This post was going to be about our latest Classic Cinema With the Sage Sisters post about Star Trek: Insurrection that we published on October 28, 2026 as it turned out the day Sir Patrick Stewart died. If you’re not a sci-fi fan you might not know his work. If that’s so, there is still time to get acquainted with the integrity of his characters. As I look over his filmography, most of the characters he played were men of high moral standards. His most iconic characters were Captain Jean-Luc Picard in the Star Trek Next Generation TV and movie series. The other one was as Professor Charles Xavier in the X Men series, which is part of the MCU. It’s interesting that a trained British Shakespearean actor should come to the United States and play characters in what some consider low-brow sci-fi and superhero genres. But as I have said on many occasions, fantasy, sci-fi, and superhero stories are our modern day myths. The ancient myths were about gods and heroes, and heroines, modern story tellers are just carrying on those traditions.
Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Professor Charles Xavier are examples of Sir Patrick’s golden mean. In other words they reflect the character of Sir Patrick himself. He advocated for justice for women who suffered from domestic violence because his mother was one such victim. In his estimation, men who perpetrated violence against women and children should be held accountable. In 2006 he made a short video for Amnesty International relating the effects of his father’s physical attacks on his mother and how that shaped his childhood. He also gave money to the University of Huddersfield for post-graduate studies into domestic violence.
Because of his background, the characters he played had empathy, compassion and they stood up for the defenseless. That’s what Captain PIcard does in Star Trek: Insurrection. A small group of people are about to be surreptitiously moved so that the metaphasic radiation, which rejuvenates the DNA of the population, can be harvested and used as a fountain of youth for a large population of the Federation. When he realizes what the Federation backed Son’a plan, he decides to go against his orders and protect the inhabitants of the planet.
This is a story that has resonance for what’s happening in the world today, so if you haven’t seen it, you might want to put it on your TBW list. That’s one wonderful thing about sci-fi and fantasy stories. They can help us take a look at what’s going on in our societies from a comfortable distance so we have a chance to evaluate current events.
Here is our analysis of this movie. We hope you will comment, like, share, and subscribe to our channel. Also come join the conversation on YouTube and our Facebook group
