The Psychology of Star Trek vs. Star Wars

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If you've never attended a convention and you think all panels are either about how to make comics or feature actors talking about the television shows and movies they're currently starring in, you're wrong. You'd probably be surprised at the vast variety of topics panels cover. This one - the psychology of Star Trek vs. Star Wars - is a perfect example of the unique and cool information you can learn about and discuss at conventions.

The panel featured psychologists Dr. Andrea Letamendi and Dr. Ali Mattu as well as writers Hugh Sterbakov and Larry Nemecek discussing the psychology of the two universes. They pitted Trek against Wars in a few different categories to see who handled certain situations better. For example, which franchise showed the classic hero's journey the best, which one portrayed trauma more realistically, and which franchise handled artificial life (droids and androids) better?

It was a fascinating and entertaining discussion, and the panelists brought tons of interesting opinions and perspectives to the table. Readers of this blog know that I live and breath Star Wars, but I have to concede a couple of the rounds to Star Trek because of the points made on this panel.

I was going to write up the panel, but the wonder of the internet means it's available to watch on YouTube. If you enjoy either Star Trek or Star Wars and want to dig a little deeper into both universes, I recommend taking some time to watch or listen to the panel.