Another high-profile Star Trek fan is talking about how they have been inspired by the franchise: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, one of the members of the US House of Representatives. Turns out she is a big Voyager fan and sees the vision of Trek being realized today.
AOC talks VOY at DNC
Rep. Ocasio-Cortez was a guest on a special live edition of the The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Thursday night from Chicago and the Democratic National Convention, appearing shortly after Vice President Kamala Harris officially accepted the nomination for President of the United States. Colbert talked about the historic moment, quoting part of Harris’ acceptance speech about “a vision of America where we hold fast to the fearless belief that built our nation and inspired the world, that here anything is possible.” When he asked what the nomination meant to her, AOC looked back to her childhood and Star Trek:
“When I was at nine years old, I watched a lot of Star Trek with my dad. And we used to watch this series, it was Star Trek: Voyager. And the reason I bring this up is because this was the first ship with a female captain… Captain Janeway, by the great Kate Mulgrew. And I remember this was something that was very important growing up. And my dad felt it very important for me to watch this because he wanted me to see an example of a woman in leadership. And when I was a kid, the only example of that was in science fiction. And today represents a day where it has become our reality.”
You can watch the conversation via YouTube below…
The moment did not go unnoticed by Kate Mulgrew. She responded to a clip of AOC on Colbert, thanking her and adding how she takes “great pride” in her legacy as Janeway, “especially inspiring the next generation.” She also added her wholehearted endorsement for Kamala Harris.
Thank you @AOC for the shout-out last night on @StephenAtHome @colbertlateshow. I take great pride in my legacy as Janeway, especially inspiring the next generation of leaders.
I wholeheartedly endorse @KamalaHarris & @Tim_Walz – time for another #BlueWave2024 🌊 #KamalaHarris https://t.co/Memo0XlPVJ
— Kate Mulgrew (@TheKateMulgrew) August 23, 2024
Ocasio-Cortez’s love for Voyager and Janeway has been well known. In fact, Kate Mulgrew’s former media director Amy Imhoff arranged for Mulgrew to surprise AOC at a campaign event when she was first elected to Congress back in 2018. You can see that below.
One of the 1st events I organized as @TheKateMulgrew‘s media director was surprising @AOC at her last rally before her election. Here is the video I took (Kate is sneakily seated behind AOC prior to her intro) – I am so proud & happy we pulled this off!#TheJanewayEffect 🖖🏻 #VOTE pic.twitter.com/EQlwH28d7c
— Amy Imhoff (@AmyImhoff1701) August 23, 2024
In a 2019 interview with TrekMovie, Mulgrew talked about meeting Ocasio-Cortez and expressed hope that Voyager inspired her:
“And look what she’s doing. I doubt that I had anything to do with that spirit, which is a remarkable one. But there is something about her confidence, the way she is scorching that indifferent earth that makes me think, “I wonder… I wonder if she plucked some of this from Voyager?” And I hope she did.”
Keep up with the Star Trek Universe on TV here at TrekMovie.com.
This totally tracks.
I like her!
I admire Kate Mulgrew and love the character of Kathryn Janeway.
AOC, on the other hand… the less said the better from me.
Still, whatever floats your boat, love her or hate her she’s clearly on the up and up, and at least we share an admiration for the aforementioned KM and KJ.
AOC is impressive and beautiful. I predict she will eventually be President, which would be a step up from the most recent two people in that role.
Two members of the Squad, both obviously from reliably blue districts, were recently defeated in primary elections. Granted, AOC is a bit more politically pragmatic than Cori Bush or Jamaal Bowman, but this outcome still suggests her views are too far from the mainstream for a bid for the presidency.
VP Harris herself immediately tacked to the center once it became clear she would be the Dem nominee, jettisoning many of her 2019-2020 primary campaign stances, which were unpopular but still not as far to the left as AOC’s.
Possibly she runs for Senate when Sen. Schumer retires, and NY is a blue state, but even there, I have strong doubts she could win. Most Dems who win statewide office in NY either have some appeal upstate and/or a very broadbased coalition within NYC. (Remember that Tiffany Caban lost the Queens DA race despite the backing of AOC and Sanders.)
Her district is pretty safe, and she survived her 2020 primary challenge, so I tend to think she will follow the Gebhardt/Pelosi/Hoyer path of maximizing her power in the House.
Seriously, just anyone but Trump! I would rather have no President at all than that douchebag. Go ahead and block my comment, I don’t care, he’s the DEVIL!
