re-create is just as profound as producing original work, and just as satisfying. There is something very powerful in the act of redemption.
So in a day I will be fully immersed in the 23rd century world painted by JJ Abrams. My hope is that it’s much more than an isolated 2 hours of entertainment but the beginning of another 40 year run. You never know, Abram’s re-invention may be more sinificant and last longer than the original.
There will be more thoughts after I see the movie, I gotta go dust off my ST uniform…
Ps. I would recommend seeing Star Trek II in order to fully appreciate and prepare for this movie.
For my next post after seeing Star Trek click here.
Related post from my creative leadership blog: Wolverine and the beast within
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