Megha Majumder - Episode 1

“Darmok” was one of those episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation that tugged on

my heartstrings a bit. The incorporation of one of the most ancient of Earth's stories, Epic of

Gilgamesh, remembered and passed down, on into the far, imagined future on another planet,

told to yet another culture, and remembered on the planet in this episode…the entire episode was

a breathtaking metaphor. The main idea of “Darmok” was to present a potential and probable

reaction to extraterrestrial existence: some would jump to violence with an expansionist attitude,

perhaps, and others would attempt to learn their culture and language.

The more overt topics explored in this episode involve the relations between alien species

and our own, as well as the difficulty of communicating with other species. Although it was quite

unfeasible to have developed complex enough stories to be able to get across each and every idea

or situation, it is definitely a fascinating concept. An entire species communicating by culture

references is something like a form of audible hieroglyphics. The relationship between Picard

and Dathon was tense at first due to the language barrier, but the friendship that formed on the

island was beautiful. The lengths that both captains were willing to go to in attempt to

communicate was amazing and he was so engaging and insistent in his desire to be understood

that I was as frustrated at myself as Picard for not catching on in the first part of the episode.

I could also feel the pain and anger that Picard felt when he was teleported in mid-

combat, just as first contact was being made, and his heartbreak when Dathon died after his

fitting retelling of the Epic. The friendship between Gilgamesh and Enkidu paralleled that of

Dathon’s: Dathon and Picard were like Gilgamesh and Enkidu in their struggle against the Great

Bull of Heaven, whose parallel was the monster on the planet.

When Picard retold the Epic of Gilgamesh, I immediately recalled the story, as it was the

first thing I learned about ancient Mesopotamia (a culture that is of great interest to me). The

entire scene was not so much about the comprehension of the story as its importance in being

relayed to the dying Dathon. The tale was a mythological account in itself. It so perfectly fit the

scene due to the fact that it portrayed the differences between Dathon and Picard: their cultures

and their natural environments. Enkidu was much like Dathon, in being a beast-like man in the

wild (the unfamiliar, at least to Gilgamesh), and Gilgamesh, being the king from Uruk (a

developed civilization, like that of Earth). Both parties gain respect for one another after much

fighting, although this was not the case of the humans and the Children of Tama, but not being

able to understand other beings could be as threatening and menacing as an actual war. From

that, a mutual respect was gained, and Gilgamesh an Enkidu found companionship in one

another.

The dichotomy that is set up is one between humans and aliens; the known and the

unknown. Although the Children of Tama did not show a history of violence, the fact that their

language was deemed “incomprehensible” to humans made people fearful and threatened. The

unknown can be dangerous territory, but it could also be beneficial; generally, people are not

trusting enough to give any types of aliens a chance, for we are a hostile people.

The power structures at play are those between the captains and their primary officers, as

well as between the humans and The Children of Tama. The captains and their willingness to

befriend one another and trump the pettiness of their officers, who were quick to jump to

violence and war.

This article is certainly a social critique. It displays the importance of curiosity and the

willingness to listen between two unfamiliar people, especially when conflict is to be prevented

or there is a fight to be fought against a common enemy. Dathon’s sacrifice to ensure future

communicative pathways between the two species and his commitment to the cause are

commendable, but it always takes two to clap. Picard was willing to listen and really try to create

a pathway for meaningful and successful conversation. Not so many people are willing to be

receptive as well as perceptive in today’s society.

The quotes that I found to be eye-opening were: “Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra,” a

metaphorical phrase that basically meant “working together”; “Darmok and Jalad on the ocean,”

which is said when two strangers, or foes, work together against a threat and succeed; “Temba,

his arms open,” meaning “take or use this:” a gift.

I found myself asking these questions following the episode: What was the lack of

communication or lack of ability to make others understand, almost immediately interpreted as

by the team of the Enterprise? How does this reflect on what occurs within our own society?

Does lack of communication lead to violence?