That AIPAC has the cash to burn in targeting critics of Israel has for decades been as established a fact of nature in Washington as the law of entropy or the force of gravity. But times change, and with 40,000 Palestinians dead plus thousands more on the verge of starvation, the absurdity of reflexively accusing anyone critical of the policies of a particular nation-state with antisemitism becomes less tenable, especially amongst my fellow Jews. Apportion blame for this situation however you like — Jews in Israel will never be safe so long as Palestinians aren’t safe there, and you can’t get any more Star Trek or pragmatic than in pointing out that simple fact.
That didn’t take long.
This is exactly why this thread/story never should have been written! Why bring all of this stuff into a platform that mostly debates harmless stuff? Now all of sudden people are discussing politics and wars etc….maybe it’s on me for clicking on this link knowing this crap was bound to come up! Damn no more for me…I see a politician and it’s a NO for now on…
I just wanted to say I edited my comment too to take out some comments directed at Michael Hall because you know what….lets not go there on a forum that’s not conducive to this…I have no idea why this article was even written in the first place knowing how polarizing she is. Even some democrats don’t like AOC!
I’m not American, but everything I hear from this woman is pure rage and anger. She is never positive, and that is important for winning. You can fight for what you believe in without being pure negativity, that is something she does share with Trump.
AOC is the most prominent of a small faction within the House Democrats called the “Squad.” They are very far to the left and identify as socialists, which is not a strong political tradition in the US. She’s not particularly “pure rage,” and certainly less so than some other members of the Squad. Indeed, at some times she has even displayed a pragramtic streak, and she is generally well-spoken. In fact, the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) debated expelling her because they thought she was too accommodating of the mainstream Democratic Party.
She was somewhat notorious for ensuring that Amazon did not build a second headquarters in Queens and thus cost her district a considerable number of well-paying jobs.
AOC shares little in common with the Orange one
Well, she’s 34. So I can see in 25-35 years when she runs for President.
Have you ever heard AOC talk? She can barely string together coherent sentences.
I wish Hollywood would stay out of politics. When 90% of them have the same political stance, that is not diversity.
Right on schedule: the always-perennial bugaboo of the Right, “Hollywood.” You’ll forgive my skepticism that you’d have any problem with Mulgrew making her views known if she’d voiced her approval of, say, Elise Stefanik. As to AOC, she managed to support her family after her father’s death while graduating summa cum laude from a fine university, and placed third in a nationwide science contest sponsored by MIT that resulted in an asteroid being named after her. I’ve heard her talk, and in an era not exactly known for its elevated discourse think she mostly does just fine.
I’ve always liked her, and wished more dems had her flare for punching through the BS, but didn’t know anything about the science contest, that’s great info. I certainly hope she has more security than most politicians, because she has got to be among the top targets for violent action in the whole country, and it takes guts to be in that kind of a light.
Yep.
SHUTTING DOWN PARTISAN BICKERING
How wonderful for Ms. Mulgrew, to know that what she did had a real-world effect!
I love her and I love you!
Awww, you’re a big ole sweetie pie!
I remember there was one episode where they were in (of course) dire trouble, and Janeway said, “Battle stations” in this tone of voice that completely floored me. Mulgrew had me absolutely convinced that her character knew what it was like to be in battle and that she had led people through battles and out the other side. How the actress managed that particular tone of voice, I’m sure I don’t know, but Mulgrew is amazing.
I also feel the same way about both women!
This warms my heart. Two great people I admire and it’s so nice to hear how influential Star Trek and Janeway was on this young lady as was my own daughter.
I thought Janeway was written inconsistently on Voyager. Something I blame the writers for. But Mulgrew I thought did a great job at portraying her. Thees allot of passion and investment in her performance. Which I thought minimized the sub par writing she was given at times. Testament to Mulgrews performance IMO.
You’re overthinking it, dude. Or dudette. It’s supposed to be a fun ride. If it inspires people, then all the better. May the Great Bird of the Galaxy…….RIP Gene and Majel
fpp: Nothing in your post was “overthinking it.” Your post was just fine.
I think that’s a fair assessment. There’s nothing wrong with holding the show’s writing to a high standard. Janeway was multifaceted, but the way her righteousness, recklessness, and maternal traits got ratcheted up at times could feel positively schizophrenic.
Doesn’t change that there’s plenty for people to admire about her of course, and Mulgrew’s steady performance absolutely held it all together.
OMG, its times like these that I am so absolutely honored to be a Star Trek Fan!!!!!!
Absolutely!
