Zachary Quinto played Spock in J.J. Abrams’ 2009 reboot of Star Trek. While it was impossible to replace Leonard Nimoy in the part, Quinto brought the logical and less empathetic Vulcan to life in a pretty decent way without ruining the legacy of the original. Quinto has since played a variety of roles, including Gore Vidal in a West End production.
Playing a political figure who was directly responsible for the shift in neutral news coverage to a more opinion-based reporting in media was reportedly interesting for Quinto. With true Spock-like candor, Quinto blamed the partisan news networks for the current divisive political discourse in the USA.
Zachary Quinto gives a Spock-like logical response to today’s divisive US politics
The past year has been quite intense in terms of politics. Donald Trump entered the Oval Office yet again and has already caused a huge stir within weeks of him becoming POTUS. From signing multiple executive orders and revising tariffs to a controversial immigration policy, US politics is wilder than ever.
The Internet has been divisive over several issues over the past few years, and with social media, the divide has never been so clear. The world seems to have split like the two-party system and no objective truth prevails. Years ago, Zachary Quinto, while playing writer and media personality Gore Vidal, gave the reason for the divide in America.
Quinto, who is best known for his role as Spock in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek reboot, told The Guardian that partisan news networks were the reason for the extreme divide in politics. He said,
I think we’ve lost a grace of communication in the modern world. Social media has chipped away at it, and the formation of partisan news channels has lowered the bar for how to talk to one another. We’ve lost respect for one another, in many ways.
He mentioned that news media strayed away from neutral reporting to becoming increasingly polarizing on purpose to generate ratings, thus amplifying the extremes and the divide.
Zachary Quinto spoke about a sense of hopelessness when it came to politics
When Gene Roddenberry envisioned his future for Star Trek, he reportedly imagined that humans would live more in harmony with one another and would work professionally with each other, not letting interpersonal conflicts and superficial ideologies come in the way of furthering the human spirit. However, his idea of the future seems to be a long way ahead.
Zachary Quinto, who got to experience this future in a way in the Star Trek films, remarked on how current politics made him hopeless. He said,
I have lost a certain faith in our democratic system, to be honest. It’s been pretty bleak in our country. I’m sure many people here can relate. It feels like the pendulum has swung so far in one direction and it’s happening in a global sweep.
The actor mentioned that he did not know if it was repairable. But even the hopeful future of Star Trek emerged from the darkest of times, and there still might be some light at the end of this tunnel.
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