Nanclus - Themes

Themes

The Undiscovered Country's Cold War allegory and references to literary history were recognized among researchers and cultural historians. According to scholar Larry Kreitzer, The Undiscovered Country has more references to William Shakespeare than any other Star Trek work until at least 1996. The title itself alludes to Hamlet, Act III, Scene 1. Meyer had originally intended The Wrath of Khan to be called The Undiscovered Country. Whereas the undiscovered country referred to in Hamlet (and its intended meaning in The Wrath of Khan) is death, Star Trek VI's use of the phrase refers to a future where Klingons and humans coexist in peace.

A phrase from The Tempest is mentioned by Gorkon as representing the new galactic order, that of a "brave new world". Chang recites most of the lines from Shakespeare used in the film, including quotes from Romeo and Juliet and Henry IV, Part 2 in his parting words to Kirk after dinner. During Kirk's trial, Chang also mocks Kirk with lines from Richard II. The final battle above Khitomer contains seven references to five of Shakespeare's plays. Two references are drawn from the title character's lines in King Henry V ("Once more unto the breach"/"The game's afoot"), while two more quotations are from Julius Caesar ("I am as constant as the Northern Star"/"Cry 'havoc!' and let slip the dogs of war"). There is a single reference to Prospero from The Tempest ("Our revels now are ended"), and Chang shortens the wronged Shylock's speech from The Merchant of Venice: "Tickle us, do we not laugh; prick us, do we not bleed; and wrong us, shall we not revenge?"

The final lines spoken by Chang before he is obliterated by torpedo fire are lifted from Hamlet's famous soliloquy: "to be, or not to be..." Flinn was initially unsure about the numerous classical quotations, but when Plummer was cast, Meyer enthusiastically added more. He said, "Whether it's pretentious or not, I think it depends on how it's used. I don't quite agree with using too much of that sort of thing, but once you get Plummer, suddenly it's working."

Scholars have noted that the Klingons, not humans, are the ones who quote Shakespeare; Gorkon claims at one point in the film that "You have not experienced Shakespeare until you have read him in the original Klingon." Shakespeare scholar Paul A. Cantor argues that this association is appropriate—the warlike Klingons find their literary matches in the characters Othello, Mark Antony, and Macbeth—but that it also reinforces a claim that the end of the Cold War means the end of heroic literature such as Shakespeare's. Meyer said the idea for having the Klingons claim Shakespeare as their own was based on Nazi Germany's attempt to claim the Bard as German before World War II. According to Kay Smith, the use of Shakespeare has meaning in itself and also derives new meaning (underscoring cultural politics in the film) by its rearticulation in a new form.

The association of General Chang with the politics of the Munich Agreement that involved attempted appeasement of Nazi Germany are brought up twice in the film. The first is with Chang with other Klingon officials at a dinner with Kirk and Federation officers, where Chang declares that the Klingon Empire needs "breathing room", to which Kirk responds by imitating Spock's earlier quoting of Hamlet, saying that Chang's reference is "Earth, Hitler, 1938". Later when Kirk confronts Chang's warship, Chang mocks the historic British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain who attempted to appease Hitler; with Chang saying that there will be "no peace in our time".

A major theme of the film is change, and people's response to that change. Meyer considered Valeris and Chang "frightened people, who are frightened of change", who cling to old ways despite the changing world. He hoped that the fictionalization of a current events story allowed for an objective look at the issues, rather than being blinded by personal bias. At the beginning of the film, Kirk operates under a similar bias, calling the Klingons "animals" and putting him at odds with Spock. The Vulcan sees the Gorkon peace initiative as logical, responding to the sudden change in the status quo in a collected manner; he even opens the peace dialog at the behest of his father.

Kirk, meanwhile, is willing to "let them (the Klingons) die", unwilling to listen to Spock's words because of his biased understanding. Kirk undergoes a transformation through the film by way of his incarceration; realizing that his hatred is outmoded he allows for a cleansing that restores his son to him in some way.

While Star Trek in general features few overt references to religion, there is a clear recognition that a laying aside of past hurts is necessary for peace, similar to the concept of shalom in Judaism. Shatner regretted that Kirk's angst at being outmoded was minimized in the final print. A scene where Spock asks Kirk if they have grown so old and inflexible they have outlived their usefulness had two meanings: it was as much Nimoy asking Shatner as it was their characters.