She did some questionable things but got her crew back home in the end.
As a role model though…
She wasn’t perfect, but that just makes her a three dimensional character.
amen
Yeah. I don’t consider the massive swings they took with her for Night or Equinox Part 2 followed by zero reflection in subsequent episodes to be part of a studied plan to flesh her out. Stories like Counterpoint and Year of Hell were the sweet spot for how to explore and push her IMO.
Voy always pressing ‘re set’ and not following through on character development
Yeah. I give YOH a pass because it was too extreme to not reset, and it still gave a fascinating glimpse into how far she was capable of going. Stories like Night and Equinox made the character seem positively schizophrenic.
Wow this is great to hear! I only wish she said it at the actual DNC!
I love when I hear how much this show has inspired people throughout the decades and especially politicians.The Clintons were also Star Trek/Voyager fans. The Voyager cast was invited to the White House back in the mid-90s to watch an episode.
And we all know how much of a Star Trek fan President Obama is and did the same thing nearly 20 years later inviting the cast of Star Trek Beyond to the White House and view the movie.
And the fact AOC started watching Voyager at 9 in the middle of its run and Captain Janeway especially clearly still sticks with her over 20 years later speaks to the power of this franchise.
Lastly I don’t want to get ‘political’ but she did bring up Janeway for a specific reason and I too hope Kamala Harris is the next President. It is finally time for a woman President. Many thought that was going to happen in 2016, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case. It’s also funny as much as we think of America as being progressive (and it is…some of the time), it’s one of the very few western countries that hasn’t had a female leader yet. And many had one decades ago now. Harris is the first woman VP which already broke one large barrier but it’s time to move to the main one.
It took Star Trek 29 years before it finally got its first female Captain in a lead role (and now has several more today with Burnham, Freeman and Seven); it’s time for America to finally get there as well.
Just how cool would it be to be able to invite the cast from a movie to your house to see their actual movie, and know they’d show up? Answer, Very cool.
LOL, yep! Have to be pretty powerful people to make that happen. ;D
I have long thought that Clinton’s line from his 1992 DNC acceptance speech — “come join us in a bold new adventure” — was a dog whistle to TNG fans.
I don’t remember that line but I can definitely see that!
Yes Kamala Harris is really exciting so many people these days, especially women. But there are plenty of us men that want a woman President of course. It is indeed time. And it’s not a surprise of course Kate Mulgrew is supporting her and I hope she campaigns for her as she did for Clinton back in the day.
It’s great to see all the enthusiasm around her. It’s a great feeling and I think most just disdain the alternative, including many people in his own party now endorsing her. That says a lot.
But nothing is in the bag obviously but people are really motivated now. I haven’t seen this kind of excitement since 2008. But everyone has to get out and vote to make it official.
“ And when I was a kid, the only example of that was in science fiction.”
I’m going to shock myself and be generous to her, and assume that like many, AOC didn’t look much past the borders of the United States, where she would have found a *lot* of female leaders. (I also note that she was one year old when Margaret Thatcher left office.) But still, it’s an odd thing to say. When she was growing up, there were already a *lot* of female senators, governors, cabinet members, Supreme Court justices…
The first woman on the supreme court (can’t feel right captializing that anymore) was somebody on the right who wasn’t particularly admirable IMO, and Thatcher certainly didn’t inspire much admiration from what I recall, especially from working-class. So perhaps AOC was speaking of women in positions of power who were admirable in their goals and actions?
Ah, so “admirable” means “I agree with them.” Got it.
And so women in power only count if they have a particular point of view? That sounds…I dunno…sexist, no?
Sandra Day O’Connor was a pretty admirable person. Margaret Thatcher won quite a few elections, so clearly *someone* liked her. I mean, sure, all the rock stars didn’t, but, you know, the poorer people seem to have.
Ronald Reagan liked her, but I can’t imagine anybody in a lower income class did.
The 1983 British general election was a thorough rout for Labour (whose manifesto that year was described as “the longest suicide note in history”); I suspect if you drudge up opinion polling from that era you’ll find that the Tories won all socioeconomic groups. Her ability to call a snap election immediately after the Falklands War helped, of course.
Sandra Day O’Connor was about the most quintessential example of a center-right jurist that I can think of.
If I had to name two top-of-mind opinions that she wrote, I would probably say Casey v Planned Parenthood (upholding Roe) and Bollinger (upholding Title VI affirmative action, albeit with the now-famous “will expect not to need this policy in 25 years” caveat). She was generally a champion of state decisis, as Casey showed, and was not aligned with the Thomas-Alito school of thought.
