Fair point that many of the story lines reflected it. And yes, the idealized vision of the future was a stark contrast to reality, and of course that was all intentional.
But my point was - Earth’s Starfleet and the Federation were the shining example we were to ASPIRE to.
It appears the Picard version is not much better than where we are now. Who are we supposed to aspire to in this version? If the Federation is just as full as bigots as today, then what’s the point?
I am not saying darker stories don’t have a place in Trek. In TOS and TNG they had darker story lines and moral dilemmas. And certainly DS9 did it more right than some of the newer stuff. DS9 was darker due to the location and events surrounding it, just coming out of a war. It made sense.
But still, in that example, the Federation is what we hope to aspire to. Its ideals are the guiding force in how Sisko and the rest of Starfleet handled the situation.
The later movies have degraded into action schlock, and I wanted to like Discovery, but don’t - at least not as Star Trek. Maybe as a different franchise.
OK, I misspoke. The story lines clearly were a reflection of the times. But the Federation and the characters were idealistic visions of the future, way past where we were/are. Yes they dealt with things like racism and fascism and war - but they were trying to help OTHERS over come those things. You could argue the Mirror Universe would be the Federation if it reflected the current attitudes and times.