The Harvard Law Review (link to
follow) published an in memoriam tribute to her in May; granted, such tributes tend not to be overly scathing, but I would still commend it to you, particularly before you post pablum such as “she was not particularly admirable.” Justice Breyer reminds us that she also sided with the majority in McCreary, which invalided the display of the Ten Commandments in government buildings.
Disagree with her if you will. But the take that Justice O’Connor is somehow not the first woman in the Supreme Court because she is not “admirable” is a truly grotesque one.
I didn’t claim she was not the first woman on that court, just that I could see how that person might not be as inspiring as the previous poster thought.
Incidentally, I had been pretty neutral on her till reading something on slate a couple years back that made me pretty angry. Otherwise I probably wouldn’t have bothered weighing in at all.
Well, personally I find O’Connor, with all due respect, far too moderate. But I can find even people I thoroughly disagree with admirable. Elena Kagan is a pretty impressive person.
She was NINE. Most nine-year-olds don’t know much about the wider world; they’re still figuring out the world right in front of them.
Certainly true.
It often feels like TOS and TNG are the only series that are really part of the mainstream cultural consciousness. Glad to see Voyager getting some love.
When it’s talked about on the news or something, yeah. But AOC and Colbert are the real deal and hardcore Trekkies so they follow it like we do. I think Colbert watches most of the new shows as well. He’s definitely a Discovery fan.
They are the oldest and probably still the most known by the normies, so I understand it.
But when I heard people scream after AOC said Voyager’s name in that clip made me feel very proud to be both a Trekkie and an American dammit.
It proves these shows are still relevant for so many people decades later.
Lol I felt the same way how much the crowd reacted over Voyager!
And maybe Star Trek isn’t as popular today like it was in the 80s and 90s but its message will always stay relevant in society.
She has opinions that I like to call….strange…..
Yeah she has very liberal ideas…which I mostly agree with along with most of her constituents which is why she is so popular. Did you hear people shouting her name in that clip. They are true believers. But if the show took place somewhere in Florida instead of New York, she probably wouldn’t have gotten the same reception lol.
Wow, I didn’t think I could like her even more.
AOC is near perfect in my book. She is passionate and positive. Her work in and out of Congress speaks for her district and people like me who are not.
Kate Mulgrew’s Captain Janeway is one of the most inspirational and aspirational character’s in Star Trek. As a man, I think one of the reason’s I’ve never had an issue being lead by a strong smart woman is because I got to see that as normal so early on in young adult life.
Yep! Also as a man, I fell in love with Janeway in the very first episode and it never went away. It’s great to see the character making a resurgence again but for long time fans she has always stayed relevant in the franchise; especially given her special position in the franchise.
I really hope we see more of her in the future.
Shutting down ‘partisan bickering’ is one thing, but wholesale eliminating of posts so they don’t even ever show up — now two of them from me in the last few days — seems like you’re going a bridge too damn far.
It’s nice to see that Trek still has relevance, Good job, Kate Mulgrew, for your ongoing passion for the character. It matters….
Wow this was incredible to hear. I’ve always been a huge AOC supporter and this proves why! And while I was literally twice her age when I started watching Star Trek, it was also Voyager that was my first Star Trek and I immediately admired the great Captain Katherine Janeway as one of my first favorite characters and still is over 20 years later. Kate Mulgrew just hit it out of the park. We may have started watching it around the same season too. For me it was season four and been a Trekkie since!
It’s great to see how much Janeway has influenced new fans at the time just like other characters did prior; but especially for young girls.
NOW GIVE US A LIVE ACTION JANEWAY SHOW, MINISERIES or MOVIE PARAMOUNT!!!
(Assuming that studio still exists in a few years)
you could knock me over with a feather. I honestly had no idea anyone took that person seriously.
Probably because you’re not a Democrat I assume.
And since she won all her re-elections in a landslide obviously many people do.
And you obviously didn’t listen to the posted clip.
how can you watch ST are not either be a progressive or a Democrat voter?
Maybe your stereotype of conservatives isn’t necessary accurate. I have watched every single hour of trek numerous times and don’t feel I need to be a progressive to understand or enjoy the themes. Everybody wants equality/equity, everybody wants people to have means, health, homes and safety. Everybody wants the same things, maybe they just don’t go about it the same way. My lack of knowledge about a Congressperson in a state 2000 miles away is just my ignorance and exposure to what the media presents. I am sure you’d say the same thing about Josh Hawley.
Isn’t Josh Hawley the guy who did that fist pump to theJanuary 6 protestors and voted with other Republican Congressman not to certify the election that Biden legitimately won? That guy,
He would make an excellent Romulan.
I admit I don’t get it either. Star Trek is as progressive ‘woke’ as you can get. It’s basically Socialist in nature or as close as you can get in that period. SNW outright said so in season 2.
All I hear conservatives shout to every Democrat as being a Socialist or Communist even though most Democrats don’t remotely identify as either. But Star Trek certainly lean that direction.
I think the reason that Star Trek appears as a socialist society is that technology has made it unnecessary for capitalism in goods and maybe even services. A food/clothing/whatever replicator in every house would certainly make it so people didn’t really need money for most things. It may have not been the choice to be ‘socialist’, just the results of the advancements in most things.
Yes and magic mushrooms can jump you all over the galaxy and cartoon characters can go back in time. All consistent with what Trek has become but not really what it once was.
Back in the 60s Star Trek had dilithium crystal miners, starships powered by massive antimatter/matter reactors and the need to warp space, Kirk defending the US constitution to the Kohms and sending weapons to aid South Vietnam (sorry Neural).
Just sad, kind of like AOC’s policies herself. Condemning Venezuelans isn’t enough for these people, they’ve got to keep going peddling the pyramid scam of stagnant statism.
Yeah which is the future most progressives want and the conservatives seem to don’t want. We believe in the idea that everyone in society should be provided for and taken care of. That everyone should be seen as equally. That people have free health care and the same level of education. That you can be gay, trans, bi and NO ONE CARES!!! The race issue is more fair today but remember just the idea not that long ago all of them would be seen equally really was just a sci fi concept when Trek started.
That’s what Star Trek has always projected. And even then it probably still goes farther than th average liberal ot progressive when it says religion is basically non existent and we now live in a one world government society. The no money thing is really just the tip of the ice berg in the Star Trek universe. It’s a radically progesterone view of the world and not just in some countries but EVERY country on Earth, hence the one one world government thing.
If the conservativess watching this show can get behind all of that then we have no problems lol. Maybe it would be nice if the more moderate ones can look at these things as positives instead of evil.
But that’s what ultimately Star Trek preaches and why it attracts mostly iberals and/or western cultures in society.
And it’s even more funny when people say they don’t like ideas that ultra libs like AOC peddles, but all she is peddling are the same ideas Star Trek preached to her when she was 9 years old. And yes just like how this show has influenced people to become scientists or engineers have also influenced people to become social or political activists. And not shocking they usually lean to the left side of the spectrum.
I would love for anyone to cite what they consider an ‘exteme’ policy issue she has and I bet you it will line up with every Star Trek ideal out deal. Maybe not 100% but probably 90% lol.
Star Trek is a liberal show and always has been. It certainly doesn’t mean there are no conservative concepts in there. You can make the argument the prime directive is a conservative concept and ultimately the Federation basically just takes care of its own. But in the Federation itself are the things the most exteme progressives want to see in the 21st century and not wait until the 23rd century to see it happen.
Or maybe you can see it more optimistically as pushing those ideals today where it all becomes realized in the next 1-200 years.
“That people have free health care and the same level of education.”
It’s NOT FREE. Even if everyone gets it, it is NEVER free. It’s technology. It’s resources. It’s people having to work to save lives nad teach.
Saying that is free is so loony it belong only in a comedy like Lower Decks. How many people are you all going kill this time before you recognize that all you are peddling is a pyramid scam. Stagnant statism is a pyramid scam.
Now should everyone get it, YES. But they should WORK for it because it is not nor ever FREE. Do we need insurance because some can’t work for it, sure, but that should be the EXCEPTION.
Trek used to be about freedom, learning, working together to do what is hard…. now it’s about whining about how everything should be easy and free. And what is so bad about having people work together in diverse ways, why must all submit to a central authority? What are we, the old Klingon Empire?
But there are no magic mushrooms. Anti-matter takes lots of WORK. Entropy is killing you. Sorry, that’s life! Stop trying to pretend otherwise and kill innocent people in the process.
Look at poor Venezuela!!! How many people have to die so people can get rich and feel special selling the free lunch scam?!?
Wow. OK then.
🤣🤣🤣
Uh, I live in a country with taxpayer-funded (and excellent) healthcare and taxpayer-funded (and excellent) university education. Both are free to all users. It’s not a scam. And neither are keeping anyone from working hard.